Games like Stellaris, from deep PC 4X to free browser picks

Stellaris is a hard act to follow. It is one of the deepest space strategy games ever made, and people who love it tend to want one specific thing when they search for an alternative. Some want the same galaxy-spanning sweep on another engine. Others want a free game they can play on a phone or against real people without scheduling a five-hour session. The eleven games below cover those cases, with platforms and prices for each.

What are the best games like Stellaris?#

For a deep space 4X on a PC, Endless Space 2 and Galactic Civilizations IV are the turn-based picks, and Distant Worlds 2 is the one to try if you like Stellaris's pausable real time. For free, FreeOrion is open source on desktop, and Old Light and Neptune's Pride run in a browser on a phone too. Nothing on a phone or in a tab matches Stellaris for sheer depth.

What Stellaris actually is#

Stellaris is a premium grand-strategy 4X from Paradox, released in 2016. You design a species, explore a procedural galaxy and research a sprawling tech tree while you manage pops and diplomacy, all in real time with pause. It runs on Windows, macOS and Linux, a Console Edition followed on PlayStation and Xbox in 2019, and its full shape lives behind a long shelf of DLC.

That depth is the draw. If what you want is that exact density of simulation, you want Stellaris itself, and the list below is about the closest you can get from other directions.

The deep PC alternatives#

Endless Space 2#

Amplitude's turn-based 4X has eight civilizations, each with its own playstyle and story quest. Endless Space 2 also supports online play with up to eight players.

Platforms: Windows, macOS. Price: paid, with DLC. Released: 2017. Best for: a turn-based 4X with distinct factions and online play.

Galactic Civilizations IV#

Stardock's long-running series in its fourth entry. Galactic Civilizations IV is turn-based and leans on large maps and a big custom ship designer, and the Supernova edition expanded it in 2023. It has both single-player and multiplayer modes.

Platforms: Windows. Price: paid. Released: 2022, with Supernova in 2023. Best for: large galaxies and designing your own ships.

Distant Worlds 2#

The closest match to Stellaris's own clock. Distant Worlds 2 runs in pausable real time, and you can hand ship design, research and even war to the automation and approve or veto what it decides. The civilian economy runs itself and you steer it indirectly. It is single-player only.

Platforms: Windows. Price: paid. Released: 2022. Best for: players who want to hand parts of a large empire to automation.

Sins of a Solar Empire II#

A real-time strategy game with 4X layers, where you fight over planets across star systems with fleets you command directly. Sins of a Solar Empire II spent its early access on the Epic Games Store and reached Steam in August 2024. Multiplayer is part of the game.

Platforms: Windows. Price: paid. Released: 2024. Best for: players who want to command the space battles themselves.

Master of Orion: Conquer the Stars#

Wargaming published this 2016 reboot of the series that began with Master of Orion in 1993. Master of Orion: Conquer the Stars is turn-based, and Game Informer's review found it better suited to genre newcomers than to fans after a highly complex strategy game.

Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux. Price: paid. Released: 2016. Best for: a first space 4X.

Stars in Shadow#

Ashdar Games' turn-based 4X, whose look reviewers at Forbes and Kotaku Australia compared to Master of Orion. Stars in Shadow has seven playable factions, eight with the Legacies expansion, and turn-based fleet combat.

Platforms: Windows. Price: paid. Released: 2017. Best for: a classic 4X with turn-based fleet battles.

Free and mobile games like Stellaris#

FreeOrion#

The free option on desktop. FreeOrion is an open-source turn-based game of space empire and galactic conquest, and its stable releases are still numbered below 1.0.

Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux. Price: free and open source. Released: in development, latest stable release 0.5.1.2 in February 2026. Best for: a free space 4X on a PC.

Stellaris: Galaxy Command#

Paradox's own mobile spin-off launched worldwide on iOS and Android in 2020. Despite the name, Stellaris: Galaxy Command is an open-world strategy MMO built around your own space station and alliances with other players.

Platforms: iOS, Android. Price: free with in-app purchases. Released: 2020. Best for: the Stellaris setting on a phone.

Uciana#

A turn-based 4X built for phones by Birdshel. Uciana has procedurally generated galaxies, a research and production economy, and ship-to-ship combat where you fit out each ship's weapons and defences. It is a one-time purchase with no in-app purchases listed.

Platforms: Android, iOS. Price: paid, $0.99 on both stores. Released: 2017. Best for: a classic 4X on a phone.

Neptune's Pride#

Iron Helmet's browser game dates from 2010. Neptune's Pride runs in real time against other players, keeps going while you are logged out, and a game can last up to a month. Alliances and betrayal are a large part of it, and the sequel, Triton, added phone and tablet support.

