Distant Worlds 2

[Asid]

What?s Next - Roadmap
Wed, 27 August 2025



First revealed during Slitherine Next in July, the new Distant Worlds 2 roadmap promises an exciting year ahead.

We've kicked things off with the Anniversary update and are following it up with a major update refreshing the Teekan and Haakonish in the Autumn.
Winter brings the brand-new expansion Shadows Rising, while spring will see a major update focusing on the Ackdarians.

And that?s not all: a new DLC is already in the works!

Get ready to experience the next chapter in the universe of Distant Worlds 2.



If you missed the Distant Worlds 2 segment at the Slitherine Next event on July 9th, catch up and watch it here:

[Asid]

Command Update available on July 22
Thu, 9 July 2026



Welcome back, explorers.

We're pleased to announce that a major update for Distant Worlds 2 is coming on July 22: the Command Update. This is a significant update designed to refresh and improve the gameplay experience with targeted changes to key areas of the game.

On July 14, 16:00 - 18:00 GMT+2, our Associate Producer on the game, Maxim Klose-Ivanov will showcase the new update, save the date here.

What's included in the Command Update:

- New Content: Hive Ship Models

- Players will encounter new Hive ships spread around across the galaxy

- New Feature: Empire Contracts

- Factions within empires, as well as independent colonies, will now periodically offer contracts to the player.

- UI/UX Improvements:

- Empire flags now appear on systems claimed systems improving galaxy readability

- A slew of fixes, changes, and additions to improve manual play

- Gameplay Improvements:

- Independent colonies have had their population growth tweaked and can now potentially form new empires

- Known debris now appears in the exploration screen and a new mission type for ships and fleets makes salvaging easier

- Some espionage missions have been rebalanced and tweaked to address certain exploits

- Bug Fixing and Stability Improvements

We look forward to sharing more soon.

[Asid]

Dev Diary #1 - An introduction to the upcoming DLC
Wed, August 5, 2026




What is a Pirate?



What is a Pirate?  In Distant Worlds 2, the term Pirate refers to a variety of space-based survivors of the cataclysm that ended the last Great War against the Shakturi, who are willing to do whatever it takes to survive.  Some are more focused on trade and espionage, others on raiding and fighting, some prefer a mix of everything.  Living in space across generations has been very difficult and very dangerous and their past experiences with planetary civilizations give them a distrust of what they call "dirtsiders".




The Pirate Story - the Age of Shadows

Distant Worlds 2: Shadows Rising, take us to the Age of Shadows, to a time before the base Distant Worlds 2 game and the events told in that and the following storylines.  The Age of Shadows is the time period after the cataclysm that befell the galaxy at the end of the first Great War against the Shakturi but before the previous planetary empires recovered enough to return to space and rediscover their history.

After the first Great War between the Freedom Alliance and the Shaktur Axis, the remaining fragments of civilization in the galaxy collapsed and those who remained found themselves engaged in a desperate struggle for survival that at times looked certain to fail.  As they realized the terrible fate that had befallen them, the few surviving Shakturi went on a final rampage that was halted only as the last of them perished to the Xaraktor virus.  That virus and other bio-weapons unleashed in the final act of that terrible war were still actively spreading for many years after the Shakturi themselves were eradicated from the galaxy.


The Planets and the Plagues

The planets themselves were the worst affected. After the galaxy-wide seismic cataclysm caused by the interaction of the Haakonish Gravitic Doomsday weapon with the Shakturi Wormholes and the Freedom Alliance experimental wormhole blocking technology, most planets were already devastated.  Multiple waves of plagues then swept over them over decades and centuries and the survivors in space found that trying to trade with or help those who remained on the planets often exposed them and their dwindling populations to these risks.


The Merciless Hive

The survivors in space and on the planets also faced merciless slaughter at the hands of the Hive, who were composed of the insane remnants of the Gizureans.  The Gizureans had become psychotic after Shakturi control of their damaged Queen was abruptly severed, leaving vast numbers in a feral state that roamed the galaxy consuming all in their path.  The former Gizurean worlds were abandoned as the Hive took to the stars in whatever ships could be found or captured.  Largely due to the terrible casualties from all these calamities, most of what was previously known about technology, history, culture and space travel on the planets was lost.




