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Game
Game2015
Galactic Civilizations III
Developer Stardock Entertainment
Galactic Civilizations III is a 4X turn-based strategy video game developed by Stardock for Microsoft Windows. It is the sequel to 2006's Galactic Civilizations II: Dread Lords. The full version of the game was released in May 2015. The game's first expansion, titled Mercenaries, was released in February 2016. From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
169 reactions from 1 source (Steam reviews) · newest Oct 5, 2026 · last updated Oct 7, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
71
Fresh
120 positive · 49 negative
95% range 64–77%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 120 | 49 | 0 |
Steam's own rating
Mostly Positive
7,974 of 10,403 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What people are saying
Summary pending — the reactions are listed below.
Reactions
60 of 169 · most liked firstThe game is buggy as hell despite being what's supposed to be a turn based game. Just in the last few hours I've had one CTD, twice where the game effectively freezes where you're waiting for the AI to make their turn but it never happens, and a dialogue option that repeats and can't be exited from. I can't continue the campaign due to this bug: https://steamcommunity.com/app/226860/discussions/1/350542050095526329/ They claimed a fix was coming, but it's been 8 years since then. The game…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I like the consistency, the art, and the fact that is is turn-based. I am an old man (51), been playing mostly RTS games for most of my life. I am not big on fast-paced FPS stuff because I can never manage the controls (neither keyboard NOR controllers), most games do NOT have auto-targeting so I get frustrated and give up after 10 minutes tops. So, a game like Gal Civ (and others like Total Annihilation and Supreme Commander) work for me because I can take my time, make decisions, and let the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Been a long time MOO2 fan girl. I like the very close game play mechanics to MOO2, and the remake. I like the variety and the beauty of the procedural generated galaxy when you begin a new game. Truly an experience that you never seem to have duplicated which is very cool. The diversity of Races both Major and Minor are incredible. If you're a Civ 5 and up fan, then this science fiction option surely will take your empire managing fix to a new exciting level. I began the GAL CIV journey…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →After years of playing this gem i have found that every update has made the experience less and less enjoyable between nerf after nerf after nerf. First the synthetic race option got blown into oblivion by being forced to have population limits close to a third of the planets class. I can handle one nerf but then they ruined spy's, prior to a nerf the spy's were able to disable tiles much like they can now however if you disabled a planets capital it would be overpopulated instantly and begin…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I don't recommend this game at the moment mainly because it pisses me off. But since I've written a review, here it is: Though I want to like this game and sometimes recommend it there are a few things that I think could be better. So though this is a vaguely moderate review, don’t let my below negative points dissuade you from trying it if you like these type of turn based resource management games as it is still very engaging. I don’t have all the DLCs and I mostly don’t play any of the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This reminds me of Masters of Orion 2. With expansions ya have 1000s of hours of total sith-like galactic rule! Better than GalCiv4 !!! NO BS! #4 they changed way too much just get the expansions and bonus free community created stuff. A++++
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is an absolute blast! If you like civilization style games, this is an absolute must have! Positives: 1. Large variety of map sizes 2. Good number and variety of unit types/capabilities/powers 3. Diverse world set 4. Beautiful looking maps, starts, and cool looking units/structures 5. Easy to learn 6. Variety of ways to win/play 7. Fun and unique factions 8. Interesting lore of factions 9. Highly moddable 10. Hundreds of player made civilizations 11. Ability to…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I love this game, and I wish I could recommend it. But I can't. There are some serious issues with program stability. Whether its because you have too big of a map, you have too many computer opponents, you own too many ships, because you accumulated too many bonuses during a long campaign, or because that tiny map you designed has a lot of features, you are about as likely to crash the game as win it. Even going the safe rout and proceduraly generating a tiny map against only one opponent will…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Such a shame, since GalCiv 2 was actually good... This was already questionable on release. It did what a lot of sequels did. Take the base game of the previous installment without any of the awesome additions that DLC and updates added to it and act surprised when fans find it to be a shallow, hollow imitation of what came before. Then it followed the "Stellaris" school of game design. No, I don't mean a billion paid DLC. Instead, well, the base game, without any expanded content, is…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Galactic Civilizations III starts out fun and pulls you in for the first 10 hours but after that time, the age old 4x rule of "Just one more round." doesnt apply anymore. At that point you can see the shortcomings and the annoyances. It gets boring and very monotone. My rating 5/10, I can't recommend this game.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I've tried to like this game but I HATE it! Let's see, colonize a planet, invest resources into it, then it just gets ANNEXED out from under your control. Who thought that would be fun?!?
