Stardock announced today the release of the most significant expansion to Ironclad Games’ hit real-time strategy game, Sins of a Solar Empire. Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion is a stand-alone expansion that does not require players to own a previous edition of Sins of a Solar Empire. It extends the ground-breaking gameplay that has made it one of the most popular PC strategy games of all time.

Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion combines the best elements of real-time strategy with the depth normally reserved for 4X games. Players take command of a space-faring civilization that is fighting for its very existence in a vast interstellar war. This conflict will see players colonize planets, battle pirates, research new technologies, conduct trade, use diplomacy and engage in epic battles with massive fleets.

Brad Wardell, president & CEO of Stardock Entertainment said:

“What I think has made Sins of a Solar Empire such a phenomenon is that it demonstrated that you can have a real-time strategy game that rewards victory to the player who has built the better civilization, rather than the player with the best reflexes.”

In Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion, years of unending conflict have resulted in internal strife within the three warring races – the Trader Emergency Coalition, the Vasari Empire and the Advent Unity. As a result, players can choose to play as a loyalist or rebel faction of the three races, each with their own techs and ships.

In addition to warring factions, Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion also includes new “Titan” class warships. These massive vessels are fleets unto themselves and can unleash destruction across an entire star system. When matched with the additional new corvettes and capital ships, they create a variety of interesting tactical options for players.

Wardell added:

“Each faction gets their own Titan. Seeing one of these behemoths enter a system can be pretty awe-inspiring. It’s a real game changer in the middle of a big multiplayer battle when someone manages to get their Titan into the fray.”

The underlying game engine has also been overhauled to deliver state of the art graphics resulting in breathtaking visuals.

Wardell concluded:

“The combination of being a space-based game with massive scale and the new graphics engine really helps bring home just how epic these battles can be. When you see the already massive Kol battleship being overshadowed, literally, by a Titan, it conveys a level of scale that you just can’t get in a non-space game.”

Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion can be purchased directly from its home page or via digital distributors including Steam, GameStop PC Downloads, GameFly and others.