Stellaris' empire-focused Overlord expansion gets May release day

Sci-fi grand strategy game Stellaris' new Overlord expansion has been given a release date and will be making its way to PC on 12th May, arriving alongside a free update for all players.

Overlord is Stellaris' sixth major expansion (following on from Nemesis, Federations, MegaCorp, Apocalypse, and Utopia), and brings a range of new options for players as they spread their influence among the stars, this time loosely focussed on empire management.

There are, for instance, new vassalisation mechanics, enabling players to negotiate or demand the terms of their agreements with their new vassals, or even define the specialist role they'll play in an empire - either focusing on military might, tech research, or economic acquisition.

Overlord also brings three new enclaves players can take advantage of, either through mutual agreement or by force. The Salvagers, for instance, are a friendly group of scrappers and mechanics, while the Shroudwalkers are a monastic enclave focused on learning the mysteries of the Shroud. And then there are Mercenary enclaves, which can be founded by regular empires rather than, as is the case with the other two, being discovered randomly in space.

Elsewhere, there are five new origin stories for players to choose from as they establish their empire, four new music tracks, plus three new Megastructures: the Orbital Ring, Quantum Catapult, and Hyper Relay.

The Orbital Ring can be built around habitable worlds to gain extra starbase capacity or to improve planetary economy, while the Quantum Catapult is capable of sending fleets on a one-way trip across the galaxy, ignoring closed borders and hostile empires. Finally, there's the Hyper Relay, used to quickly transfer fleets and resources across an empire.

All this arrives on 12th May as part of Stellaris' Overlord expansion, and will cost £15.49/€19.99/$19.99 USD. The paid DLC will be accompanied by a free update, known as Cepheus, for all players, bringing various fixes and improvements, alongside a selection of new features, including the negotiation system helping drive Overlord's new vassal options.

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