Stellaris is the reigning king of space-faring grand strategy games, and it's no wonder as to why. With an entire galaxy waiting to be conquered, hundreds of unique ways to govern your civilization, and all the finer strategy details of Paradox's best titles, Stellaris has a ton to offer.
However, Stellaris relies heavily on DLCs to keep the game fresh and interesting. Many DLCs, such as the old-school packages of Utopia and Federations, are considered by many to be essential to the core game experience. With dozens of content DLCs and 'Species Packs' to purchase, this has become something of a barrier to entry for new players. That's where the Stellaris: Expansion Subscription pack comes in.
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What is a Stellaris: Expansion Subscription?
Instead of purchasing each DLC individually for Stellaris, the Stellaris: Expansion Subscription pack grants you access to all DLC content packs for the monthly subscription price of $9.99. To many players, especially newbies, this is a juicy deal. It's especially good if you've only time to play Stellaris sporadically, and you'd rather not pump $100+ into DLCs when, realistically, you only have time to binge the game during your holidays.
That said, other players have harshly criticized the Stellaris: Expansion Subscription model, fearful that, eventually, the subscription plan may entirely replace our ability to purchase and own DLC content altogether.
The following Reddit comment has been trimmed and edited for clarity:
Companies rarely keep a 'buy content' and 'subscription model' simultaneously over time. It’s almost always a transitional phase to the other. Subscription tends to be higher margins so that is how it usually goes. And they rarely state plans for a transition up front.
Companies that move into subscription models are also more likely to transition to micro-transactions and pay-to-win models. Most gamers are sort of fed up with the end stage they fear happening here.
-ACam574 (Reddit user)
At any rate, the Stellaris: Expansion Subscription pack currently stands at an 85% positive review score on Steam, suggesting that, for those who feel they need it, folks are pretty satisfied with the package.
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What is Included in the Stellaris: Expansion Subscription?
The Stellaris: Expansion Subscription offers full access to all existing DLC content packs for Stellaris, including:
- All expansion packs
- All story and narrative packs
- All cosmetic species packs
It's also pertinent to note that the Stellaris: Expansion Subscription also promises full access to all new DLC content drops for Stellaris in the future. This is a promise that is very rarely broken by developers for fear of severe backlash from fans, however, without pointing fingers or naming names, some shadier developers have been known to bend the definition of 'DLC' such that a new paid update is not included in such a subscription. What's the likelihood of Paradox pulling such a stunt? Almost nil, but it does bear mentioning nonetheless.
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