Stellaris

Although this product has been released, it remains under active development - information may change frequently and could be outdated or irrelevant.

Stellaris
Stellaris	2016
Nexus 5X	2024

Stellaris is a singleplayer and multiplayer free-roaming camera 4X game in the Stellaris series.

General information

Official forum

GOG.com Community Discussions

GOG.com Support Page

Steam Community Discussions

Stellaris Wiki

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Retail
		Galaxy Edition also available
GOG.com		Starter Edition and Galaxy Edition also available.
Green Man Gaming		Nova Edition and Galaxy Edition also available.
Humble Store		Nova Edition and Galaxy Edition also available.
Microsoft Store		Xbox Game Pass for PC
Steam		Nova Edition and Galaxy Edition also available. Grants Paradox version by linking accounts.
Publisher website (unavailable)		Nova Edition and Galaxy Edition also available. Grants Steam version by linking accounts.

DRM-free* version is downloaded through the Paradox Launcher; post-download the base game is DRM-free, while DLCs requires being signed in to a Paradox Account to authenticate ownership.

All versions require a Paradox Account for multiplayer.

Version differences

Standard Edition

The complete game. Premium editions only add cosmetic content.

Nova Edition

Digital Original Soundtrack
Nova forum icon

Galaxy Edition

Digital Original Soundtrack
Galaxy forum icon
Digital Collector's Book (e-book)
Stellaris: Infinite Frontiers novel (e-book)
Forum avatar
Signed wallpaper

Monetization

Type	Notes
DLC	The DLC include species, stories, units and mechanics.
One-time game purchase	The game requires an upfront purchase to access.
Subscription gaming service	Available via Xbox Game Pass for PC.

DLC and expansion packs

Name	Notes
Plantoids Species Pack
Leviathans Story Pack
Utopia
Horizon Signal
Nova Edition Upgrade Pack
Galaxy Edition Upgrade Pack
Anniversary Portraits
Synthetic Dawn Story Pack
Apocalypse
Humanoids Species Pack
Distant Stars Story Pack
MegaCorp
Ancient Relics Story Pack
Lithoids Species Pack
Federations
Necroids Species Pack
Nemesis
Aquatics Species Pack
Overlord
Toxoids Species Pack
First Contact Story Pack
Galactic Paragons
Astral Planes
The Machine Age
Cosmic Storms
The Grand Archive
BioGenesis
Shadows of the Shroud
Infernals Species Pack

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
Windows	%USERPROFILE%\Documents\Paradox Interactive\Stellaris\
Microsoft Store
macOS (OS X)	$HOME/Documents/Paradox Interactive/Stellaris/
Linux	$XDG_DATA_HOME/Paradox Interactive/Stellaris/

This game follows the XDG Base Directory Specification on Linux.

Save game data location

System	Location
Windows	%USERPROFILE%\Documents\Paradox Interactive\Stellaris\
Microsoft Store	%USERPROFILE%\Documents\Paradox Interactive\Stellaris GamePass\save games
macOS (OS X)	$HOME/Documents/Paradox Interactive/Stellaris/
Linux	$XDG_DATA_HOME/Paradox Interactive/Stellaris/

Save game cloud syncing

System	Native	Notes
GOG Galaxy
OneDrive		Requires enabling backup of the Documents* folder in OneDrive on all computers.*
Steam Cloud
Xbox Cloud

Video

Graphics feature	WSGF	Notes
Widescreen resolution
Multi-monitor		Use Triple monitors UI fix 5760x1080 (see Guide for other resolutions).
Ultra-widescreen
4K Ultra HD		UI does not automatically scale with resolution, so UI Scaling must be manually-adjusted.
Field of view (FOV)
Windowed
Borderless fullscreen windowed
Anisotropic filtering (AF)
Anti-aliasing (AA)	2x-8x MSAA
Vertical sync (Vsync)	Configurable in `settings.txt`
60 FPS and 120+ FPS
High dynamic range display (HDR)	See the glossary page for potential alternatives.
Color blind mode	See the glossary page for potential workarounds.

In-game graphics settings
Game launcher graphics settings
In-game gameplay settings
In-game multiplayer chat accessibility settings.

