Distant Worlds 2 on Steam - User reviews, Price & Information
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Distant Worlds 2 is a vast, pausable real-time 4X space strategy game.
Distant Worlds 2 is a strategy, simulation and 4x game
developed by CodeForce
and published by Slitherine Ltd..
Released on March 10th 2022 is available in English only on Windows.
It has received 3,237 reviews of which 2,304 were positive and 933 were negative resulting in a rating of 6.9 out of 10. 😐
The game is currently priced at 19.59€ on Steam with a 60% discount, but you can find it for 0.42€ on Gamivo.
The Steam community has classified Distant Worlds 2 into these genres:
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System requirements
These are the minimum specifications needed to play the game. For the best experience, we recommend that you verify them.
Windows
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS *: Windows 10 (64-bit only) and 11 (64-bit only) (The game will run on Windows 7 and 8, but these operating systems are not officially supported)
- Processor: 4+ Physical Core CPU @ 2.5GHz (e.g. Intel: Core i3-8100, Core i5-750, Core i7-920 / AMD: Athlon 64 FX-8100, Athlon II X4, Phenom X4, Phenom II X4, Ryzen 3 1200, Ryzen 5 1400, Ryzen 7 1700)
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Graphics: NVidia GTX 760-equivalent or better, 2+Gb VRAM, DirectX 11 compliant
- DirectX: Version 11
- Storage: 20 GB available space
- Sound Card: DirectX 11 compatible sound card
- Additional Notes: Screen Resolution: 1024x768 minimum but not ideal for best UI experience
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User reviews & Ratings
Explore reviews from Steam users sharing their experiences and what they love about the game.
This game has a definition problem. Many reviewers look at it and compare it to other strategy, 4X, or grand strategy games—but that would be incorrect. It’s like reviewing an FPS as if it were a medieval RPG; the comparison will never align. Distant Worlds 2 is trying to be a macro-management game—or a macro strategy game. But “trying” is the key word here. It’s not necessarily failing, but it’s not fully succeeding either. So what is this game trying to achieve? You know that problem where strategy and 4X games are really fun in the early to mid game, and then start to fall off? You end up with 10+ planets or cities to manage, a growing number of fleets or armies, and suddenly the game just isn’t built for its own late game. In my experience, that’s true for almost every strategy title—Stellaris, Civilization VI, Galactic Civilizations, X4: Foundations, and so on. Distant Worlds 2 is trying to solve that problem. Instead of focusing on micromanaging every detail, it gives you a more “administrative” view of your empire. However, it doesn’t do this perfectly. The game’s biggest issue is its lack of full commitment to this vision. It doesn’t fully embrace being a macro-management game. Many systems feel underdeveloped—more like in-between solutions than fully realized mechanics. That said, despite the issues—many of which are common in games this ambitious—it is still a very fun experience, and genuinely unique. I know “unique” is an overused word, so let me be specific: this game really does feel like nothing else. Here, you don’t micromanage your fleets. Instead, you assign them parameters: a base of operations, a target, a range, and an objective. The fleet then carries out tasks—attacking, raiding, invading—on its own. It’s a fantastic idea. The execution isn’t flawless (refuelling logic can be bizarre—fleets sometimes stop just short of a station and wait years for a tanker), but the concept is incredibly engaging. This isn’t a game about manually moving every fleet from system to system. It’s about building the infrastructure—supply lines, ship design, research, and economy—so that when you give an order, your empire actually functions on its own. The result is a truly unique experience. Unfortunately, it’s also very difficult to learn. There are few YouTubers covering the game, and the advice you do find is often contradictory. Some recommend full automation so you can observe and learn; others suggest minimizing automation to understand every system. For new players, I recommend the latter: set most systems to manual or advisor recommendations. The game will guide you just enough to learn without completely taking over. It will be challenging at first, but once you understand what’s happening, it’s not as difficult as it seems. It can be tedious at times—but it’s also deeply rewarding. And you get to automate the really tedious parts that just don't really make sense. This is a dream game for anyone who wants to build a galactic empire without the constant micromanagement of every building or ship. It still has shortcomings, but for fans of space and strategy, it’s absolutely worth picking up. Don’t be misled by negative reviews that completely misunderstand what this game is trying to be. If you are tired of typical strategy late game states and slowness, gives this game a shot, it might be a lot of fun for you too! Edit: I feel some negative aspects of the game should be addressed more specifically, as to give players and devs a better understanding of what I believe to be the weakest points of the game. Independent Colonies While the idea could be good, it is implemented terrible. The colonies are just there for you to take and then use the population to colonize other planets, specifically ones that the conquered species prefers. This is a fundamental mechanic. But I feel like it takes out a lot of the game. Interracial tensions? Policies? You just go and your happy little empire lives together with multiple species without problems? It seems a bit far fatched, and a not well implemented system, in my opinion. Wars Wars have war scores, but for what I have no idea. You can't properly use diplomacy to "win" or form a peace deal, where the loser gives certain colonies, etc. It only works if the colonies you want to take are already in your sphere of influence. The score system isn't useful in any matter, as far as I can tell. Subjugating someone is a joke. I got 93 credits per month from a vassal. And in neutral territory they still attacked me. There is no visible way to integrate them, ask them to go to war, defend them etc. The whole system is really disappointing and needs some huge improvements.
