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Watch trailer on Steam ↗Shattered Spheres
Data Vikings · Published by Data Vikings
3 user reviews — 100% positive (3 reviews) · 34 achievements
Last updated 28 Sept 2026
Shattered Spheres is a turn-based 2D space 4X strategy game inspired by the classics of the genre. Explore a living galaxy, build your empire, and crush your rivals through military conquest or diplomatic cunning — without the micromanagement bloat of modern 4X games.
£4.29
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Price history
Strategy · 2026 · More under £5 games
About this game
The stars are waiting. So are your enemies.
In the tradition of the classic space strategy games that defined a genre, Shattered Spheres strips 4X empire-building back to what matters: exploration, tough decisions, and the slow satisfaction of watching your civilization reach across the galaxy.
No sprawling planet micromanagement menus. No systems buried under systems. Just you, the stars, and whoever is trying to take them from you.
Explore a living galaxy. Planets orbit their stars in real time — every turn shifts the map, making positioning and timing matter in ways most space strategy games ignore.
Build your empire your way. Expand aggressively and crush your rivals through military conquest, or outmaneuver them at the negotiating table through careful diplomacy. The path to victory is yours to choose.
Strategy without the spreadsheet. Shattered Spheres is a love letter to an era when 4X games trusted you to think — without demanding you manage every last detail of every last colony.
Inspired by Davin Brin's short story "The Crystal Spheres."
System Requirements
Will my PC run this? →Minimum
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS: Windows 10 (64-bit)
- Processor: Any dual-core CPU, 2.0 GHz
- Memory: 2 GB RAM
- Graphics: OpenGL 3.3 support (2012 or newer)
- Storage: 100 MB available space
Recommended
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS: Windows 11 (64-bit)
- Processor: Any dual-core CPU, 2.0 GHz
- Memory: 2 MB RAM
- Graphics: OpenGL 3.3 support (2012 or newer)
- Storage: 100 MB available space
Supported Languages
Latest news
Patch NotesOfficial
Bugfix Update
1. Retrofit — the upgrade lookup only matched designs one version ahead, so ships two or more versions behind (or designs overwritten in place) never got a retrofit offer. New ShipDesign.find_retrofit_target() walks the full version-chain ancestry and handles stale in-place overwrites; both the system view and galaxy view retrofit UIs use it, and new GUT tests cover the chain, overwrite, and no-candidate cases.2. Shields — HP scaled with level but slot cost grew faster, so HP-per-slot decreased (the report was right, and worse: even L8+ never overtook L3). Shield totals now scale with slot count: L7 = 132 HP/2 slots vs. two L3 = 68 HP/2 slots. Tech tree text, manual, and costs updated; old saves rehydrate components by id so they pick this up safely.3. Movement points — they were shown, but labeled only "Speed". The designer now shows an explicit "Movement Points: X/turn" line.4. Design deletion — added a Delete button per saved design, with an in-use check (ships and build queues); designs in use get a "Retire" option instead.5. Fleet splitting — the model supported it but no UI called it. The system view now has a "Split Fleet" button per multi-ship fleet with a ship-checkbox dialog (1..n−1 selectable), and split_ships() now copies position/dock/stance/MP so detachments don't teleport to origin.6. Partnership → surprise war — four real bugs: AI war declarations skipped NAP/Alliance but not Partnership; border tension (−2/turn) exactly canceled the partnership drift (+2/turn); AI tribute demands ignored treaties; and gifts were disabled during war, leaving no road back to peace. All fixed — partners are now safe unless you attack them, treaties net-improve relations, and you can send war tribute (half reputation gain) to work toward a peace treaty.7. Diplomatic Reports — the dialog had no scroll, so many queued messages pushed OK off-screen behind an input-blocking overlay. Messages now scroll; OK is always reachable.8. Mine Layer / Boarding Party / Replicator — fu...Read full article on Community Announcements (dr.moreau)Patch NotesOfficial
Bugfix Update
Some fixes for bugs reported by users. Max facility count should be more accurate. The message when attempting to move through a wormhole with less than 1 movement point should now be more informative. Propulsion research should now be useful beyond level 1. Special thanks to: Daniel M. Torau mharmless WulffeRead full article on Community Announcements (dr.moreau)Patch NotesOfficial
AI Update
We've made some incremental changes to the AI. Hopefully it will provide more of a challenge. If you run across any bugs, please ping us on Discord.Read full article on Community Announcements (dr.moreau)Patch NotesOfficial
Once More, With Feeling...
The Multiplayer patch should be live now. Thanks for the patience!Read full article on Community Announcements (dr.moreau)Patch NotesOfficial
Online Multiplayer Update
The online multiplayer update is here. We're sure you'll find bugs and opportunities for improvement. If you want to share your bugs, frustrations, or ideas for improvement, please pop on over to our website or Discord and let us know. We will watching out to see what your thoughts are!In this release:Online Multiplayer 🎉Steam Achievements should now triggerSome bugfixes regarding menus and dialogs causing soft locksRead full article on Community Announcements (dr.moreau)
