As a passionate Stellaris player since launch with over 500 hours across multiple playthroughs, I often get asked – just how big is Stellaris nowadays with all the expansions and DLC added over the years?
It‘s a fair question. With 15 major DLC releases to date, Stellaris is now a huge, feature-rich 4X strategy experience – but this steady stream of new content can also be daunting for new players.
Not to worry! In this guide, I‘ll breakdown everything you need to know about the size and scope of Stellaris along with its DLCs – from download sizes, to pricing, to what‘s worth getting. Time to chart a course across the stars, commander.
At a Glance: Stellaris Base Game and DLC Details
Before we jump into the nitty-gritty details, here‘s a quick overview of Stellaris‘ core game and expansions:
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Base Game: Stellaris – Grand strategy space game focused on exploration, diplomacy and empire building.
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DLCs: 15 major DLCs comprising of both story packs and full expansions that add new features and content.
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Download Size: Around 12GB for base game, up to 20GB with all DLCs.
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Recommended DLCs: Utopia, Apocalypse, MegaCorp, and Federations.
Now let‘s get into the specifics on Stellaris‘ size and scope.
A Look at Stellaris‘ 15 Major DLCs
Since its launch in 2016, Stellaris has seen a regular cadence of paid DLC releases that have greatly expanded the game‘s options and replayability. Here‘s a breakdown of each major DLC pack:
Expansions
- Utopia (2017) – Adds megastructures, advanced governments, and ascendancy perks. A must-have.
- Apocalypse (2018) – Includes Titan ships, planet killers, and marauder empires.
- MegaCorp (2018) – Corporate empires, ecumenopolis planets, megastructures.
- Federations (2020) – Expands diplomacy, with federation types, galactic community.
- Nemesis (2021) – Become the crisis, gain menacing superweapons.
- Overlord (2022) – Subject empires, espionage, and becoming the Galactic Emperor.
Story Packs
- Leviathans (2016) – Encounters with space creatures guarding treasure.
- Synthetic Dawn (2017) – Play as a machine empire seeking AI rights.
- Distant Stars (2018) – Exploration-focused events and anomalies.
- Ancient Relics (2019) – Archeology system, relics with powerful boons.
Species Packs
- Plantoids (2016) – Plant-themed custom empires.
- Lithoids (2019) – Rock-based species that eat minerals.
- Necroids (2020) – Undead robotic empires.
- Aquatics (2021) – Aquatic species and ship types.
- Humanoids (2021) – More human avatar customization.
- Toxoids (2022) – Arthropod species pack.
As you can see, Stellaris offers a wealth of expansions that introduce major enhancements like ascension perks, megastructures, espionage and more. Meanwhile, story packs add immersive events and lore.
Download Size: How Big is Stellaris with All DLCs?
According to the Steam store page, Stellaris‘ download size is around 12GB. However, this can vary considerably depending on which DLCs are installed.
Here‘s a quick overview:
- Stellaris Base Game: 6.7GB
- Major Expansions: ~2GB each
- Story Packs: 500MB – 1GB each
- Species Packs: ~100MB each
With all current DLC installed, the total download size is approximately 18-20GB. However, the on-disk size is larger – around 30GB – due to unpacked content and save files.
For comparison, other popular space strategy games like Endless Space 2 (12GB) and Galactic Civilizations III (10GB) are smaller in scope than Stellaris with all its DLC.
Complete Editions: Getting Stellaris and All DLCs
For new players looking to dive into the full Stellaris experience, two bundled editions are available that include the base game and all major DLC:
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Stellaris: Ultimate Bundle – Contains the base game and all expansions/story packs up to Overlord (missing only the recent Toxoids DLC). This bundle frequently goes on sale for around $60-70.
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Stellaris: Complete Collection – The most complete edition, contains everything – the base game and all 15+ DLCs. Normally priced around $140, but drops to $100 or less during sales.
I highly recommend waiting for one of the major Steam sales where these bundles are discounted by 60% or more. This lets you pick up the complete Stellaris package at almost the price of a brand new game!
Are All the DLCs Worth Getting?
With so many expansions available, which ones are most essential? Let‘s take a look at which Stellaris DLCs add the most value:
Essential Expansions
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Utopia – This is the first expansion and a must-have, adding ascension perks, megastructures, advanced governments, and more.
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Apocalypse – Lets you build planet-killing Colossus ships and use powerful Titans. Greatly expands late game options.
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MegaCorp – Corporate empires and ecumenopolis planets inject a lot of flavor and new mechanics.
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Federations – Adds depth through galactic UN, federation types, and more diplomacy options.
Recommended Story Packs
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Distant Stars – Provides intriguing exploration events and anomalies to discover.
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Ancient Relics – Archaeology system and relics expand exploration satisfaction.
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Leviathans – Epic space creature battles reward you with powerful advantages.
Optional or Specific Playstyles
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Species Packs – Mostly cosmetic, get if you want more empire customization.
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Nemesis – Become the crisis, gain menacing weapons. Best for villainous playthroughs.
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Overlord – Subject empires and espionage enhance a domination-style game.
So in summary, I‘d say the 4 core expansions (Utopia, Apocalypse, MegaCorp, Federations) are essential for any Stellaris player. The story packs provide great added value too. The remaining DLCs are more niche or focus on cosmetics.
Conclusion – A Universe Waiting to be Explored
While substantial in size, I believe all of Stellaris‘ DLC is worth getting eventually to experience the full breadth of content and playstyles on offer. The expansions in particular add exciting new features and depth that enhance replayability.
For new commanders, I suggest starting with the Utopia expansion to get a feel for the game, then gradually building your collection during sales. With hundreds of hours of exploration awaiting you, the complete Stellaris package provides one of the deepest and most rewarding 4X strategy experiences around. Chart your course through the stars – your empire awaits!
