Stardock, which has published strategy games since Galactic Civilizations in 1993, announced that Ashes of the Singularity II launches November 10, 2026, on Steam for PC. The base game costs $39.99, with a launch discount from November 10 to 17. A $69.99 Premium Edition adds the first three DLC packs and the soundtrack, and both are also sold direct from Stardock.
Ashes is a real-time strategy game, which means nobody waits for a turn: you build and fight while the enemy does the same. Its selling point is size. Stardock says battles run with thousands of units on continent-sized maps, and Strategic Zoom pulls the camera from orbit down to a single front line and back. The studio’s own pitch is that victory comes from planning and logistics, not speed or reflexes. You spend your attention on supply and strategy rather than on steering each tank.
Three factions, and the humans are the weakest
The sequel adds a third side. The Post-Human Coalition, people who gave up their physical bodies, is now the most advanced power in the solar system. The Substrate is a machine civilization built by a rogue AI. Caught between them is the United Earth Forces, the nations of Earth working together for once. Stardock describes the UEF as weaker unit for unit, so it leans on large armies, disciplined infantry and old-fashioned military doctrine.
Oxide Games and Stardock released the first game on March 31, 2016, with only the Post-Human Coalition and the Substrate. For a while it was better known as a DirectX 12 benchmark than as a game, because its Nitrous engine used every processor core it could find. Escalation, the standalone expansion, arrived on November 10, 2016, and raised the player cap from 8 to 16. Stardock later folded the two together, and the original now sells as Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation. Ashes II lands ten years to the day after Escalation, which is either planning or a very tidy coincidence.
You can lead the UEF through a single-player campaign, or pick any of the three factions for instant action skirmish and multiplayer. Online play covers head-to-head matches and co-op battles. The game had a Steam Next Fest demo and a public multiplayer playtest in September. Stardock’s Adrian Wright, vice president of entertainment, credited those players: “Ashes of the Singularity II is a better game because of them.” The studio says it has worked on balance, performance and multiplayer stability since then.
Ashes of the Singularity II is on Steam for wishlists now. If you plan to buy at launch, the discount window closes on November 17.
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