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Publisher Paradox Interactive has shared new details regarding the future of Stellaris: Console Edition, confirming that today’s quality of life patch 3.9.3 will be the final one coming to the strategy game on last-generation consoles. This decision was attributed to “certain hardware limitations” alongside a “significant drop” in player numbers on these platforms.
Since late 2024, Paradox has been working alongside Tantalus Entertainment on a Stellaris: Console Edition version that runs natively on current-gen consoles. Although its release date remains kept under wraps, the publisher noted that upgrading to this new version may not be free for existing owners.
Stellaris: Console Edition Last-Gen Final Patch and Current-Gen Version
“Our objective is for this new version of Stellaris on Console to be a free or deeply discounted product for Console Edition for players who have already been exploring the galaxy on Console with us,” reads a recent developer diary dedicated to Stellaris: Console Edition’s quality of life patch 3.9.3 and future plans.
“There are many factors in play and since we are technically ‘releasing a new title’, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to provide this as a solely free upgrade, and there may be a small cost associated with transferring over existing purchases. We will share details on just how this will work as we get closer to release and when we find out – right now, we simply don’t know.”
Stellaris: Console Edition’s current-gen version has to undergo a certification process that “is much more intensive,” but the publisher hopes to reveal its launch date later in 2025.
Once it’s live, it could “allow us – over time – to bring the Console Edition experience more in-line (but probably still not on-par) with the game experience on PC.”
“Unfortunately, this also means that this will be our final patch for Stellaris: Console Edition and players on last-generation Consoles,” the publisher continues.
“Stellaris has grown to the point where we can no longer reasonably expect last generation Consoles to be able to provide an enjoyable gaming experience for our players. As such, the decision was reluctantly made to stop development now while the game is still playable, and an enjoyable experience on last-gen Consoles.”
Stellaris: Console Edition’s quality of life patch 3.9.3 adds fast scroll to several UI elements, including leader and agenda lists, while also introducing five new achievements alongside four missing preset empires.
These changes are accompanied by a lengthy list of fixes. You can check out the full patch notes in the dev diary linked above.
Although it’s disappointing to see Stellaris: Console Edition’s last-gen support coming to an end, the prospect of having a current-gen version that potentially receives content at a more alert pace is bound to appeal to at least a part of its playerbase.
If you plan instead on making the jump to PC in the near future, Stellaris: Biogenesis is right around the corner, promising a whole array of features that let us live out our master geneticist fantasies.
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