From Press Release:
Stardock today announced Galactic Civilizations® IV: Federations & Empires, a new expansion that introduces interstellar governments to the studio’s space 4X strategy game. The expansion ships June 11, 2026 at $24.99, alongside a free version 4.0 update to the base game.
Federations & Empires adds four forms of government, and each one has its own interface, its own resources, and its own political mechanics. The government you pick changes how you play the game, not just in terms of buffs but as new game mechanics that enable new ways to win (or lose).
Four new governments in Federations & Empires:
- Oligarchy: three Councilors split power across Commerce, Industry, and Governance. Market forces drive the civilization, and the player works through investments, equities, and political favors.
- Technocracy: a continuous Optimization Grid replaces traditional policies. Run simulations to preview outcomes, then build optimizers and ship them out to your worlds to execute.
- Empire: Imperial Decrees scale with the size of your domain. Manage vassals, put down rebellions, and extract what you can from the periphery to feed the homeworld.
- Federation: a consensus-driven government with elections, a senate, and proposed laws. Players negotiate with member worlds to unlock shared bonuses that no single world could produce alone.
Politics driven by game state, not random rolls
Federations & Empires also introduces four Political Parties (Militarists, Traditionalists, Progressives and Industrialists) whose influence rises and falls based on what is happening in your empire. Elections, coups, popular revolutions, and secession crises are driven by game state, not random rolls. Mismanage an Empire long enough and you can face a popular revolt; let your military grow too strong during an unpopular war and find your own vassals building their own fleets to take you down.
“Each government type really does change how the player plays the game,” said Brad Wardell, Lead Designer of the expansion. “Each one has its own ships, resources, and improvements. What the expansion is really about is how a galaxy-spanning people would organize themselves and handle distance and cultural drift.”
Pricing & Availability
Galactic Civilizations IV: Federations & Empires will be available on Steam, Epic Games Store, and direct through Stardock for $24.99 on June 11, 2026. The free v4.0 base-game update releases simultaneously to all Galactic Civilizations IV owners on all platforms.
