As the all-powerful leader of a spacefaring civilization, players will seek out new star systems and discover the exciting potential of the subspace realm. With over a dozen starting civilizations to choose from – plus the ability to create unique custom civilizations from scratch - the possibilities for each playthrough are endless, leaving players with a truly unique experience every time they start up a new game.

For nearly 30 years, the Galactic Civilizations series has focused on four main pillars: a simulated universe, strong AI opponents, rich lore, and multiple paths to victory. Galactic Civilizations IV supports this approach through several new features. Galactic Civilizations IV aims to vastly increase the game’s scope and depth by introducing AI characters, star sectors, ministers, central control, a much bigger technology tree, and more.

Multi-sector maps add a new depth to the scope of Galactic Civilizations IV. While players will still be able to play a smaller map, the ability to span an adventure across an enormous map with multiple sectors gives a true feeling of galactic conquest and exploration. Each sector is connected by subspace streams that will allow the player to travel between them.

While the idea of citizens was introduced in Galactic Civilizations III, their role was not as distinct as it is now. Citizens have individual approval ratings and keeping them happy is important – a disloyal and unhappy governor might just take their planet and corresponding colonies with them and start a new empire if the player isn’t careful. The story of the game changes depending on which characters are recruited and how their various backstories manifest throughout.

Galactic Civilizations IV is receiving a major overhaul of core game mechanics, map generation and computer opponents in Galactic Civilizations IV v3.0 Hyperlane Update which releases on June 12, 2025, free for all players.

To celebrate the announcement, Stardock has put the entire franchise on sale this week as well as provided updates to the previous editions in the series. 

For Galactic Civilizations IV v3.0 Hyperlane Update, players can look forward to:

• Hyperlanes.  One of the defining features of the game is the free-form movement of ships on the map.  Galactic Civilizations IV keeps the freeform movement but also now generates maps where groups of stars are connected by hyperlanes that drastically increase unit speed between stars.

"The Galactic Civilizations games have always stood out because players can take their fleets and move them freely on the map.  However, players have requested having map generation where groups of stars are very distant from each other within a given sector," said Brad Wardell, CEO of Stardock Entertainment. "The challenge there is that players also don't want to spend dozens of turns moving through the void of deep space, Hyperlanes let us have it both ways."

• Fleet Supply.  To decrease micromanagement as well as make starship quality more distinct, the game now adds the concept of a civilization-wide fleet supply limit which can be increased by technology, events and other mechanics.

"The goal here is to make the path to victory not be dependent on who can put together the largest blob of units.  While mass fleet sizes are still possible, players have to earn that by making that part of their strategy as opposed to it being the default and only path," said Wardell.

• User Experience Revamp. While not a specific feature, Version 3.0 includes hundreds of small updates and improvements across the board.  From new, higher resolution textures for ships to balance improvements to the new Civilization data screens which let players get insights into their civilizations.  

"Over the past year we've received thousands of requests and suggestions from the fanbase.  The Hyperlane Update was our opportunity to integrate as many of these as we could into a single huge update," said Wardell.

The Hyperlane Update  is now available as a Preview build on Steam with the final release scheduled for early June.

Galactic Achievements solve the age-old problem of a player seeing a clear trajectory to victory that is locked behind another couple hours of gameplay. Historically, many players quit at this point and don’t bother finishing their game because they “know they are going to win,” but it’s hardly a satisfactory victory. With this new feature, players can take on a challenge to earn “prestige points” that will go toward a total necessary for them to win the game. This cuts down on the “grind” of late game and allows a story to come to a much more interesting conclusion.
The concept of the Core Worlds system was introduced to reduce micromanagement. Previously, players would have to manage each world they conquered individually. When a player colonizes a subpar world, it will feed into a core world that the player has already established. With this system, players will directly oversee a lower number of worlds, but still receive the benefits of colonizing and conquering as many as possible.

To further support a unique experience for every game of Galactic Civilizations IV, players will now be able to set and update policies and issue executive orders during gameplay. Policies allow a player to shift priorities as they play by choosing between different buffs and focuses, while executive orders allow the player to spend a new resource called control to do things like print money or draft colonies.

There are many other features that comprise the Galactic Civilizations IV experience, including several new additions for helping newer players. An in-game tutorial and advisors that offer strategic and tactical advice make getting started easier than ever before. Many old and beloved features from previous games – including the ship designer and civilization creator – are also included.

Key Features:

• Explore the galaxy. Seek out new star systems and discover the exciting potential of the subspace realm.
• Meet new civilizations. The universe is teeming with civilizations both advanced and primitive. Set opponents' difficulty and technological advancement.
• Colonize new worlds. Thousands of worlds to colonize, most awful but all colonizable…if you dare.
• Discover new technologies. Invent new technologies, some are easier than others for your species to grasp.
• Recruit and mentor citizens. Each citizen is unique with their own strengths and weaknesses.
• Shape your government. Determine which citizens to place in positions of power and what planets you wish to see governed while taking care not to be defeated in a coup.
• Choose your destiny. Choose the type of civilization you want to be through your actions and choices.
• Adventure awaits you. The galaxy has a rich, ancient history that you will discover through missions and events.

Galactic Civilizations IV is available for PC (Steam, Epic Games Store, or at galciv4.com)