Platforms: browser, including phones. Price: free, with paid premium features. Released: 2010. Best for: a match among friends that runs for weeks.

Old Light#

Old Light is a browser strategy game set in one persistent galaxy shared by every player, with NPC empires settled among the human ones. It is a lighter game than Stellaris. What carries over is a real galaxy map with public borders, fleets you send to defend or conquer, and rivals whose strength you learn by scouting with probes. Build timers keep running while the tab is closed, so you play in short visits over weeks. Nothing for sale makes an empire stronger.

Platforms: browser on desktop and phone. Price: free to play. Released: 2026. Best for: playing against real people without scheduling a session.

How they compare#

Simpler Stellaris alternatives#

Stellaris takes a while to learn. Before the galaxy opens up, a first game has you designing a species and balancing an economy of pops and planets. Master of Orion: Conquer the Stars is the PC pick reviewers pointed at newcomers to the genre. Old Light starts you on a single star system with a few buildings to queue, and expansion and war come in as your empire grows.

Games like Stellaris on mobile and Android#

Stellaris has no phone or Android version. Galaxy Command and Uciana are the app options. Old Light runs in the phone's browser, so on Android it opens in Chrome with no app to install, and you play on the same galaxy map as desktop players. The touch controls pan with one finger and zoom with a pinch, and a bottom bar switches between your star, your fleet movements and the galaxy map.

The multiplayer problem Stellaris never solved#

Stellaris has multiplayer, and anyone who has run a full game with friends knows the catch. A single match can take five or more hours in one sitting, with everyone online at the same time. A late-game galaxy can also desync or grind the host to a crawl. Setting that up more than once is its own project, so most people play Stellaris solo against the AI and leave multiplayer for rare occasions.

A persistent browser galaxy answers that differently. Players never have to be online together, so there is no session to schedule. The world runs on wall-clock time whether you are watching or not, so you take a turn when you have ten minutes and read what your rivals did while you were gone. Neptune's Pride does this one match at a time, and Old Light does it as a multiplayer space strategy game you play over months, in one galaxy that does not end. It is looser and slower than a synced Stellaris session, but for playing against real people over weeks it holds up far better.

A Stellaris veteran will find Old Light simple, and its galaxy is young next to a decade-old grand-strategy franchise. Combat runs at most two rounds and is resolved automatically, so fights turn on what you sent and where. If you land there, the beginner's guide gets you through your first days.

Which one to pick#

If you want one of the deepest space 4X games ever built and you have the machine and the evening for it, play Stellaris; nothing replaces it. For a turn-based 4X, try Endless Space 2 or Galactic Civilizations IV, and for pausable real time like Stellaris's own, Distant Worlds 2. For a free shared galaxy with real rivals in a browser tab, Old Light is built for that.

Common questions#

Is there a free game like Stellaris?#

FreeOrion is the free option on a desktop. It is open source and turn-based. In a browser, Old Light and Neptune's Pride are free, and both are played against other people.

Can you play games like Stellaris on mobile?#

Yes. Stellaris itself has no phone version, but Stellaris: Galaxy Command and Uciana are apps on iOS and Android, and browser games open on a phone with nothing to install. Old Light works by touch on a phone. On a Chromebook, Stellaris itself can be streamed through GeForce NOW; the other routes are in the best strategy games for Chromebook.

Which games like Stellaris have multiplayer?#

Endless Space 2 supports online games with up to eight players, and Galactic Civilizations IV and Sins of a Solar Empire II both have multiplayer. Distant Worlds 2 is single-player only. Neptune's Pride and Old Light are multiplayer by nature and do not need everyone online at once.

What is a good Stellaris alternative for beginners?#

On a PC, try Master of Orion: Conquer the Stars, which Game Informer judged better suited to genre newcomers than to fans of highly complex strategy. In a browser, Old Light starts you on a single star system and adds expansion and war as your empire grows.

Can you play Stellaris on Xbox or PlayStation?#

Yes. Stellaris: Console Edition came out on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in 2019, and a version optimized for Xbox Series X|S followed in 2021. None of the other games on this list is on console.

What is the closest browser game to Stellaris?#

Nothing in a browser matches its simulation depth. For the space-4X feel of expansion, readable borders and fleet warfare against real players, a persistent browser galaxy comes closest. Neptune's Pride dates from 2010, and Old Light is the newest.

Does Old Light have pay-to-win?#

No. Nothing for sale makes an empire stronger, so a fight comes down to the size and position of your fleets. That is no pay-for-power at all.