The Game Census
Galactic Civilizations III cover art

Galactic Civilizations III

Stardock Entertainment · 2015-05-14

SteamGOGEpic Games StoreMicrosoft Store

Strategy

Modes: Single player, Multiplayer, Co-operative

Releases: May 14, 2015 (PC (Microsoft Windows))

Build a civilization that will stand the test of time in the largest space-based strategy game ever! Choose from dozens of unique races and make a name for yourself across the galaxy through diplomacy, espionage, technological advances, and more.

133
playing now
77%
positive of 10k reviews
Mostly Positive
steam rating
1,000,000–2,000,000
owners (SteamSpy est.)
78/100
critic score (2 outlets, IGDB)
71/100
IGDB user rating (18 ratings)
gold
deck/linux tier (ProtonDB)
$29.99
steam price (US)

133 players in-game as of 2026-08-30 17:00 UTC (census sample)

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.

Health check

Quietly active
  • · 133 players in-game at the last census sample.
  • · 47 reviews in the last 8 weeks (~6/week).
  • · Review velocity down 34% vs the prior 8 weeks.
  • · Top 7% of 5,933 Strategy games in the census by review count.
Estimated sales: 260k–623k copies

Review-multiple estimate from 10,389 total reviews — how this is computed.

Current store prices

GreenManGaming$7.92-74%
lowest across shops (ITAD)$23.89-20%
Microsoft Store$39.99

Deal snapshots via CheapShark, refreshed daily.

All-time low: $3.60 at GamersGate (2019-03-11) · bundled 6×via IsThereAnyDeal

12-month high $39.99 · on sale 98 of 99 observed days (census price snapshots)

