Stellaris Expansion Subscription FAQ

[MrFreake_PDX]

Hello everyone!

We've gathered up some of the most frequently asked questions from the launch of the Stellaris Expansion Subscription.

1. Will I lose access to my existing content purchases?
   No. All existing purchases will remain, and you will not have to sign up to the subscription service to maintain your access to your previously purchased content.
2. Will future content be subscription-only?
   No! Our main model will remain focused around expansions and other content, as we have done so far. We have introduced a subscription service to lower the barrier to entry for new players.
3. Who asked for this?
   We are experimenting with this additional option to provide players access to the full Stellaris experience. We are simply offering another choice, as we understand that many players would be interested in trying Stellaris with all the content without having to commit to purchasing all the existing content.
4. Why did you not just create content bundles?
   We already have bundles available that we have designed with the help of our community. We are happy with the currently available offerings, but may look into this again in the future.
5. If I play multiplayer with the subscription, does everyone else in my lobby still get to use my content for that game?
   Yes! Subscription ownership of the content comes with all the features that a regular purchase does. You can share the content from the subscription in multiplayer with your friends that only have the base-game.
6. Are there any plans to expand the subscription service to other stores/platforms?
   No current plans at this time, but something on our radar long-term.
7. Does the subscription model signal the end of development on Stellaris?
   We currently have several years of Stellaris development planned.
8. Will individual content still be available for sale?
   Yes! Stellaris content will continue to be available to purchased individually, as it always has been.
9. Why isn’t there a discounted price for the subscription for players who already own some/all of the content?
   The Stellaris subscription is geared towards allowing new players more avenues into the full Stellaris experience. As such, we attempted to keep the initial public offering as simple as possible. We may look at expanding our offerings in the future, however.
10. Why can't I buy Stellaris content while my subscription is active?
    When you have an ongoing subscription, you are technically considered to have the content in your library. As such, stores will stop you from purchasing a DLC for the same account twice (since the DLC is already in your library). Once the subscription expires, you can again go back to purchasing content normally.
    [Updated: 2024-10-17] You can now buy expansions while you have your subscription active, however you still cannot purchase dynamic Steam bundles when your subscription is active.

We hope this provides more clarity into our process and alleviates some of the concerns of the Community with regards to the Expansion Subscription. If you have further questions, feel free to ask them in the thread below and we will do our best to provide answers!

If you want to read the announcement Dev Diary, you can find it here.

Thanks,
The Stellaris Team

 

[Eladrin]

One question i have is, can i additionally subscribe despite owning every last piece of content of Stellaris just so you get more money for the development?

So this is going to sound a little weird, but while technically there's nothing stopping you from doing so, ethically I'd feel a bit off about you giving us money for nothing in return. I'd be more comfortable with you getting a gift copy of the base game for a friend and paying for their subscription, since then there's some value in it for both of you. (But yes, you can.)

So You want "new players" to either buy all DLCs or buy none? Since purchasing at least one of them will make subscriotion cost unfair to players.

I mostly want new players to be playing and enjoying the game, to be honest. It's their choice if they want to play just the base game, purchase individual (or all) DLCs, or use the subscription model. They could also use the subscription for one month to try out the entire DLC catalog and help figure out which ones they want to buy. Whatever they want.

If you're asking about the purely business view, ideally I want them buying the Ultimate Bundle. That's a big ask for a new player though, which is one of the reasons we've been asked so many times to copy the subscription option over to Stellaris.