This game is frustrating because it's so close to greatness, but then fails completely in ways that seem reasonably easy to fix. The Good: The core principle of the game is really enticing. Every ship in your massive empire is a real thing you can look at. With it's own equipment, stats, cargo and potentially mission. This includes !freighters! actually moving resources across the universe, and those resources are actually needed to construct things. And much of this can be controled in great detail. This core of the simulation works great. But to make this work as a game it relies heavily on automation. There is simply *too much* to control for any reasonable player themselves. Making the game very reliant on it's automation. This also makes it more of a simulation than a strategy game in many ways. Which is not a bad thing! And one can, in theory, turn off and on automation on a whim for every aspect of the game. The bad: Automation takes a very all or nothing approach to things. Want to manually control some stockpile and leave the rest to the AI? Not possible. Want to manually control some fleet designs but let the AI update others? Not possible. Want to control positioning of some fleets in key areas while leaving the rest of a war to the AI? Not *really* possible. This wouldn't be so bad if the game wasn't cleary designed for the AI to handle things in larger games. It's unrealistic for a player to manually set stockpile levels in 1k+ locations. You probably don't want to manually control staging locations for 50+ fleets and constantly update them. Although some people might enjoy that. And that's when things break down. The AI will set key shipard stockpile up such that 90% of the time there will be a resource shortage. Despite half the freighters being idle and the mining outposts being filled up with resources. You could fix this by setting a higher stockpile target, but you can't that without controlling every stockpile in the galaxy. You can let the AI decide which ships to build, but it will build new exploration ships while you already have 20 exploration ships doing nothing for some reason.But you probably don't want to check if you need to replace ships every 5 minutes manually. You can let the AI handle fleet actions. But the AI doesn't seem to really consider current locations when assigning tasks for fleets. Resulting in fleets often pointlessly milling around. That being said at least the AI plays by the same rules and suffers from all the same issues. So your empire isn't disavantaged by any of this. But it's still frustrating to have resource shortages while half your haulers are sitting empty and your mines overflowing. If the add some more granularity to the controls/made the AI a bit less dumb this game could be truely amazing. As is I would only recommend it to people who are really into this sort of game.