Review momentum

PositiveNegative
959520182026Week of 2018-01-01: 19 positiveWeek of 2018-01-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2018-02-01: 15 positiveWeek of 2018-02-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2018-03-01: 12 positiveWeek of 2018-03-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2018-04-01: 56 positiveWeek of 2018-04-01: 21 negativeWeek of 2018-05-01: 22 positiveWeek of 2018-05-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2018-06-01: 31 positiveWeek of 2018-06-01: 13 negativeWeek of 2018-07-01: 25 positiveWeek of 2018-07-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2018-08-01: 25 positiveWeek of 2018-08-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2018-09-01: 14 positiveWeek of 2018-09-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2018-10-01: 59 positiveWeek of 2018-10-01: 19 negativeWeek of 2018-11-01: 60 positiveWeek of 2018-11-01: 18 negativeWeek of 2018-12-01: 36 positiveWeek of 2018-12-01: 14 negativeWeek of 2019-01-01: 43 positiveWeek of 2019-01-01: 17 negativeWeek of 2019-02-01: 48 positiveWeek of 2019-02-01: 17 negativeWeek of 2019-03-01: 48 positiveWeek of 2019-03-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2019-04-01: 24 positiveWeek of 2019-04-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2019-05-01: 33 positiveWeek of 2019-05-01: 13 negativeWeek of 2019-06-01: 45 positiveWeek of 2019-06-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2019-07-01: 39 positiveWeek of 2019-07-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2019-08-01: 70 positiveWeek of 2019-08-01: 31 negativeWeek of 2019-09-01: 48 positiveWeek of 2019-09-01: 22 negativeWeek of 2019-10-01: 33 positiveWeek of 2019-10-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2019-11-01: 95 positiveWeek of 2019-11-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2019-12-01: 78 positiveWeek of 2019-12-01: 14 negativeWeek of 2020-01-01: 56 positiveWeek of 2020-01-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2020-02-01: 43 positiveWeek of 2020-02-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2020-03-01: 39 positiveWeek of 2020-03-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2020-04-01: 49 positiveWeek of 2020-04-01: 18 negativeWeek of 2020-05-01: 71 positiveWeek of 2020-05-01: 18 negativeWeek of 2020-06-01: 58 positiveWeek of 2020-06-01: 13 negativeWeek of 2020-07-01: 46 positiveWeek of 2020-07-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2020-08-01: 28 positiveWeek of 2020-08-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2020-09-01: 39 positiveWeek of 2020-09-01: 14 negativeWeek of 2020-10-01: 24 positiveWeek of 2020-10-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2020-11-01: 30 positiveWeek of 2020-11-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2020-12-01: 39 positiveWeek of 2020-12-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2021-01-01: 39 positiveWeek of 2021-01-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2021-02-01: 32 positiveWeek of 2021-02-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2021-03-01: 28 positiveWeek of 2021-03-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2021-04-01: 16 positiveWeek of 2021-04-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2021-05-01: 15 positiveWeek of 2021-05-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2021-06-01: 29 positiveWeek of 2021-06-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2021-07-01: 20 positiveWeek of 2021-07-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2021-08-01: 23 positiveWeek of 2021-08-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2021-09-01: 26 positiveWeek of 2021-09-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2021-10-01: 18 positiveWeek of 2021-10-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2021-11-01: 16 positiveWeek of 2021-11-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2021-12-01: 13 positiveWeek of 2021-12-01: 14 negativeWeek of 2022-01-01: 24 positiveWeek of 2022-01-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2022-02-01: 17 positiveWeek of 2022-02-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2022-03-01: 12 positiveWeek of 2022-03-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2022-04-01: 13 positiveWeek of 2022-04-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2022-05-01: 7 positiveWeek of 2022-05-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2022-06-01: 11 positiveWeek of 2022-06-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2022-07-01: 16 positiveWeek of 2022-07-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2022-08-01: 9 positiveWeek of 2022-08-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2022-09-01: 5 positiveWeek of 2022-09-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2022-10-01: 9 positiveWeek of 2022-10-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2022-11-01: 15 positiveWeek of 2022-11-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2022-12-01: 19 positiveWeek of 2022-12-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2023-01-01: 15 positiveWeek of 2023-01-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2023-02-01: 15 positiveWeek of 2023-02-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2023-03-01: 17 positiveWeek of 2023-03-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2023-04-01: 8 positiveWeek of 2023-04-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2023-05-01: 14 positiveWeek of 2023-05-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2023-06-01: 3 positiveWeek of 2023-06-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2023-07-01: 9 positiveWeek of 2023-07-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2023-08-01: 11 positiveWeek of 2023-08-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2023-09-01: 12 positiveWeek of 2023-09-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2023-10-01: 9 positiveWeek of 2023-10-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2023-11-01: 9 positiveWeek of 2023-11-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2023-12-01: 10 positiveWeek of 2023-12-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2024-01-01: 7 positiveWeek of 2024-01-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2024-02-01: 4 positiveWeek of 2024-02-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2024-03-01: 6 positiveWeek of 2024-03-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2024-04-01: 5 positiveWeek of 2024-04-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2024-05-01: 3 positiveWeek of 2024-06-01: 3 positiveWeek of 2024-06-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2024-07-01: 8 positiveWeek of 2024-07-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2024-08-01: 5 positiveWeek of 2024-09-01: 2 positiveWeek of 2024-09-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2024-10-01: 8 positiveWeek of 2024-10-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2024-11-01: 5 positiveWeek of 2024-11-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2024-12-01: 5 positiveWeek of 2024-12-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2025-01-01: 4 positiveWeek of 2025-01-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2025-02-01: 4 positiveWeek of 2025-02-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-03-01: 6 positiveWeek of 2025-03-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2025-04-01: 3 positiveWeek of 2025-04-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2025-05-01: 4 positiveWeek of 2025-05-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2025-06-01: 6 positiveWeek of 2025-06-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2025-07-01: 10 positiveWeek of 2025-07-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2025-08-01: 10 positiveWeek of 2025-08-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2025-09-01: 4 positiveWeek of 2025-09-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2025-10-01: 9 positiveWeek of 2025-10-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2025-11-01: 6 positiveWeek of 2025-11-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2025-12-01: 8 positiveWeek of 2025-12-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2026-01-01: 8 positiveWeek of 2026-02-01: 6 positiveWeek of 2026-02-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2026-03-01: 4 positiveWeek of 2026-03-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2026-04-01: 3 positiveWeek of 2026-05-01: 2 positiveWeek of 2026-06-01: 4 positiveWeek of 2026-06-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2026-07-01: 3 positiveWeek of 2026-07-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2026-08-01: 3 positive
Weekly review counts (Steam review histogram). Positive above the line, negative below.

Players online

177702026-08-06 21:00 — 133 players2026-08-07 05:00 — 76 players2026-08-07 13:00 — 103 players2026-08-07 21:00 — 140 players2026-08-08 05:00 — 99 players2026-08-08 13:00 — 130 players2026-08-08 21:00 — 163 players2026-08-09 05:00 — 112 players2026-08-09 13:00 — 123 players2026-08-09 21:00 — 156 players2026-08-10 05:00 — 84 players2026-08-10 13:00 — 116 players2026-08-10 21:00 — 121 players2026-08-11 05:00 — 86 players2026-08-11 13:00 — 110 players2026-08-12 21:00 — 114 players2026-08-14 05:00 — 79 players2026-08-15 12:00 — 128 players2026-08-16 20:00 — 171 players2026-08-18 04:00 — 88 players2026-08-19 11:00 — 92 players2026-08-20 19:00 — 149 players2026-08-22 02:00 — 115 players2026-08-23 10:00 — 114 players2026-08-24 18:00 — 142 players2026-08-26 02:00 — 118 players2026-08-27 10:00 — 75 players2026-08-28 17:00 — 121 players2026-08-30 01:00 — 132 players2026-08-30 17:00 — 133 players
Concurrent players, hourly average, last 30 days (census samples).

