For the first time ever, a Paradox Interactive grand strategy title will soon be available on consoles, with the company announcing Stellaris: Console Edition today at gamescom. This incursion to new platforms arrives once again through a partnership between Paradox and Tantalus Media, the studio that ported Cities: Skylines to consoles last year.
The space-based 4X grand strategy title has players exploring and spreading across a vast universe while encountering various alien races, with plenty of trading and warfare in between.
In regards to introducing the grand strategy genre to console players, Paradox Interactive"s game director Daniel Moregård said the following in a press release:
“Grand Strategy is often considered a niche genre even on the PC, but we believe that while a console audience exists, a game like Stellaris simply hasn’t made it to those platforms yet. With the help of Tantalus’ expertise, we’re happy to take that leap! Console players can look forward to the true Grand Strategy experience and continued DLC and support after launch with Stellaris: Console Edition.”
And speaking of DLC, the studio will be offering a deluxe edition alongside the standard edition that will give access to the "Plantoids Species Pack, Leviathans Story Pack, and the Utopia Expansion" once they arrive for the console edition. This is essentially a mini-season pass.
As for a release date, Paradox has attached a very firm "coming soon" to Stellaris: Console Edition for now, but gamescom attendees will be able to try it out this week.