Stellaris - Shadows of The Shroud expansion releases September 22

Paradox Interactive just announced the Shadows of The Shroud expansion for Stellaris is now set for release on September 22nd.

It will be included in the Season 09 Expansion Pass so you won't need an extra purchase if you have that. For everyone else, it will cost $19.99 / £16.75 / €19.99. This expansion was developed with Paradox collaborating with Abrakam. Featuring a comprehensive remaster of the Psionic Ascension Path, a revamped End of Cycle, new Origins, Civics, Events, and more.

They've also been pushing out some big updates to the game recently too, with a couple of updates through August focused on really making the game smoother and more stable. So with this new expansion and major update, I'm seriously looking forward to jumping back in.

Check out the new trailer:

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The main bulleted highlights of what comes with it:

• Psionic Ascension (also unlocked by Utopia)​
• Three new Origins:​
  • Endbringers​
  • Mindwardens​
  • Shroud-Forged​
    • Shroud-Forged grants access to the Gestalt Machine Intelligence authority while playing this Origin.​
• Six new Civics​
  • Chosen / Chosen Executives / Chosen Many / Apostle Network​
  • Entropy Drinkers / Corporate Vampires / Parasitic Caste / Energy Extractors​
  • Experimental Sentencing / Judicial R&D / Corrective Consciousness​
  • Secret Societies / Influential Cartel​
  • Superstitious Beliefs / Fortune Enterprise / Zodiac Nexus / Pattern Finders​
  • Tankbound / Corporate Thinktank​
• An enhanced Psionic Ascension Situation, culminating in advanced Psionic government forms​
• A new system for delving into the Shroud itself, including Deeds, Accords, Callings, and Covenants​
• Psionic Auras and Seals​
• New Patrons and entities to encounter in the Shroud, and expanded content for old acquaintances​
• EXPANDED END OF THE CYCLE​
• New Psionic Species Traits​
• Psionic Portraits that reflect the change within once their Psionic potential has been unleashed​
• Two new shipsets​
  • Mindwarden​
  • Psionic​
• Psionic Diplomatic Room, City Set, Advisor, Music Tracks, and more​

It will release alongside the free alongside the 4.1 ‘Lyra’ update for all players. See more in the announcement post. I've yet to see any patch notes for the 4.1 update so check back around release day for more info.

At this point, I should remind you that Paradox are using generative AI for some bits in Stellaris, which I'm not too pleased about as per their notice on Steam:

We employ generative AI technologies during the creation of some assets. Typically this involves the ideation of content and visual reference material. These elements represent a minor component of the overall development.