Price history

$49.99$3.802015-01-012026-08-262015-01-01 — best price $44.992015-10-05 — best price $24.992016-02-04 — best price $39.992016-08-01 — best price $39.992017-01-30 — best price $39.992017-10-27 — best price $29.992018-05-24 — best price $13.602018-11-27 — best price $39.992019-05-21 — best price $29.992019-10-02 — best price $7.492020-01-10 — best price $21.962020-04-29 — best price $33.492020-07-12 — best price $33.492020-09-11 — best price $35.992020-10-23 — best price $35.992020-12-03 — best price $39.992021-01-24 — best price $39.992021-03-09 — best price $12.792021-05-01 — best price $39.992021-06-24 — best price $10.622021-09-14 — best price $18.362021-12-01 — best price $19.882022-02-18 — best price $11.242022-06-01 — best price $19.992022-10-06 — best price $12.792023-01-06 — best price $18.362023-05-05 — best price $10.242023-08-25 — best price $22.492023-12-01 — best price $22.492024-03-04 — best price $39.992024-05-20 — best price $39.992024-08-22 — best price $39.992024-12-06 — best price $22.492025-03-13 — best price $10.192025-06-18 — best price $10.192025-10-06 — best price $29.992026-01-03 — best price $29.992026-03-27 — best price $7.492026-07-01 — best price $22.462026-08-26 — best price $39.99
Lowest recorded price across tracked stores, per day (census snapshots).

Attention

4242026-05-27 — 6 pageviews2026-05-30 — 8 pageviews2026-06-02 — 6 pageviews2026-06-05 — 9 pageviews2026-06-08 — 14 pageviews2026-06-11 — 13 pageviews2026-06-14 — 10 pageviews2026-06-17 — 9 pageviews2026-06-20 — 20 pageviews2026-06-23 — 13 pageviews2026-06-26 — 9 pageviews2026-06-29 — 18 pageviews2026-07-02 — 11 pageviews2026-07-05 — 13 pageviews2026-07-08 — 12 pageviews2026-07-11 — 8 pageviews2026-07-14 — 14 pageviews2026-07-17 — 8 pageviews2026-07-20 — 15 pageviews2026-07-23 — 12 pageviews2026-07-26 — 12 pageviews2026-07-29 — 8 pageviews2026-08-01 — 12 pageviews2026-08-04 — 20 pageviews2026-08-07 — 16 pageviews2026-08-10 — 20 pageviews2026-08-13 — 12 pageviews2026-08-16 — 8 pageviews2026-08-19 — 15 pageviews2026-08-22 — 14 pageviews2026-08-24 — 8 pageviews
Daily Wikipedia pageviews (attention proxy, census-recorded).

Twitch viewers

002026-08-26 19:15 — 0 viewers2026-08-26 19:34 — 0 viewers2026-08-26 20:34 — 0 viewers2026-08-26 21:34 — 0 viewers2026-08-26 22:34 — 0 viewers2026-08-26 23:34 — 0 viewers2026-08-27 01:34 — 0 viewers2026-08-27 02:34 — 0 viewers2026-08-27 03:34 — 0 viewers2026-08-27 04:34 — 0 viewers2026-08-27 05:34 — 0 viewers2026-08-27 06:34 — 0 viewers2026-08-27 07:33 — 0 viewers2026-08-27 08:34 — 0 viewers2026-08-27 09:33 — 0 viewers
Hourly Twitch viewers (census snapshots).

Completion

60+
achievements tracked
78.1%
earned "Our New Home"
6.4%
median achievement earned by

Global achievement rates from Steam.

Details

WindowsSingle-playerMulti-playerPvPOnline PvPCo-opOnline Co-opSteam AchievementsSteam Trading CardsSteam WorkshopStats17 DLC

3 supported languages: English, French, German

Console footprint

PlatformPlayers trackedCompletionTrophies/achievements
Steam (Steam)10,0480%102
Windows (Xbox)3211%102

Players tracked by Exophase (achievement/trophy trackers) — a sample of the player base, not total sales.

Where its players are

Share of Steam reviews by language (top languages measured) — a proxy for where the player base lives.

Player tags

3D4XPvEPvPSpaceAliensSci-fiSandboxHex GridModdable

Census log

Computed from census-recorded observations only — dates are observation dates.

Players also track

Star Control®: OriginsImagine EarthUnclaimed WorldENDLESS Legend™RimWorldENDLESS Space™ 2Age of Wonders: Planetfall

Similarity via IGDB.

Discord ↗Official site ↗Wikipedia ↗