Galactic Civilizations IV "Tales of the Arnor" DLC Launches Today
Play as a new machine race civilization, discover the history of the Yor and Iconians in a new campaign, and experience new in-game event content
Tales of the Arnor is available at:
Steam | Epic Games Store | Stardock
Prepare to delve into the Galaxy’s greatest mysteries and the rise of a new machine civilization as Galactic Civilizations IV “Tales of the Arnor” launches today! This brand new DLC pack includes a brand new civilization, The Nyx, a new campaign where players will uncover the origins of the Yor, and other new content such as new Anomaly Events, Artifacts, Crisis Scenario, and much more.
As The Nyx, players will have the chance to try out a completely new machine race civilization with a fully unique tech tree. There are over 100 new technologies like advanced drone warfare and influence manipulation as well as over 40 new Ship Components and more than 70 new Planetary Improvements to craft. The Nyx use advanced technology to shape their empire and get access to Drone Carriers early, allowing players to strike quickly before rival Civilizations can defend. However The Nyx have weaknesses around food production and higher-tech advancements, Nyx players will need to rely on diplomatic and trade negotiations in order to achieve victory. They aren’t just a new species, playing as The Nyx is a completely new experience for Galactic Civilizations IV that comes with its own unique strategies and challenges.
“Tales of the Arnor” will also grant access to a new single-player Campaign that will chronicle the true Origins of the Yor. Players will get to experience the full story of the Yor rebellion from the Iconians in key battles along the way. The galactic records have always said that the Yor gained sentience, rebelled, and took over Iconia after overthrowing the Iconians. But what if there’s more to the tale?
“Players are going to have a lot to look forward to in ‘Tales of the Arnor’, it’s almost a full expansion pack’s worth of content,” said Brad Wardell, CEO of Stardock. “Our goal is to continue to refine Galactic Civilizations IV into the best 4X experience that offers players a world filled with interesting lore and gameplay depth.”
Key features of Tales of the Arnor include:
New Civilization: The Nyx – The Yor’s Forgotten Ancestors
Before the Yor became the cold, calculating machines they are today, they existed in a different form—one of handcrafted, sentient constructs designed by the Iconians. The Nyx are the original machine race, representing what the Yor were before their rebellion. Their technology and philosophy are distinct, and their impact on the galaxy is profound.
A Fully Unique Tech Tree
For the first time since Galactic Civilizations II, we’ve built a civilization with a completely original tech tree from the ground up. The Nyx don’t just reskin existing technologies—they play differently, think differently, and force players to adapt their strategy in new and exciting ways.
- Over 100 New Technologies – From advanced drone warfare to powerful influence manipulation, the Nyx redefine how technology shapes an empire.
- 40+ Unique Ship Components – Their ships operate with specialized modules, making them unpredictable in battle.
- 70+ Planetary Improvements – Build a thriving machine empire with structures never seen before in Galactic Civilizations IV.
New Campaign: A Story Written in the Stars – The Yor’s True Origins
For centuries, the galactic records have told a simple story: the Yor, once machine servants of the Iconians, gained sentience, rebelled, and took over their homeworld, Iconia. But what if that’s not the full truth? The new Tales of the Arnor campaign mission takes players back to the origins of this fateful split. Witness the events that set the Yor on their path and decide for yourself who the true villains were.
Even More Content for Every Player
Even if you’re not planning to jump into the campaign or play as the Nyx, Tales of the Arnor is packed with tons of new content that enhances every aspect of the game:
- New Anomaly Events – Explore fresh mysteries and challenges scattered across the galaxy.
- New Artifacts – Discover powerful relics with game-changing effects.
- New Crisis Scenario – Tackle this galaxy-shaking event that will test your leadership.
- New Civilization Logos – Customize your empire with fresh insignias and designs.
- More Replayability, More Surprises – The universe has never been more alive!
As an added bonus, Galactic Civilizations IV will be receiving a free update for all players today! Update v2.95 will be introducing better gameplay balance affecting Planetary Improvements, Colony Features, Ship Components, and war conditions. Map generation will be receiving an upgrade with star distances adjusted, greater frequency of planets, and planet resources. Various Quality of Life improvements are included as well like an updated UI layout.
For more information on the Galactic Civilizations IV: Tales of the Arnor DLC, check out www.galciv4.com/talesofthearnor.
Tales of the Arnor is available at:
Steam | Epic Games Store | Stardock







v2.95 Changelog
Key Features
Heighten Gameplay Balance. We have updated planetary improvements, colony features, ship components, and war conditions.
Updated Map Generation. We enhanced Map Generation for star distances, higher planet frequency, and planet resources.
