Paradox Interactive has just announced that Stellaris: Apocalypse, the newest expansion for the sci-fi empire-destroying game from Paradox Development Studio, will be available for mass consumption on February 22, 2018. The expansion focuses on new warfare options and galaxy-altering weaponry, while providing a new story chapter in the series.
Stellaris (read our review here) is a real-time strategy game set in space, taking place in the year 2200. Players take control of a species in its early stages of space exploration, right after the invention of faster-than-light (FTL) spaceship technology, and must choose their species' ethics and technologies before hitting the space-lanes. Players control a variety of ships, including science, construction and military vessels, and combat is focused on "the big picture", requiring a lot of management, preparation, and strategy. It's not all genocide and explosions though, as Stellaris provides you with some diplomatic options, like alliances and trade agreements with other races.
You begin with a single planet in your territory, a construction ship, a science ship, three small warships, and a spaceport, with early gameplay consisting of exploring and colonizing space, gradually ramping up to diplomacy, governing an empire and inevitable combat, with late game events and various crises having galaxy-wide implications.
Stellaris: Apocalypse will be available to Stellaris players on Windows, MacOS, and Linux next month for 20 bucks, and you can get more info on the upcoming expansion here.
