Have you been craving an immersive sci-fi strategy experience to play on your PC lately? Have you heard about Stellaris and how it lets you explore and rule over a galaxy full of wonders, but don‘t know if you want to pay full price to try it out? Well fortunately right now there is an easy way to add Stellaris to your game library entirely for free if you act fast.
Keep reading to learn how you can claim your free copy of this stellar space strategy game while the offer lasts!
An Epic Sci-Fi Strategy Sandbox Awaits
For the uninitiated, Stellaris is a critically acclaimed strategic space adventure developed by Paradox Development Studio and published by Paradox Interactive. It builds on Paradox’s pedigree of making deep grand strategy experiences like Europa Universalis and Crusader Kings, but transplants that strategic sandbox gameplay into a science fiction setting.
The game drops you at the helm of your very own interstellar empire as you journey through a procedurally generated galaxy teeming with wonders. You’ll explore mysterious star systems, encounter complex alien civilizations, build up planetary outposts, research futuristic techs, and expand your galactic borders. Along the way you’ll have to engage in space diplomacy and politics, combat hostile threats through ship designer combat or planet invasions, and uncover long lost secrets that may save or doom your civilization.
With so many possibilities across randomly generated galaxies, no two playthroughs ever play out quite the same. The strategic depth and variability together provide nearly endless replay value. Everything from tailored empire creation using ethics, government types, species traits and more to randomized galaxy layouts makes each new campaign unique.
Dedicated players can easily spend hundreds of hours ruling their space empire across the stars. Adding new DLC expansions like Utopia or Megacorp builds on that runtime even further. If this kind of open-ended strategic sandbox appeals to you, then getting access to Stellaris for free is an amazing opportunity!
Claim Your Free Copy of Stellaris Now!
So you may be wondering, how exactly can you get your hands on Stellaris for free in 2024? Well right now, Amazon Prime members can claim and permanently own the base version of Stellaris on PC at no additional cost.
This is possible through Amazon’s Prime Gaming subscription service. As long as you have an active Prime membership, you can currently grab the full Stellaris base game on Windows PC to own and play forever. Here are the simple steps to secure your free copy:
Head to the Prime Gaming website and make sure you’re logged into your Amazon account with Prime. If you don’t have a membership, signing up for a free 30-day Prime trial will work.
Go to the Stellaris Prime Gaming page.
Click the prominent yellow “Claim Now” button to add Stellaris to your Prime account.
If prompted, link your GOG account to Prime Gaming and complete the claiming process.
You will receive a GOG game key to redeem Stellaris through their Galaxy client. And voila, it’s added to your library permanently!
This promotion is only available until October 1st, 2022. So be sure to quickly take advantage of this giveaway while you still can! Having Amazon Prime handle the licensing means you get to enjoy the full Stellaris experience without spending a single cent. Now let’s get you primed and ready to conquer the galaxy!
What Do You Actually Get for Free?
When claimed through Amazon Prime Gaming, you gain free access to the base version of Stellaris on PC. This includes the main game as it existed when originally launched in 2016, before any DLC.
Here’s an overview of key features and content included in the base free version:
Procedurally Generated Galaxies – Explore new worlds and systems each game.
Pre-Made Empires – Guide iconic civilizations like Humans, Asari, UN, Romulans.
Custom Empire Creator – Craft your own unique species and government.
Tech Tree – Unlock upgrades like Warp Drive, Cruisers, Frontier Outposts.
Tradition Trees – Adopt playstyles like Discovery, Domination, or Harmony.
Fleet Manager – Design and upgrade military ships.
Planet Management – Develop colonies through sectors, buildings, pops.
Research Components – Physics, Society and Engineering branches.
Anomalies & Relics – Investigate space oddities and ruins for boons.
Leaders System – Recruit leaders like scientists, admirals and governors.
Diplomacy System – Negotiate and make deals with other empires.
Endgame Crises – Survive invasions like the Prethoryn Scourge.
This amounts to hundreds of hours of varied, replayable space strategy gameplay even before buying any DLC expansions. And with this Amazon Prime offer you gain access to all of it for $0 extra over your standard Prime membership!
Ideal For Both New and Veteran Players
A game as expansive as Stellaris can seem intimidating for new players to dive into. But thanks to excellent tutorials and accessible UI, the base game does a great job easing you into the experience. Popup tooltips, in-game wiki and advisor guidance help onboard newcomers step-by-step rather than overwhelming with info dumps.
Starting with a pre-made empire like good old humanity also lets you learn the ropes before designing your own custom alien civilization. And the included endgame Crisis events add clear late game goals to work towards instead of aimless sandbox sprawl in the endgame. Even just one playthrough following objectives will teach you the essentials from colonization to research, ship design and diplomacy.
