Stardock announces Galactic Civilizations III

Pay now for guaranteed beta access

Stardock is back with the game many of its fans have been craving: Galactic Civilizations III. This key franchise in the 4X space strategy genre is going to be more of the same, building on what’s been a successful formula with additions like online multiplayer support. It won’t be available until next year at the earliest, but the company is running a founder’s program.

The $39.99 tier gets beta access when it becomes available and $10 off the game, while paying $99.99 (I know!) also includes alpha access, a lifetime subscription to GalCiv III content (including the game itself), and the ability to name a star. That last perk, Stardock smartly clarifies, is subject to approval. I can’t wait to hear your suggestions in the comments!

According to Stardock, “The big areas are much more sophisticated ship design so you can build the ship of your dreams (internally we call the ship designer ‘mini-maya’ after the 3D modeling program), more interesting planetary management, more sophisticated diplomacy, and a lot more depth with regards to the strategic map with the addition of interstellar terrain and other anomalies.” Interestingly, this is 64-bit-only, so no DirectX 9 cards.