Distant Worlds 2 is a 4X space opera at a grand scale, and it mostly lives up to that promise. It’s a game for those who love their empire-building, invasion tactics, and sometimes morally ambiguous extremes. It doesn’t shy from epic political maneuvers, planetary domination, or the cost of power. What’s Cool and Very Strong in the Game • Massive Scope + Customizability The scale is immense. You can run empires with hundreds of planets, set galaxy size, nebula density, independent colonies, adjust colonization settings — lots of levers for players who like fine control over the sandbox.  If micromanagement isn’t your jam, a robust automation system lets you delegate things (ship design, research, colonial management), so you can focus on big-picture strategy.  • Ground Combat & Invasions When you invade a planet, there are multiple phases: orbit, bombardment, ground troops. Planetary defenses, population, and facility strength matter. High-population, well-developed colonies get defensive bonuses.  You can blockade, destroy orbital defenses, and then send in troops. Bombardment can soften things up but has consequences (damage to facilities, population, etc.).  • Extreme Colony Policies One of the darker edges: you can enforce colony population policies like extermination of a species. Yes — in some cases, “exterminate” is an option. This is not just flavour; it has in-game mechanics: population removal, potential backlash, rebellion, unrest. It’s meant to be an extreme policy, not something you take lightly.  • Factions and Unique Modifiers The DLCs (e.g. Quameno, Gizureans) give you very distinct playstyles. Gizureans do well in ground combat, excel at boarding, can choose “breeding worlds” via extermination policy to boost growth, etc.  Government types, leader traits, and special events further shape how different empires feel — militaristic, research-focused, hive-minded, etc.  • Morality, Consequences, Unrest Policies like enslaving or exterminating races carry real costs. Colonies can rebel if they feel oppressed. Unrest, population dissatisfaction, etc. It’s not a simple “use your power, no consequences” game.  • A Rich (if imperfect) Late Game As empires grow, complexity increases: more colonies to think of; thousands of ships; increasing logistical and defensive concerns. You can automate more, but the burden still rises. The sense of “this is now my galactic machine” is powerful.  What Could Be Better: • Performance Issues The endgame can be rough. With huge numbers of colonies and ships, things can stutter, freeze, or even crash. Visuals sometimes degrade into slide-shows.  Notification overload becomes real — the flood of messages, alerts, etc., especially in mid-to-late game, can become overwhelming.  • AI / Challenge Scaling Once you’re well into the game, some players feel that the AI becomes less of a threat, or that victory feels inevitable but tedious to claim.  • Repetitiveness / Lack of Dramatic Flair Some mechanics — logistics, economics (especially the civilian/private economy) — feel like scaffolding rather than living, breathing systems. Some decisions feel like set-and-forget once optimised, rather than ones that keep evolving. The emotional or narrative stakes could be higher.  Advice / Suggestions for the Developer Because Distant Worlds 2 already has so much, the following might push it from excellent to legendary. 1. Flesh Out a Monarchy / Dynastic system The game’s governmental types are already interesting, but imagine adding a fully realised monarchy/dynasty system: heirs, succession crises, rival claimants, nobles with ambitions, court intrigue. For instance: nobility who control regions/colonies/powerful posts; loyalty vs betrayal; legitimacy that can be challenged; exiling rivals; political marriages (if you have multiple species or factions, maybe alliances via marriages). Such systems could add rich strategic and dramatic consequences: what if your heir is weak? What if nobles conspire to overthrow you? What if different planets favour different claimants? This adds tension beyond fleet strength or tech advantage. 2. More NPCs with Backgrounds,Motivations, Personalities Right now, leaders, spies, generals etc. have traits, but more could be done to make them characters in their own right. • Give major NPCs backstories that influence their behaviour: e.g. a general who once lost his home planet, who is more aggressive; an admiral who detests exterminate policy; a governor who seeks independence. • Make motivations dynamic: perhaps an NPC wants promotion, or fears rivals, or desires glory. Their goals could sometimes conflict with the player’s or with each other. • Personality influences decisions, relationships, events. For example, some characters might sabotage certain policies (e.g. forced migration, genocide) or complain, or try to persuade the empire toward more benign or more brutal directions. • Rivalries, alliances, betrayals among NPCs could generate emergent drama: plot-lines that emerge organically rather than being purely scripted. 3. Improve Narrative and Dramatic Stakes The game is strong in mechanics, but the narrative or emotional weight of big policies (especially harmful ones, like extermination) could be heightened. For instance, events or reactions that reflect moral cost, long-term consequences beyond immediate unrest — maybe diplomatic penalties, internal dissent, even rebellions triggered by NPCs moral choices. 4. Better Late Game Flow / Endgame Climax Since the late game tends to become more of a grind (for many players), adding mechanics that build toward a climax might help: perhaps ancient threats, rebellions, or narrative arcs triggered when an empire becomes too big, or when extermination policies become widespread. Maybe rivals band together. Or internal political crises that force choices. 5. Polish QoL and Performance Further optimization so that even at very large scale things remain smooth. More filtering of UI feedback, better notification management. Maybe better scaling of AI threat so the challenge remains meaningful. Verdict In sum: Distant Worlds 2 is a bold, ambitious game. It does many things right — sweeping empire-scale strategy; invasive ground combat with consequences; the ability to choose morally extreme policies; a richly varied set of factions and gameplay styles. For players who enjoy the darkness of power and all its consequences, the game delivers. But it also teeters on the edge of being overwhelming in the late game, and sometimes emotion and story arc take a backseat to numbers and logistics. With more character, more political drama, more internal tension (monarchy squabbles, personality clashes), it could become not just a great strategy sandbox, but one of the most compelling sci-fi epics in the genre. If you asked me: for anyone who loves 4X, this is a must-try. And to the developers: lean in heavily on the dynastic, the dramatic, the moral weight. The contrast between being a ruthless emperor and being a ruler with honour (or at least reputation) could give Distant Worlds 2 that extra spark.