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I don't see myself continuing with this game. It's got a lot going for it, to be sure. And I enjoy it, I suppose. It isn't a bad game so I can't give it a bad review. Regardless of my game, inevitably some space monsters from beyond the galaxy show up, or pirates show up... nothing I do lets me play a peaceful race. It's just a matter of time until everyone declares war on you, or the game just magics up a space monster race to crawl inside your @$$ and throw a rave. Designing my society and…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game has removed all of the more interesting government and planetary management tools so that every single game I play feels like I'm being treated like a toddler. Tedious and slow compared to more complex games like Stellaris.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I lost this game with out any indication that i was going to lose, i was the second highest in most things and the highest in culture. But suddenly i have lost and all i can do is guess as to why as the game does not tell you who won and why. One minute everything is great the next minute game over and it wont even let me play on even though it has a play on button, it did not work. Terrible, Terrible way to end a game.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Very quickly becomes boring. I keep playing because I cant afford to buy another game. So I just try to make my own scenarios.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Too good. Look at my hours. That's the only metric on reviews that really counts. How long did the person play the game? That's all that matters when you're reading reviews. Forget all of the text you're reading and just look a the number of hours that the person writing was entertained. Even right now, stop reading and go scan the other reviews. If you see a lot of reviews with 100+ hours if's an F'ing good game. Pretty plain.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game was really highly talked about, and its incredibly fun, but it doesn't work in multiplayer. Its been a year since the last update and I'm sure it's just bug, but still something you need to know if you were planning on doing multiplayer.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I had this uninstalled in my library a while. Loved GC2. Installed it and then remembered why it was uninstalled years before. Crash after crash still, this many years later.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I will never play this game again nor will I purchase number 4. I find that no matter what level or game setting I use or faction there comes a point in the game where the at start attacking and their tech level is at least twice your level or they have 5 times the number of ships. I will admit the first version (I have on CD ) was at least winnable and fun to play.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →When this game first came out, it was barren, dry, and shallow. I personally waited 5 to 7 years before really getting into it. After getting all of the DLC and installing a few mods, I can say this is one of the best 4x Space Strategy games ever made, but it was a long road getting here. The game has plenty of depth now with the Intrigue, Crusade, and Retribution DLCs installed. The campaigns are mediocre - the sandbox mode is where the game truly shines. And this is important: the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I really like playing this game with a friend, unfortunately there are a lot of desincs in the mp games, so after turn 60-80 the game will be stuck in someones turn and you have to restart. Great game for singleplayer, but the desincs make it unplayable in mp :(
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I remember playing "Galactic Empire Builder" on my Commodore 64. This is the same thing, only with graphics and additional buttons to press.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Galactic Civilizations III is an expansive and deeply strategic 4X (explore, expand, exploit, and exterminate) space strategy game that invites players to build and manage an interstellar empire in a vast galaxy filled with opportunity and danger. Developed by Stardock, this game stands out for its intricate empire-building mechanics, rich customization options, and AI-driven diplomacy, making it a compelling choice for fans of turn-based strategy who crave both depth and complexity in their…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's ok, less polished than I expected. Also a lot of lists are too busy looking and hard to sort through. I'm not sure if I want to say "buggy" because it works, it's just rough in spots. I'd only recommend to people who play nothing but galciv games. Otherwise you might have more fun with the second one.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →a little tedious gameplay , graphics are behnd the times, but game is relaxing . I can be played off an on over time and becomes a nice outlet during school breaks.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I like this game. It's a slower paced Stellaris without the bajillion fleet power and 10,000 ships needed. It was easy to learn.