“In keeping with our goal to support independent developers, Strategy First is pleased to be working with industry veterans Stardock,“ says Steve Wall, V.P., Business Development for Strategy First. “The original Galactic Civilizations blazed new trails for the strategy genre in terms of A.I. and gameplay, and we are proud to bring you the next installment in this stellar series.”

“Galactic Civilizations has been designed as a strategy game with mainstream appeal,” says Larry Kuperman, V.P. of Sales and Marketing for Stardock. “Strategy First has a proven track record of successfully bringing such games to market. They were a natural partner for us.”

Galactic Civilizations originally developed for OS/2 in 1993, became one of the best selling consumer products on the OS/2 platform, and won several gaming accolades, including “Game of the Year’ from the Internet PC Games World Charts, beating DOOM, Masters of Orion and Descent for the most highly recommended game. Like its OS/2 predecessor, the new Galactic Civilizations will feature a combination of exploration, technology research, resource management, diplomacy, and military conquest.

The game is set in the 23rd century as human civilization is expanding into the galaxy. Players will compete against up to five other computer-controlled races for control of the territory. Part of the challenge will be to determine the best use of humankind's limited resources. The game is designed to give players a number of ways to win, including military conquest, diplomatic alliances, economic domination, technological advancement, and other strategic methods.

The game’s depth of game play focuses on an unprecedented number of events that come into play and greatly alter the outcome of any given game. Another interesting feature is the “metaverse” system. Galactic Civilizations is a turn-based single player game, however players who play on Stardock.net will be able to play as part of a “metaverse” where victories, defeats and campaigns can be recorded. These features combine to give the game a high degree of replayability.

Galactic Civilizations is truly an all encompassing game that allows players to feel like they are participating in an epic story that changes each time they play.