DW2 scratches that itch for more in depth mechanics that Stellaris leaves you with after playing. But be warned there is an absolute ♥♥♥♥ ton of jank to muddle through when it comes to learning the game systems and how to read, the frankly awful, UI/UX BUT after that its the most fun I've had in a space 4x. It just about perfectly combines the tactical layer of combat you get in Sins of a Solar Empire 1/2 with far better 4x empire building mechanics. You actually feel like the universe is alive instead of interacting with a really pretty and clever spreadsheet.
I have deeply enjoyed this game, it has so much stuff to explore and choices to make... i found the computer AI manager helpful to running your empire is your first few times playing, it will likely cost you the game in my opinion... but it makes a lot of good decisions and takes a lot of things off your shoulders while still giving you the feel of some control as you learn about cause and effects of decisions. the area that i recommend learning for yourself early on is ship design, the computer is using a similar design as your opponents, this means your ships are mostly designed to be generalist ships and not really focused on your empires specific needs or skills. i have had a lot of fun designing my specialized ships both for military and civilian purposes... i have found that its truely a pleasure to watch my fleets encounter large AI fleets that out weigh my fleets in strength yet my ships punch above their weight and break their backs with good tactics and preperation. i hope that many of you experience this and find the same joy i did... especially when its the annoying pirates turn to be raided lol... i have tried my hand at diplomacy and its a rich area in the game but the end game threats ae brutal and if i am going to be at war and fighting to survive in my galaxy i prefer to be the end game threat and laugh when they show up threatening me with war.... whats one more lol. i love this game and recommend it highly but i will be honest i think it has a lot of room for growth. hope you enjoy it.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Distant Worlds 2 is currently priced at 19.59€ on Steam.
Yes, Distant Worlds 2 is currently available at a 60% discount. You can purchase it for 19.59€ on Steam.
Yes, Distant Worlds 2 received 2,304 positive votes out of a total of 3,237 achieving a rating of 6.93.
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Distant Worlds 2 was developed by CodeForce and published by Slitherine Ltd..
Yes, Distant Worlds 2 is playable and fully supported on Windows.
No, Distant Worlds 2 is not playable on MacOS.
No, Distant Worlds 2 is not playable on Linux.
Distant Worlds 2 is a single-player game.
Yes, there are 4 DLCs available for Distant Worlds 2. Explore additional content available for Distant Worlds 2 on Steam.
No, Distant Worlds 2 does not support mods via Steam Workshop.
No, Distant Worlds 2 does not support Steam Remote Play.
Yes, Distant Worlds 2 is enabled for Steam Family Sharing. This means you can share the game with authorized users from your Steam Library, allowing them to play it on their own accounts. For more details on how the feature works, you can read the original Steam Family Sharing announcement or visit the Steam Family Sharing user guide and FAQ page.
You can find solutions or submit a support ticket by visiting the Steam Support page for Distant Worlds 2.
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Additionally, we incorporate data from the SteamSpy API, which offers insights into game sales and player statistics. This helps us present a comprehensive view of each game's popularity and performance within the gaming community.
Last Updates| Steam data | 05 June 2026 06:23 |
|---|---|
| SteamSpy data | 12 June 2026 06:41 |
| Steam price | 14 June 2026 04:51 |
| Steam reviews | 12 June 2026 21:58 |
If you'd like to dive deeper into the details about Distant Worlds 2, we invite you to check out a few dedicated websites that offer extensive information and insights. These platforms provide valuable data, analysis, and user-generated reports to enhance your understanding of the game and its performance.
- SteamDB - A comprehensive database of everything on Steam about Distant Worlds 2
- SteamCharts - Analysis of Distant Worlds 2 concurrent players on Steam
- ProtonDB - Crowdsourced reports on Linux and Steam Deck Distant Worlds 2 compatibility
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Game modes
Features
Online players
130
Developer
CodeForce
Publisher
Slitherine Ltd.
Release
10 Mar 2022
Platforms
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