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This used to be my chill the F****K out game. I think it is about to be again. Pretty smooth not a whole massive resource / tech sim to learn like taking on a new paradox game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game is pretty, and that's about the only God's damn praise I can give it. There's some things to enjoy but man does it feel like the devs just wants to shiv you repeatedly until you are bloody ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ pulp. I don't know what I did to make them hate me this much but this game honestly makes me never want to play another GalCiv game ever if all they are going to do is make me pay to have them take a massive ♥♥♥♥ on my head.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →No control button explanation, many planet micro-managment has been removed ,many ship designer UI has been removed, many setting has been removed.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Simply one of the best 4x games out there. Great depth and a lot of variety especially if you get the game with all its dlcs. The only drawback is the battles. If only the game had turn base battles in the style of master of orion 2 it would be perfect, but I guess one cannot have everything.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Absolute gem. Enough depth to make it challenging enough for those who find Stellaris overly complicated, UI is well paced and intuitive, the game provides hundreds if not thousands of hours of variety in game play. Highly recommend it, especially if you can get the base game and all DLCs on Steam sale.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's awesome! It's like Stellaris, but not as complicated. The game gets stuck sometimes on turns but a quick reload is fine. Save often. The AI is fun to play against and there are plenty of options and paths to victory,
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If your ship explores the map, when you go view the path it took, there are massive patches of non explored lands, sometimes explored but without the planet you know is there. When your territory expands it's domain, visibility doesn't always increase.. and it's been this way forever, yet they keep finding ways to charge more and more money, DLC's constantly, but never fixing the simplest of bugs. The original game, you could make super weird ships, with no engines bug massive sensors,…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It is like Master of Orion but worse... The diplomacy works well but the research is far too complicated and a lot of it and the graphics are from the 80's, at least when it comes to battles and the view of the galaxy... Play the latest Master of Orion instead...
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I sadly can't recommend this installment. I was a huge fan of the second game and have several thousand hours in it across more than 1 platform. But this 3rd installment never got all the features as the second. If i was looking at it alone, it would be good. But it isn't the best part of its own franchise and is also overshadowed by games like Stellaris. You should only get this if you really enjoy the world of GalCiv and want to play the campaigns.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Note that I played only the base game, and mostly on the 3 largest map scales as I really like the feeling of being on an enormous galaxy with hundreds of planets. So, did I enjoy the game ? Yes. But the reason I wouldn’t recommend it is that to me it feel like an unfinished beta rather than a full-game. Why ? - 1st, the difficulty ballance. The difference in difficulty between Gifted and above is so tremendous it feel honestly stupid. Gifted is supposed to be the « hard » difficulty, yet I…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I like the game but it is still bugged even after all these years. You should be able to decommission star bases and then get your administrator back. I closed down 20 of my 41-star bases and it still show on the galaxy screen that I have 41 bases rather then the 21 I should now have. Apart from the bugs this game is a very addictive, “1 more move and I will quit game but I never do”!!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A very good entry into the MoO/GalCiv/Stellaris space 4X genre, with some really neat experimental developments that are now standard parts of these games: the ship-building interface, some of the more slick-feeling UI elements. If you're interested in the history of these, this one was seminal - and still very worth playing through one time at least!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's the Civilization franchise in space. I would recommend this game if you love Civilization and want to play a space version without having to bother with a tutorial or any form of learning curve. Edit: There is a small learning curve on improvement placement; You may want to lookup a quick Youtube video on that, or just figure it out as you go like I did. :)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I have spent many hours playing this game. I will confess... i have never been able to finish a game. Mainly due to the immense galaxy sizes i choose to play on. The UI is nice. Graphics & sound design are moderate. game allows you to make your own ships. you could use the defaults or download various pre-built ships via the steam workshop (i tend to use pre-built Star Wars and Star Trek ship styles). The modding community is strong and health. Soooo many DLC's for this game. most of…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →One of the best Space 4X games I've ever played. Reminds me a lot of one of my all-time favorite space 4X games, Master of Orion.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Definitely satisfies the ADHD and possibly Autism kicks
