Galactic Civilizations III is a 4X space strategy game that 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. As an absolute ruler in Galactic Civilizations III, the choices you make shape your empire as it inevitably enters into cultural, trade, diplomatic, ideological, and military conflicts with your neighbors. Every empire has multiple paths of victory to pursue. Forging an empire so culturally influential that rival worlds defect to your cause is perfectly viable, so long as you can keep their dropships from landing on your core worlds through literal defenses or soft-power diplomatic maneuvers.

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.

Last year we released Heroes of Star Control: Origins, and it proved to be so successful that we're following it up with Villains of Star Control: Origins. The DLC arrives on August 27th and comes with 4 new playable races, each with their own unique abilities, ship styles, and theme music.

The Star Control: Origins multiverse is filled with beings of all shapes and sizes. Here is a preview of some of the darker species coming over to Galactic Civilizations III.

The Measured

The Measured are sentient coral. They once had a rich, thriving civilization before they were modified by the Scryve. The Measured are the Bureaucrats of the Scryve sector which makes them fit in with the gameplay of Galactic Civilizations III nicely. They not only get the Bureaucrat ability but receive a new one: Mitotic, which gives them free administrators when they colonize new worlds.

The Phamyst

The Phamyst are the galaxy's most polite cannibals. They find other beings generally intolerable. The galaxy is a messy place and they are just the ones to bring class and refinement to it.

The Xraki

The Xraki are considered fanatical monsters that came from another dimension by most. But things are not quite as they seem. The Xraki were once the shock troops of the Scryve Empire, who harvested them and modified them via the Scryve's exclusive access to the only known Origin in the galaxy (a device that allows its user to go into alternative universes).

The Scryve

The immortal Scryve were not always villains. The Scryve Empire was once full of idealism and hope. Time and events slowly corrupted them. Now, the once all-powerful Scryve Empire is slowly dying. They have controlled our part of the galaxy for so long that few species have been left untouched by them. The Scryve are unlike any villain from the Galactic Civilizations universe. Where the Drengin are brutal, violent and intolerant, the Scryve are civilized, thoughtful and methodical. The Scryve could best be described as a people who followed "the ends justify the means" one too many times.

The Scryve are masters at conquering and then holding. Not only do they have the Conquerors ability, they also receive the new Imperial ability which gives their ships a HP bonus in their territory based on the number of colonies whose zone of control are contiguous with their home planet.

Villains of Star Control: Origins will arrive for Steam, GOG, and Stardock on August 27th for $5.99. Not only does each new species have their own unique abilities, but they come with their own ship styles, which means lots of new ship parts to play with.

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.