Available for PC via the Epic Games Store since 2022, Sins of a Solar Empire 2 features three factions – Trader Emergency Coalition, the Vasari Empire and the Advent Unity, each with different units, starting conditions and Empire Systems. For example, Advent can “harness the collective will” of its pops to unlock the “full potential of the Unity’s global abilities.”

Meanwhile, the TEC can adjust allocations of traded resources, dramatically shifting their economy. The Vasari collect Phase Resonance from “strategically placed structures” for customizing “global phase mastery effects.”

Other new features include a new Influence system for allying with minor factions, an in-game browser for mods, planetary maps that dynamically change when orbiting them, 10-player multiplayer matches and much more. Stay tuned for more details on the Steam version in the coming months.

Developed by Stardock Entertainment, Galactic Civilizations 3 takes players into the far reaches of space, where you get to meet a ton of new species at different colonies whom you can choose to either befriend or antagonize using dialogue options. Combat is a highly strategic affair, and works much the same way as games like FTL: Faster Than Light. The game released all the way back in 2014 and currently stands at an aggregate rating of 81 on Metacritic.

The Epic Games Store gave out 15 games during the Holiday season last month, including games like Control, Shenmue 3, the entirety of the Crystal Dynamics Tomb Raider trilogy, and others.