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Classic 4X . In space. Conquer the galaxy! But be warned that this game features the "just one more turn" quirk that can bend time and 4 hours will pass in what seems to be 15 minutes. Each faction/race/civilization has a deep rich backstory and it's own design aesthetic to its ships. The ship and civilization design capabilities extend the game's playability. Recommended for fans of Sid Meiers' Civilization series.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →LOL, Don't play this game if you have a Job :) . Too fun to Stop Playing. I started with Ver. : II Dread Lords on DVD. Great for Anger Managers!!! :} The Nemmasis_Kind ? ... Are they " Really Kind ??? Time will tell , And Your actions will Echo ripples or Waves in the Galaxy. Friend or Foe ... Load the Game ! Lets GO! :) Yep.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Lot's of dumb UI and lacking QOL to make it easier to manage, or just less frustrating in a lot of ways.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game is good: Real review? STEAM. Steam sucks. Completely tries to control and manipulate the buyers or games and reviews given. I suggest we all start doing this, since STEAM needs to be exposed for the shilling $#%%s they are.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →`The game keeps crashing and hard locking my Steam Deck, so if you're wanting to play on that. despite what appears to be a perfectly playable experience upon loading, it is not "playable" (despite what the badge may claim). YMMV on another platform.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's not much of a strategy game since the only strategy available is "prepare for war". Want to build a peaceful empire? prepare for war. Want to build a warring empire? prepare for war.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →LOVE THIS FRANCISE. I HAVE PLAYED EVERYONE OF THEM. JUST GOT A LAPTOP AFTER A LONG STINT IN THE POOR HOUSE AND THIS IS THE FIRST GAME I GOT BACK INTO.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →every game different
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →So yeah, I tried giving this game a shot but. . .simply trying to figure out how to play it is a real pain. Nothing is clear, planets apparently have no defenses even if you build a bunch of stuff, ships apparently always loose to weaker tech civs, so yeah I really don't know what this game is even going for. The map system is a pain as well. All in all it's just a hot mess.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I like this game
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Second game after a few years. First game was meh. Second game had a fun moment or 2 but I dislike the overall mechanics and it just does not tick for me. (Anyway the game is so old that this review will not matter)
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I've graduated from G.C. 1 to 2 and now 3. I still haven't checked out G.C. 4 although I've purchased it. I like G.C. 3 but will share some cons as well as pros. If you like strategy, turn-based games that you can work on gradually over days, then the Galactic Civilizations series could be your thing. You start as one of a number of races exploring the galaxy-you can choose from many races each with their own strengths and weaknesses, or create a customized race. You can also modify your…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Gameplay Mechanics: 9/10 Narrative: 5/10 Graphics: 7/10 Sound and Music: 6/10 Replayability: 8/10 Innovation: 7/10 Galactic Civilizations III is a seriously underrated space 4X that nails the core loop of exploration, expansion, exploitation, and extermination. While the narrative doesn’t bring much to the table, the gameplay itself is so deep and customizable that you’ll hardly care. Gameplay mechanics are where this game really shines. You’ve got tight colony management, a tech tree that…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →overpriced, janky, and hostile to mods. people begged for hotseat multiplayer after #2 which I expect is forbidden in paradox games.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →produced by liars, thieves, and incompetence.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →a very replayable game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Buy everything all at once. Steam no longer discounts what you already have and you will be forced to buy all dlc one at a time. At least that's what they told me and I can only purchase as a gift
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I bought crusade dlc and it's pretty good but now my game freezes at the same spot(even after going back to old saves) and I can not progress.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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