But more experienced strategy fans will also find something to love with the free base version of Stellaris. The classic “easy to learn, hard to master” depth Paradox is known for remains strong here. Min-maxing your planets, optimizing tech choices, managing factions to avoid revolts, navigating galactic politics and timing wars well takes skill.
And the base game still allows for wide customization of your playstyle using ethos like Materialist vs Spiritualist, Xenophile vs Xenophobe, Militarist vs Pacifist combinations and more. With robust difficulty options and the randomness inherent in procedurally generated campaigns, veterans have plenty of room for mastery and optimization even without DLC additions.
Invaluable Community Resources for New Captains
Delving into a massive 4X strategy sandbox like Stellaris can certainly feel daunting for newcomers. Luckily, the game has a very supportive online community that has cultivated amazing resources to smooth out the early game learning curve with the help you need. Here are some of the most useful wiki guides, videos, forums and tools any new Stellaris player should bookmark:
Official Stellaris Wiki – If you’re ever confused about a mechanic, this dedicated wiki has pages explaining every system and concept in great detail.
Civilization Tier List for 2022 – This Steam guide ranks all the pre-made empires so you can choose one that fits your playstyle and skill level.
Stellaris For Beginners – Excellent beginner-friendly video guide series by ASpec on YouTube with tips for your first game.
Stefan Anon’s Ultimate Tierlist – A renowned player’s rankings of the strongest ethics/civic combos for guidance.
/r/Stellaris subreddit – The game’s official Reddit community. Ask questions to get helpful answers from veterans.
Stellaris Mod Manager – Essential tool for finding, installing and managing mods smoothly.
Having these resources at your fingertips will amplify enjoyment of your first expeditions into the stars. And thanks to Stellaris’ passionate community, they are all available entirely for free just like the base game itself.
Recommended Expansions Once You‘re Hooked
The fully featured base version of Stellaris available for free through Amazon Prime provides hundreds of hours of outstanding sci-fi strategy gameplay on its own. But once you’ve fallen in love with the game and start craving even more, the well-received paid expansion DLCs add incredible value and depth.
Here are some of the most popular and game-changing add-ons to grab during sales if you want to take Stellaris to the next level:
Utopia – Megastructures, advanced governments, planet killers and more. A must-have.
Distant Stars – Unlock the mysterious L-Cluster region hiding surprises.
Leviathans – Face off against powerful space creatures guarding prizes.
Synthetic Dawn – Adds playable machine empires ala The Terminator.
Ancient Relics – Uncover lost relics and archeology surprises expanding lore.
Federations – Deepens cooperation through galactic leagues, research pacts and more.
Snagging any of these during frequent Steam sales or sites like Fanatical will let you extend and enhance your Stellaris experience once you’ve settled into the basics. Trying before you buy by claiming the base game first from Amazon helps decide which DLCs appeal most to your playstyle.
More Free Alternatives If You Miss This Giveaway
Act fast and you can score Stellaris totally free if you have an active Amazon Prime membership. But if you aren’t able to claim it through Prime Gaming for any reason, don’t fret! Here are a few other free alternatives to satiate your sci-fi strategy cravings in the meantime:
Star Traders: Frontiers – Acclaimed mobile RPG take on space exploration, great for beginners.
Starborne – Free-to-play MMO RTS currently in Early Access with empire building.
Uncharted Territory: Star Control – Classic open source space adventure game inspired by Star Control 2.
Starcom: Nexus – Community-supported open source clone of classic space RTS Star Control.
While none match Stellaris’ depth and polish, these free games capture aspects of exploring and ruling over space frontiers. giving them a shot will help pass the time until the next Stellaris free promotion comes along.
But if you do have Amazon Prime, you’d be doing yourself a disservice not to take advantage of this limited time offer!
Final Verdict: Well Worth Playing for Free
At the end of the day, Stellaris remains one of the most acclaimed sci-fi strategy games in recent years for good reason. The dynamic procedurally generated campaigns, deep empire customization, compelling exploration and endlessly entertaining mix of space diplomacy, politics and warfare create an experience quite unlike any other strategy title.
Normally this amounts of content and quality would cost around $40 to purchase. But for a limited time thanks to Amazon Prime Gaming, you can dive into this stellar sandbox and live out all your galactic emperor dreams completely free of charge.
Claiming your base copy before October 1st, 2022 means you’ll have hundreds of hours of strategy entertainment at your fingertips for the princely sum of $0. So if you have any interest in space adventures, 4X gameplay, or grand strategy in general, be sure to grab this giveaway before it warps away. Stellaris awaits you, captain!