Input

Keyboard and mouse	State	Notes
Remapping		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Mouse sensitivity		Configurable in `settings.txt` "mouse_speed=50.000000" (default)
Mouse acceleration
Mouse input in menus
Keyboard and mouse prompts
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support

Audio

Audio settings

Audio feature	State	Notes
Separate volume controls
Surround sound		7.1
Subtitles
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost
Royalty free audio

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English
Simplified Chinese
Czech				Fan translation - #1
French
German
Italian				See here or here.
Japanese				See here.
Polish
Brazilian Portuguese
Russian
Spanish
Thai				See here. Base game only.

Network

Multiplayer types

Type	Native	Notes
LAN play
Online play		Hotjoin possible

Connection types

Type	Native	Notes
Matchmaking		Server browser available, but no automated matchmaking.^{[citation needed]}
Peer-to-peer
Dedicated
Self-hosting
Direct IP

Issues fixed

Game launcher fails to start game

Beginning with version 3.0 and the Nemesis expansion, the game launcher may fail to start the game.^[1]

Change display mode to Fullscreen Borderless or Windowed^[2]

Other information

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
Direct3D	9.0c, 11
OpenGL	2.1

Executable	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
Windows			64-bit only since 2.3 "Wolfe".
macOS (OS X)
Linux

System requirements

Windows
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	7 SP1	10
Processor (CPU)	Intel Core i3-530 AMD FX-6350	Intel Core i5-3570K AMD Ryzen 5 2400G
System memory (RAM)	4 GB
Storage drive (HDD/SSD)	10 GB
Video card (GPU)	Nvidia GeForce GTX 460 ATI Radeon HD 5870 AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 Intel HD Graphics 4600 1 GB of VRAM DirectX 9.0c compatible	Nvidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti AMD Radeon R7 370 1 GB (Nvidia), 2 GB (AMD) of VRAM DirectX 12 compatible
Sound (audio device)	DirectX 9.0c compatible
Other	Broadband Internet connection

A 64-bit operating system is required.

macOS (OS X)
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	10.11	10.13
Processor (CPU)	Intel Core i5-4570S	Intel Core i5-4670
System memory (RAM)	8 GB
Storage drive (HDD/SSD)	10 GB
Video card (GPU)	Nvidia GeForce GT 750M 1 GB of VRAM	Nvidia GeForce GTX 780M AMD Radeon R7 370 4 GB (Nvidia), 2 GB (AMD) of VRAM
Other	Broadband Internet connection

A 64-bit operating system is recommended.

Linux
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	Ubuntu 20.04
Processor (CPU)	Intel Core i3-530 AMD FX-6350	Intel Core i5-3570K AMD Ryzen 5 2400G
System memory (RAM)	4 GB
Storage drive (HDD/SSD)	12 GB
Video card (GPU)	Nvidia GeForce GTX 460 ATI Radeon HD 5870 AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 Intel HD Graphics 4600 1 GB of VRAM	Nvidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti AMD Radeon R7 370 1 GB (Nvidia), 2 GB (AMD) of VRAM
Other	Broadband Internet connection

A 64-bit operating system is required.

References

↑ Steam Community Discussion - Game failing to launch - last accessed on 2021-04-23
↑ Steam Community Discussion - Game failing to launch (reply #8) - last accessed on 2021-04-23
"This type of thread keeps popping up every couple of days, and most of the time the solution is to change the display mode to borderless or windowed."

[1] Steam Community Discussion - Game failing to launch - last accessed on 2021-04-23

[2] Steam Community Discussion - Game failing to launch (reply #8) - last accessed on 2021-04-23
"This type of thread keeps popping up every couple of days, and most of the time the solution is to change the display mode to borderless or windowed."

[1]

[2]

Developers

	Paradox Development Studio
DLC until 2023	Paradox Arctic
Cosmic Storms DLC	Behaviour Rotterdam
DLC since Astral Planes	Abrakam
Infernals DLC	Forgotten Empires
Publishers
	Paradox Interactive
Engines
	Clausewitz
Release dates
Windows	May 9, 2016
macOS (OS X)	May 9, 2016
Linux	May 9, 2016
Reception
Metacritic	78
OpenCritic	81
IGDB	79
Taxonomy
Monetization	One-time game purchase, DLC, Subscription gaming service
Microtransactions	Cosmetic
Modes	Singleplayer, Multiplayer
Pacing	Continuous turn-based
Perspectives	Free-roaming camera
Controls	Point and select, Multiple select
Genres	4X
Art styles	Realistic
Themes	Sci-fi, Space
Series	Stellaris