Federations, the next DLC for Stellaris, was announced today at PDXCon, Parardox Interactive’s annual fan convention. The focus this time is on diplomacy, after previous expansions have fleshed out the military, economy, and internal politics of the sprawling space 4X. 

Federations have been a part of Stellaris from the beginning, building bridges of cooperation between sovereign empires. In this expansion though, they're getting a huge face-lift. The old school, vanilla, Star Trek sort (now called a Galactic Union) will still be around, but Paradox is adding several new, more specialized types of federations such as Research Co-Ops for science-minded factions and Trade Leagues for economically focused partnerships. Gaining more federation members and maintaining Cohesion (basically, keeping everyone on the same page policy-wise) will allow Federations to level up and gain mechanical perks, like increased federation fleet size.

The other major feature is the Galactic Community, a kind of "Space UN" that can be founded once you've met most of your star neighbors and the galaxy starts to become more interconnected. No empire is obligated to join, but those that opt-out will receive a colder welcome than those on the inside. Those that choose to leave after having joined will be especially reviled.

Members of the Galactic Community can propose resolutions that each of the other members will be able to vote on. Focusing on a new resource called Diplomatic Weight will give your votes more power and your resolutions higher priority, but building it will come at the expense of other areas like your military and economy. Resolutions that pass, such as banning sentient AI or establishing minimum rights for workers, will be binding for all members of the Galactic Community. The only way around these resolutions is to leave and incur the massive diplomatic penalty that comes with that act.

Also on the way is the Lithoids species pack, which will introduce several new portraits for species based on rocks, crystals, and other inorganic matter. They are unique not only in appearance, but in that they consume minerals instead of food, giving them a very different economy to manage.

The Lithoids species pack will be out on October 24 and Federations is set to launch later in the year. 

Yesterday's announcement of the sci-fi strategy MMO Stellaris: Galaxy Command was interesting because it marked what appeared to be a pretty big move into mobile gaming by Paradox, a publisher whose games generally aren't what you'd call mobile-friendly. But things took an unexpected twist when, shortly after our post went live, Paradox took down the beta, which had been soft-launched in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Sweden.

The problem, Paradox said in a tweet, was that at least one piece of artwork in the game "was taken from another source." It didn't say who, but it was quickly determined to have come from Halo—the original image can be seen on the ArtStation page of Kenny Magnusson, the technical art director at Halo studio 343 Industries. Paradox—which is publishing but not developing the game, Stellaris: Galaxy Command is being made by mobile studio GameBear—apologized and took the game offline "to perform a full content sweep and ensure this issue is resolved."

While only one image immediately jumped out as stolen, it's possible that Paradox is now discovering more deeply-rooted problems. In an update posted earlier today, it said that the "initial analysis" of art assets has been completed, "however we feel this situation requires more scrutiny."

"We have taken the decision to continue the hiatus. The game's servers will remain offline and its availability will be limited while a full investigation is run," Paradox said. "The whole process will take place shortly and, as soon as we're able, we'll update you again on when the game will be possible to play."

In a reply tweet, Paradox also addressed complaints that Stellaris: Galaxy Command is simply a reskin of GameBear's mobile strategy game Nova Empire, a complaint that arose when an error message shown to users who declined to grant the game required permissions referred to it as Nova Empire. "No denying that this is embarassing but it's actually a placeholder text that was copied into our game during the early stage of development, before we had a name," Paradox explained.

Paradox's move into mobile gaming hasn't exactly been greeted with universal applause from its existing fan base—no surprise there, really—and this obviously doesn't help with initial impressions. But Paradox appears to be handling it as well as can be expected, with a quick takedown, unequivocal apology, and what appears to be an in-depth examination of the rest of the game. And while free-to-play mobile games are sometimes burdened with egregious monetization options, I still think the promise of an EVE Online-style game that doesn't require EVE Online-style dedication and focus might be enough to change some minds, if the developers can pull it off.

The Halo 4 concept art used in Stellaris: Galaxy Command can be seen below; directly below is its appearance in the game. I've reached out to Paradox for more information and will update if I receive a reply.

The sci-fi strategy game Stellaris has progressed considerably since it released in 2016, and now occupies positions on our lists of the best space games and best strategy games. It's no surprise, then, that Paradox is making another one, called Stellaris: Galaxy Command. What is surprising is that it's not coming to PC.

From how it's described, Stellaris: Galaxy Command seems to be a free-to-play mobile MMO. You're put in control of a space station in a "persistent, player-driven world" that's been devastated by an alien invasion from another dimension. The attack was ultimately defeated, but "the war was not won alone" and apparently the recovery process won't be a solo endeavor either: "It will be up to the players to make alliances, negotiate and directly impact each others’ recoveries in this unique Stellaris adventure," Paradox says.

Beyond that you'll also need to rebuild and expand your empire, impose taxes and negotiate trade alliances, and reconstruct and rearm your military forces. Your actions will have "real consequences" for other players, as will the ethical underpinnings of your resurgent empire, which will be determined by the choices and actions you make as you retake your place of glory among the stars.

Paradox says that Stellaris: Galaxy Command is "an authentic Stellaris experience," though one that's designed to be played in short sessions rather than 17 hours at a time, like most Paradox games. "You can check on your station, fleet, and alliance throughout the day," it said. "Make sure your station is constantly researching and expanding and your fleet is building up and rearming to deal with new threats."

The Google Play listing goes into a little more depth on what it's all about, and it certainly sounds ambitious, with gameplay built around trading systems, ethics, and political systems. Players will be able to form or join alliances and Trade Networks, recruit elite admirals to head their fleets, customize and upgrade their ships, and take part in deep-space battles that will unfold in real time.

It isn't clear exactly how many players will be lumped together in the same universe, but at least "thousands of players play in a single galaxy with nearly a thousands star systems to explore," the listing says. "Declare 'cold' or conventional war and claim victory through economic strength or brute military force. Convene with allies to form an attack strategy, then wage war on other players across the universe."

It almost sounds like a free-to-play mobile take on EVE Online. Unfortunately, the game is currently offline (such is the way with soft-launched betas), but I sat through the long intro sequence before getting the "offline" message, and it at least looked impressive. Unfortunately, the game may remain offline for awhile, as Paradox explained that it was taken down due to the presence of artwork that was used without permission.

It's interesting to see a company that built its reputation on complex, desktop strategy games like Crusader Kings and Hearts of Iron moving into the mobile realm, where playtimes are typically measured in minutes rather than hours. It's a big step, but I wouldn't be at all surprised to see other Paradox games making the same transition if this one is successful.

The Stellaris: Galaxy Command beta is available now on Android and iOS devices, but for the time being only to players in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and Sweden. Registration links and other details are available at galaxycommand.stellaris.com.