Survival in Space

Only in space did some knowledge survive.  Here the few remnants of the fleets of the Freedom Alliance and the Shaktur Axis initially continued to fight each other as well as the Hive.  They recognized that the devastated planets, where the plagues were still active, held no future for them.  Attempts to recolonize or restore civilization during this time all failed.  They realized that to survive, they needed to remain in space, to remain mobile and evade the Hive until the planets themselves were either free of plague or devoid of population.

Over generations, these nomadic survivors scavenged, built and re-built their ships and bases many times.  They defeated what remained of the Shakturi, but their battle against the overwhelming numbers of the Hive lasted for centuries and still continues.  Many perished, but some survived and while they were unable to fully maintain their previous technology, they still knew how to travel faster than light, how to exist in space, to mine for the resources they needed and how to build fast and powerful ships that could protect them from the Hive and other menaces.




The Shadowports and a New Era

Over time they also lost their previous identities and separated into smaller factions, each with different goals.  The largest space settlements became "Shadowports", neutral centers of trade, technology and information.  Some, following blindly in the footsteps of their Freedom Alliance ancestors, foresaw a future where they would be able to once again establish a more orderly galaxy, with colonized planets, trade and an organized military.  Others, either because of the trials they had been through or because of their origins with the Shaktur Axis, were more concerned with raiding, pillaging and destroying what was left, until they would sit alone as the final survivors of a dying galaxy.  These then, are the "Pirates" of the Age of Shadows.

On the planets, over many generations, the viruses evolved and finally became less severe, allowing civilization a chance to re-establish itself.  After many terrible battles, the Hive became less numerous, largely because of the actions of the survivors in space, but also due to a shortage of "food" to consume on the planets, which led to periods where the Hive was entirely dormant before waking and raiding again.  This was just enough respite for the planetary survivors to multiply and with the help of their remaining legends and the ruins of their ancestors, rebuild a basic level of technology and begin to repopulate their worlds.


A New Galaxy Rises

The space-based survivors were busy enough surviving and fighting each other that at first the recovery that was taking place on the few remaining inhabited worlds went unnoticed, but eventually the exploration ships of the pirates discovered that the worlds they previously thought to be tombs now had the beginnings of new civilizations, already with population in numbers that far exceeded the survivors in space, but with technology that was much more primitive.  The response of the pirates to these newly discovered planets varied, and in some cases, they simply ignored them while they dealt with their own problems.  For the most part though, they made contact, in some cases peaceful to trade for resources and food, in others hostile to pillage and take what they would in goods and slaves or to maintain their own dominance of the space lanes.

This is where the Age of Shadows in the game begins.  There are independent worlds with just enough technology to return to space, but only with a few ships and initially only within their own systems.  The pirates have better technology and knowledge of the galaxy.  The Hive is still a real threat and active from the start, though fewer in number and with some smaller ships.  New story events and artifacts related to Pirate history are scattered across the stars.  Lone Pirates and Pirate Factions and Independent Worlds compete to see which will achieve fortune, fame and power.




Your Story, Your Choices

Several futures are possible.  The first is one where the planetary civilizations are allowed to grow and expand into space and regain a measure of their former glory, following along towards the original Distant Worlds 2 story.  The second is where the pirate factions are able to manage the rise of the planetary civilizations, control them, exploit them and eventually conquer them to establish an entirely different kind of galactic order, depending on which type of "Pirate" emerges triumphant.  A third might be that what remains is destroyed and consumed by the Hive, if it is allowed to grow out of control.

The Age of Shadows, in short, is a struggle for survival and an ongoing battle to determine the future of the galaxy.  Will it be a strong, united and advanced galaxy that the Shakturi find on their eventual return, or simply smoldering ashes?

You can also choose to start play with the new Pirates (either playing as an Empire or a Pirate) in the classic era of the base Distant Worlds 2 game after the Age of Shadows has ended. For the greatest challenge and to extend the story as long as possible, start as a single ship Lone Pirate in the Age of Shadows, eventually become a Pirate Faction, then a Pirate Empire of Anarchy which attempts to conquer the stars.

