The exploration of the stars has been something that’s been going on for centuries. Studies of the moon and how it shows the passage of a month, to gauging how far the stars are from our planet. To discovering more about our solar system than ever before, and starting to question. The big question of “are we alone?” That’s where Stellaris, developed by Paradox Interactive, tries to fill in the holes. Using extensive strategy, Stellaris has players explore the stars and distant planets to uncover secrets about Precursor aliens that have lived long before humans had ever graced the world.

There have been a few Story Expansions for Stellaris, each one building a deeper lore for the game. One going deeper into the stars, and one bringing in a hefty amount of capitalism into planetary exploration. Though, while each story pack has expanded further out into the reaches of our galaxy, the new one… does the opposite:

Stellaris: Ancient Relics was announced only recently with the information of it being about digging into the planets to uncover Precursor artifacts. These relics are rewarded for either uncovering them in a planned archaeological dig, or overcoming a major crisis. They can give significant benefits to both the empire you’ve created, as well as future space explorations and escapades.

With the announcement only recent and a date of ‘soon’, the anticipation was agonizing. However, game designer Daniel Moregård, came forth with a video that explains the upcoming story pack, along with some new things being added to the game:

Along with the upcoming Ancient Relics, the developers had listened for the cry of new Precursor aliens. So being added are two new extinct Precursor alien races; the Baol, and the Zroni. The Baol had once been a hivemind species, that were a connection of plantoids that would form planets. The Zroni were the most powerful psionics to have ever existed and were the ones to find the dimension the Shroud, and eventually they would enter the Shroud and live like Gods. However, whatever happened to these Precursor aliens is up to the players to discover with the new archaeological system and finding the relics left behind.

Along with the story expansion, there is a 2.33 update that’s being added in. The first of the update is a change to the Sector System, which is a basic change to make it more functional, but is also the first step of a huge Sector System overhaul that will come later down the line. Designations are being added as well, that now allows players to manual set a designation and role for the planets that they’ve previously visited, or will be visiting. Habitats will also no longer run on ascension perks for being upgraded, but in fact the technology that’s within them that the player creates. All that and a whole lot more.

Stellaris: Ancient Relics will be available on PC and Mac for $9.99 USD on June 4, 2019. Why look at the stars, when you can dig into a planet. (Just kidding, but both are really cool.)