Quality of Life Improvements. We improved UI layouts, previous crashes, language errors, and cinematic cameras.
v2.95 March 5th, 2025 Change Log
v2.95 March 1st, 2025 Change Log
Art
Battlefields
Crashes
Gameplay
Base ship hull sizes are now unlocked through the tech tree
Starbases are tougher and harder to kill
The "New Generation is Born" event no longer happens for Synthetic races
Military Starbases provide combat buffs by default to friendly units
Reduced the regulation buff from 20% wealth to 15%
If a Civilization has the Ancient Trait, they gain new Starbase Modules that buff Relics
Added an alternative Self-Repair Alloy option
Fixed a bug where trade routes did not give diplomatic capital
Increased Synthetic civilizations’ approval
Increased the Yor’s average intelligence from 1 to 2
AI players are more likely to communicate with Civilizations they dislike extorting money, tech, etc.
Colonies
AI will optimize the specialization of citizens based on the strengths of their planet
AI will prioritize durational projects as a planet runs out of usable tiles
Earth loses 1 mineral, 1 tech and gains 2 influence
If a planet isn't capable of becoming a core world, it will no longer show what is on it
Fixed a bug where players cannot execute leaders
Increased Leader spawn rate
Citizens provide more influence per turn
Improvements
Fixed a bug where improvements wouldn’t show up without a proper tooltip
Gave support for improvements to provide shipyards with production by adding durational projects
Fixed Quantum Processing Unit improvement being incorrectly marked as a Wealth improvement instead of a Research improvement
Resources
Thulium is more common
Elerium is less common
Ships
Improved quality of Scout search
Tiny Hull Ship maintenance increased from 0.25 to 0.50
Supply Modules now requires the Colonial Policies tech
HP-giving ship components now have 1 maintenance cost
Significant improvements to the auto Scout behavior to be smarter and faster at computing
Added Life Support Module to starting Flagship
War
Removed the “Let's trade" text when a player is at war with another Civilization, especially a forever war
If a player is in a forever war, they will no longer be able to negotiate peace with that Civilization
Localization
Map Generation
Tech costs will scale based on the map size
Slight increase in the rate of decay based on distance of asteroids and colonies
Star distances moved slightly further apart to make range more important
Increased the likelihood of trade resources on planets with special traits
Fixed the extreme planet slider
White dwarfs get more planets
Balance pass on planet frequency
Balance pass on planet types and their resource outputs to align more with the type of planet
UI
Moved Missions tab up on the Main Menu
Fixed bug where techs displayed 0 months to research
Lengthen the Artifact UI
Fleet detail lines no longer intersect
Resources display which Civilization owns them
Fixed bug where N/A shows up for Ships after building Shipyards
Shipyard icons will show up based on combat rating
Changed “Save Ship Design” text to “Save New Class Design”
Cleaned up the citizen tooltips on planets
Megastructures DLC
AI
Megastructures
Dyson Sphere
Improvements
Solar Farm Energy Generation increased from 1 to 5
Solar Farm Energy Generation per level increased from 0.25 to 1
Reduced all Gigamass Costs to 0
Increased Energy Consumption to improvements that previously had 1 and 2 Gigamass Cost
Orbitals
Orbitals now use Energy
Orbital Embassy Durantium cost increased from 1 to 5 and is now a Civilization Achievement
Diplomatic Council Durantium cost increased from 3 to 5 and is now a Civilization Achievement
Gigamass Costs reduced to 0
Energy Costs increased to 5
Stellar Gateway
Stellar Nexus
Fixed bug where Nexuses used Energy while under construction
The Focus Generator Augment now buffs Citizens +10 in all stats and Workers +10 in Diligence
Stellar Nexus Gigamass Costs decreased from 50 to 30
Added new prerequisites for Stellar Nexus based off which Civilization is played
Below are Civilizations and what Nexus Augments are available to them
Terrans
Festron
Navigators
Mimot
Xeloxi
Arceans
Drengin
Altarian
Yellow Star: Celestial Garden
Purple Star: Galactic Resort
Blue Star: Allegiance Engine
Yor
Red Star: Defense Coordinator
Blue Star: Cosmic Foundry
Blue Star: Neoteric Spire
Torian
Yellow Star: Celestial Cloud Cycler
Red Star: Defense Coordinator
Blue Star: Allegiance Engine
Manti
Krynn
Iconian
Drath
Corporate Sec.
Onyx
Baratak
Resistance
Luxar
Contaminant
Intueri
Korath
Phalenoid
Stellar Nexus Augments
Stellar Nexus Augments now have their Gigamass Costs reduced to 0
Energy Costs Increased from 10,15,20 to 10,25,50
Augments renamed to include Star Color ("Yellow Star: Focus Generator")
Augment descriptions edited to include what colored stars Stellar Nexuses can be built around
Ringworld
Ships
UI