Galactic Civilizations III is the definitive 4X space strategy game, coming exclusively to 64-bit PCs. Galactic Civilizations III stays true to the core mechanics while adding more depth and options for players to create their own immortal legacy as rulers of the galaxy.

Galactic Civilizations III puts players in charge of one of several fantastical sci-fi races (including 23rd-century humans) about to begin interstellar colonization. Spreading your empire throughout the galaxy, unlocking the secrets of creation through radical scientific research, and building massive fleets of starships to defend your way of life is only the beginning.

As the age of expansion ends and the age of war dawns, you must navigate the waves of conflict crashing through the galaxy. Diplomatic channels may secure your borders, cultural imperialism might expand them peacefully, or you could do things the old-fashioned way through military conquest. Finally, the age of transcendence brings the struggle for galactic dominance to a fever pitch as mighty empires bring titanic forces to bear in the race for final victory.

Stardock released a major update to Galactic Civilizations III, letting players witness the terrible might of their starfleets with the new battle viewer. Galactic Civilizations III Beta 4 also adds extreme worlds with hostile environments that require advanced research to colonize, reworks the ideology system to give incredible bonuses to malevolent, pragmatic, and benevolent leaders, and enables the Gigantic and Immense map sizes.

The battle viewer marks the first time players can see their starships in real-time action. Lasers pierce the void at long range until ships can close the distance and unleash deadly missile barrages and finally open fire with banks upon banks of direct-fire kinetic weaponry. All ships designed in the incredibly powerful Galactic Civilizations III ship designer are supported in the battle viewer, so players can enjoy the full destructive potential of their hand-crafted starships.

The revamped ideology system gives amazing boosts to players as they choose between diving deep into one branch of an ethos, going wide across multiple branches, or even exploring additional ideologies. Discover hidden planets, give all your fleets free fighter escorts, and more as you unlock your civilization’s true potential.

This update also scatters valuable extreme worlds across the galaxy, which require advanced technologies to even land on. The keys to these rich new frontiers join the many existing paths on the sprawling Galactic Civilizations III tech tree – choosing between new worlds, advanced deflector shields for your starships, diplomatic gambits to sway the United Planets, or starbase facilities to broadcast your culture ever deeper into rival empires is difficult, but such is the lot of any space emperor.

Galactic Civilizations III gives players far more detail in the textures, models, and overall look of everything from the planets they colonize to the fleets they command. New interstellar terrain elements on the hex-based map like black holes and mysterious Precursor relics change the way players explore the galaxy. A completely overhauled ship builder puts nearly every element of starship design in players’ hands, while the new resource system creates fresh opportunities to explore, expand, exploit, and exterminate.

Key Features:

• Incomparable scale: 64-bit architecture allows players to experience unprecedented graphical fidelity and variety, an entirely new level of scale, and opens the door for modders to add a virtually unlimited amount of content to the game.
• Completely redesigned ship builder: An overhauled ship builder puts nearly every element of starship design in players’ hands.
• All-new map features: Interstellar terrain from black holes to enigmatic Precursor relics change the way players explore the map and build their economies.
• Greater political intrigue. The all-new diplomacy system tests players’ cultural, ideological and diplomatic skills as they pursue the many non-military routes to victory.
• Multiplayer: For the first time, Galactic Civilizations players will be able to compete against each other via the Internet.

Galactic Civilizations III is available now through Steam Early Access for $49.99