Games like Stellaris

4.0average player rating•5 games

Stellaris’ pull is the pausable galaxy-sandbox: ethics, event chains, and diplomacy colliding to shape your empire’s arc. These five chase that long-arc strategy and emergent narrative from different angles.

Open in Discovery All “games like” lists

Games5

Avg. Metacritic82

Avg. player rating4.0/5

Main genreStrategy

Released2012–2026

What these games share

The genres these 5 picks have in common, straight from their store data.

Strategy5 of 5
Simulation3 of 5

The picks

Ranked by player rating, Metacritic breaks ties.

1
Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion
ActionIndieSimulation
Logistics caps, lane chokepoints, and multi-front fleet micromanagement — star-by-star wars you pause to plan.
4.7/5Player ratingMC82View game
2
ENDLESS Space® 2
Strategy
Population traits and political blocs driving event chains and laws — your species mix reshapes the empire every turn.
4.2/5Player ratingMC80View game
3
Terra Invicta
SimulationStrategy
Councilors, orgs, and global politics in pausable time — rival factions racing for space while narratives spiral for decades.
4.0/5Player ratingMC83View game
4
Galactic Civilizations III
Strategy
Ideology choices and diplomatic pressure steering sprawling tech paths and federations, not just who has the biggest fleet.
3.8/5Player ratingMC81View game
5
Distant Worlds 2
SimulationStrategy
Pausable real-time empire management with automation you can toggle, from scouting to wars across a living galaxy.
3.6/5Player ratingView game