Games like Stellaris

3.4average 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 rating3.4/5

Avg. playtime5h

Main genreStrategy

Released2012–2022

What these games share

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

Strategy5 of 5
Simulation3 of 5
Indie2 of 5

The picks

Ranked by player rating, Metacritic breaks ties.

1
ENDLESS Space® 2
Strategy
Population traits and political blocs driving event chains and laws — your species mix reshapes the empire every turn.
3.9/5Player ratingMC82View game
2
Galactic Civilizations III
StrategySimulationIndie
Ideology choices and diplomatic pressure steering sprawling tech paths and federations, not just who has the biggest fleet.
3.5/5Player ratingMC81View game
3
Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion
StrategyIndie
Logistics caps, lane chokepoints, and multi-front fleet micromanagement — star-by-star wars you pause to plan.
2.7/5Player ratingMC82View game
4
Distant Worlds 2
StrategySimulation
Pausable real-time empire management with automation you can toggle, from scouting to wars across a living galaxy.
View game
5
Terra Invicta
StrategySimulation
Councilors, orgs, and global politics in pausable time — rival factions racing for space while narratives spiral for decades.
View game