If you’ve ever found yourself immersed in the strategic depths of Stellaris: Console Edition, you will be happy to know that the Third Expansion Pass kicks off today, the 15th of September, starting with the Distant Stars DLC pack. With two other DLC packs due to drop at the start of 2021, it sounds like a good time to return on Microsoft Xbox One and PlayStation 4.
It was always a light-jump to expect Stellaris to succeed on console, but it’s managed it with critical acclaim and a bustling community. It was never thin on content either, packing over 60 hours of universe conquering, so strapping on the Distant Stars DLC is only going to jettison more of your free time into the vacuum of space.
The DLC itself is story focused, looking to push the boundaries of the existing game area into some new constellations and anomalies. Paradox Interactive are taking the opportunity to get creative with their universe, as strange beings, technologies and resources are waiting on the fringes of space. There are also 50% more anomalies for you to encounter,
As with the previous Expansion Packs, you will be paying for the full suite of DLC packs, with them all being released individually over a longer period of time. Expansion Pack Three will be rounded out with a MegaCorp Expansion, which will give you the opportunity to be the CEO for a powerful corporate empire, and the Lithoids Species Pack, which introduces a long-lived species of sapient rock for you to meet and play.
- Distant Stars Story Pack (Sept. 15) – With this story pack, players uncover new anomalies and encounter strange beings while exploring space’s uncharted depths. This story pack adds new constellations to explore and close to 50% more anomalies for players to encounter. Exploration will be rewarded as players gain technology, resources, and valuable worlds to colonize.
- MegaCorp Expansion (2021) – MegaCorp is all about giving players the keys to the economy. The expansion introduces new tools to usher in an era of prosperity and profit or despair and corporate slavery, on a galactic scale. In this economy-focused expansion, you become the CEO of a powerful corporate empire to open branch offices across the stars. The economy can be ruthless when it’s all about the bottom line, but with MegaCorp, players can wield a number of profit-oriented features to build an empire anchored in the glorious ideals of space capitalism.
- Lithoids Species Pack (2021) – Meet the Lithoids, a species made entirely of sapient rock who eat minerals for sustenance, are long-lived, and can colonize in almost any environment. Players can look forward to trying out the entirely new Lithoid play style that focuses on mineral production, relentless colonization of even the most marginal worlds, and refusing to cede an inch of your empire – for…“sedimental” value.
Expansion Pack Three and the first of its DLC packs, Distant Stars (£8.39), is available now on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 for £20.99. Whether you’re new to Stellaris or already have a gargantuan space empire, there are a few new reasons to jump into Paradox Interactive’s beloved space opera. And if you need even more reason, the trailer below will provide it.
Game Description:
Not all those who wander are lost! Heed the call of Distant Stars and journey into the great unknown in this new discovery-themed story pack. The Distant Stars Story Pack includes: ANSWER THE CALL: Hidden traces of an ancient galaxy network seem to be hidden behind a tantalizingly sealed path to a constellation outside our galaxy. What’s out there? ANOMALY DETECTED: Dozens of new events and anomalies for your scientists to observe and analyze GIANT LEAP FOR MANKIND: Discover and plot unexplored unique solar systems to gain technology, resources, and valuable worlds to colonize as you build out your galactic empire. IT’S A BIRD, IT’S A PLANE: a number of unique gargantuan creatures that exist and thrive in the vacuum of space. But approach with caution, these may not be gentle giants
