A Sneak Peek At Utopia, The First Expansion For 'Stellaris'

An expansion for Paradox Development Studio’s Stellaris is currently in development. The “Utopia” expansion doesn’t have a release date yet, but the developers shared what you can expect in the pack.

Within your empire, you’ll be able to set “Right and Privileges” policies for your citizens. With these controls, you can create a system where all of your citizen have equal standing, or decide if some groups will have more freedom within your civilization than others. As your borders expand, more people will live under your influence. In order to provide more space for more inhabitants, you can construct Habitat Stations.

However, the main attraction for the expansion are the new Megastructures. These massive buildings will take a long time (and a massive amount of resources) to build, but once it’s finished, you can reap “spectacular pay-offs.” According to a developer diary, you can build four different Megastructures: the Ringworld, Dyson Sphere,  Science Nexus, and Sentry Array. Each structure provides some sort of benefit, such as additional habitable areas for the Ringworld; energy and science resources for the Dyson Sphere and Science Nexus, respectively; and a galaxy-wide sensor range with the Sentry Array.

The first step to building these Megastructures is researching enough advanced technology. In addition, you’ll have to choose an Ascension Perk, which is included with the expansion. According to Paradox, “You can choose between a biological path, a psionic path or a synthetic path, with various options within these broad categories. Body, Mind or Machine - how will your species challenge the future?” Once these requirements are met, you’ll have to choose a Construction Site, and depending on the Megastructure you choose, it can only be built in specific locations. The diary mentions that even setting up this foundation can take years to build.

Once a site is created, you will have to build the Megastructure in stages, all of which take even more time and resources to build. On top of that, other factions will be notified when you start creating the Megastructure, so you’ll have to prepare for potential enemy attacks.

In addition to the premium content coming with the Utopia expansion, Paradox mentioned that fans can expect some free updates as well. The developers will publish another diary next week that should provide more information as to what you can expect with Stellaris’ first major expansion.