The choice is yours, the Galaxy Lives On.


WISHLIST THE NEW DLC NOW:

Distant Worlds 2: Shadows Rising

[Asid]

Dev Diary #2 – Pirate Factions
Wed, August 19, 2026



See our second dev diary for an explanation of Pirate Factions, the Age of Shadows, and their unique gameplay.



What are Pirate Factions?

Pirate Factions in Distant Worlds 2: Shadows Rising are space-based Empires which function differently in many ways from the more typical planetary Empires.  While we also had playable Pirates in Distant Worlds 1, we've done significantly more with them in Distant Worlds 2 to expand their gameplay and improve their design, as well as add many new unique ships, stations, ship equipment upgrades, artifacts and story events for them. 

We'll outline a few of the key differences here relative to Planetary Empires and previous Pirate gameplay.

•     As a Pirate Faction, you can control each and every ship, there are no ships which you cannot manually order and in fact in many cases you will want to manually order your ships more often as Pirate Factions generally have fewer ships and stations than Empires and each one is thus more valuable.  In addition, by Docking at certain locations with your ships, you gain access to new options such as purchasing ships, equipment or resources.
•     Instead of Governments, you pick the type of Pirate you are, with four choices ranging from a more balanced Pirate playstyle to Smuggler, Raider or Mercenary.  Each gives you some special bonuses and a varying selection of starting ships.
•     Choosing to play as a Pirate allows you to start in the Age of Shadows, a starting point with no planetary Empires, only Pirate Factions, Lone Pirates, Independent Worlds and the Hive.  This alternate starting era is in some ways more challenging, but also offers Pirates more freedom to expand before Planetary Empires appear (Independents can now grow into Planetary Empires if left unchecked).
•     Instead of starting with a Homeworld, you will start with a Medium Spaceport as the hub of your spacefaring civilization, with limited resources and some mining capabilities.  You'll need to protect your Spaceport and your Construction ships in order to survive, and you'll need to find a way to meet your resource and credit needs. Pirates pay much less maintenance than planetary empires, but they also are more limited economically and more vulnerable once discovered.
•     Your stable income derives from Influence (and Corruption) on planets within your range, as well as any protection agreements you might convince Empires to sign with you.  As a result, instead of focusing on locations for New Colonies, you'll focus on possible new worlds as Influence Targets. The rest of your income comes from a variety of actions, such as Resource Trading, Contracts, Raids, Espionage and Negotiations.

•     As you gain Influence, you can build Hidden Pirate Bases and Fortresses to lock down planets within your sphere of influence and make sure they deal primarily with you.
•     Your goals as a Pirate Faction will depend on your playstyle, but as long as you survive and grow stronger, you will ultimately need to choose one of two paths.  First, you can build a planet up to the point where you effectively take it over with your Criminal Network and then transition your Pirates Faction to a Pirate Planetary Empire.  Your play experience will then shift to the regular Empire style, but you will retain your unique ships, tech and bases as well as gain a unique planetary government choice based on your chosen Pirate playstyle.  Alternately, you may eschew the idea of planetary life and instead build up to the unique Anarchopolis Wonder, which will allow you to achieve the status of a Legendary Pirate Faction, remain a space-faring faction and keep the planets and planetary empires in their place.
•     You will be able to trade and accept lucrative contracts from the Shadowports, the most massive centers of space-based Pirate Civilization, which are also neutral ground havens for all Pirate factions, at least as long as the Pirates agree to keep them that way.  You'll also be able to trade with the smaller Junkyard Shadowports to expand your fleets or get access to unique hulls.
•     You can setup Protection Agreements, Non-Aggression Pacts, Refueling Agreements and even the new Privateering Agreements (get paid to blow up their enemies) with other factions and empires
•     Over generations, you have learned to build and live in space in ways that planetary civilizations cannot match.  Your ship and station hulls for the same ship sizes have much more flexibility in terms of the various component slots than what the planetary empires can design and build as well as increased hull bonuses.

Read on.....