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Stellaris: Willpower launches November 23 and lets you win the galaxy by converting it

By PPRGaming · October 25, 2026

A huge glowing golden starbase with radiating arms hangs in a yellow nebula surrounded by planets and a fleet in Stellaris: Willpower
Image: Paradox Interactive (via Steam)

Stellaris is getting a victory you win with ideas instead of doomstacks. Paradox Interactive and co-developer Abrakam say Willpower, the next major Stellaris expansion, launches on PC on Monday, November 23. It’s $24.99 on its own, or included in the Season 10 Expansion Pass, and it’s up for pre-purchase on Steam now.

What’s in it: The big idea is that a fanatic Ethic can become an Ideology that crosses borders. You spread it using Starbases, Hyper Relays and Ideological Beacons, and foreign populations can adopt your values and form Fanatic Factions inside rival empires. It cuts both ways, though: if your Momentum slips, your own factions can revolt and demand you stay true to your beliefs.

  • Galactic Halls: A movable building that puts your Ideology on the map. Park it over a colony to boost output and reach, or push it to the frontier to carry your message into contested space. Every Ethic gets its own design.
  • Force of Will: A new Ambition, which is a new way to win. Convert the galaxy to your side and defeat all the Fallen Empires.
  • Ideological diplomacy: Other empires can adopt your doctrine, Federations can set an official belief, the Galactic Community can denounce rival ideologies, and spies can sow doubt or incite revolts. If all that fails, a new Casus Belli lets you impose your Ideology by war. As Paradox puts it, “It is still persuasion, only with more battleships.”
  • Three new Origins: Golden Generation (train future leaders at a Golden Academy), Lost Makers (a Machine Intelligence hunting for its creators, tied to one of the galaxy’s Precursors) and Great Mosaic (an extra Civic and no set story path).

There are also new Civics, events, ideological Paragons, an inquisitor shipset and city set, and a new advisor. Willpower ships alongside the free 4.6 “Corona Borealis” update with bug fixes. In Dev Diary #437, the team notes Lost Makers starts you with a negative Redundant Module trait that you can later restore, with a different outcome depending on your Precursor.

PPR take: A culture victory that actually feels like a crusade is a great fit for Stellaris, and “more battleships” as a diplomatic option is peak Paradox. We’ll be spreading space democracy on November 23.

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