We’ve played Stellar Trader before its 2026 launch, and here’s what we think of the space trading sim so far plus everything we know about its price, platforms, and more.
ParaVerseLab is aiming high with this project, mixing relaxing sim elements with more involved strategy and decision-making on a galactic scale. Even heavy social elements and romances are part of the package. It seems like the sort of game designed to be played for a very long time by sci-fi fans, and considering the recent surging popularity of 4X and grand strategy titles, this adjacent release might quickly find a dedicated community.
Stellar Trader Release Date
Developer ParaVerseLab and publisher Spiral Up Games haven’t revealed a definitive release date or window for the game yet, but we know it’s coming next year and launching straight into 1.0 on Steam.
- Stellar Trader release window: 2026
Stellar Trader Hands-On Preview
We don’t know if the Stellar Trader preview build we were given access to is very different from the public playtest available right now, but we’re inclined to say it lands on the more generous side of these things. Content-wise, despite its limitations, it makes it clear ParaVerseLab has been working on the game for a good while, thus making the 2026 target sound perfectly reasonable.
Though it remains to be seen how much the onboarding in the full thing differs from the early steps in the preview build, the game appears to hit the ground running. You’re welcomed into a huge space station by a couple of well-dressed guys who work for the organization overseeing the space trading (or at least part of it, from what I could gather). You’re then rushed into a quick character creation menu, which includes basic customization options, the ability to choose a male or female character, and different backgrounds (full of lore) that directly affect the starting stats.
It’s on the RPG front that Stellar Trader seems denser, as most actions are limited and defined by how good you’re at certain things. There’s the stat layer (INT, PER, and so on…) and the skills layer, which can be developed through training, use, and overall character progression; you know the drill. The first impression is that Stellar Trader behaves and plays out a lot like Mount & Blade but in space; while you can be in direct control of ships and are responsible for each of your character’s actions, most of the play time will be spent inside menus and charting your own path across the stars. It’s safe to say Stellar Trader is much more of a simulator than a strategy game.
As a direct result, the story here is the one you create on your own. Even in its limited early build, ParaVerseLab’s big space trading sim doesn’t feel restrictive, and though it might be hard to fully absorb all the information is throws at players early on without more tutorials, the fact it’s slow-paced and heavy in menus and decision-making over stressful situations helps with onboarding. Some characters can even gain traits which reward pacifism over getting into trouble, so there’s a built-in system to circumvent parts of the simulation that you don’t really enjoy.
Perhaps the most daunting aspect is how data-heavy it appears to be, even if the actual gameplay loop isn’t overly complex. It might push the more casual crowd back, at least until they look at some guides, but those who really like to get into simulators and life-absorbing grand strategy-like titles will find lots to love here… unless the entire game crumbles under its own weight when we the full release is out.
At this stage, it’s the presentation that has me slightly worried. While the layouts aren’t the worst, many menus look like placeholders, and lines of dialogue being shown so close to the bottom on the screen and using fonts which aren’t exactly big already feels like an accessibility nightmare. As for the raw graphical fidelity, Stellar Trader isn’t a demanding game, but it manages to capture the wonder of deep space in ways many bigger games haven’t. Similarly, spaceships and stations are convincing and even stylish at times, which is why the flat-looking and poorly lit characters look so out of place (plus it’s one of those games in which all women look like supermodels). Great vibe-y music for the opening journey though; more of that, please.
Stellar Trader Gameplay
Stellar Trader is trying to do a lot. It’s a game of many systems and mechanics, but one that, at the same time, doesn’t feel overwhelming based on our time with the preview build. This is what we know so far, but it’s safe to say the full game will be much denser and feature-complete.
Most of the time, you won’t be playing in real time, but selecting destinations, visiting different locations through menus, and managing your ship, your crew, and even planet-side operations. It’s more of a management and spaceship sim, though the battles introduce strategy elements which feel more traditional.
This doesn’t mean the presentation or depth are lacking. In most scenarios, you can freely move the 3D camera around your ships, take control of interstellar jumps, and tinker with smaller pieces to achieve the desired results and performance. When you make it to a destination and are able to claim credits and item rewards, you needn’t rush to the next contract either, as visiting all the different parts of a big space station (for example) is encouraged to meet new potential allies and buyers, and to let off steam.
Stellar Trader Price and Platforms
Spiral Up Games hasn’t set a price tag for Stellar Trader yet, though considering the scope of the game, we’re expecting it to hover around the $30 area. This is just speculation, and we’ll be updating the article with the definitive pricing when the information hits.
As for target platforms, we know it’s only coming to PC (Steam) for now. While it could be a good fit for consoles based on what we’ve been able to play and how menu-heavy it is, it makes sense that both the developer and publisher are waiting to see how the game performs on Steam before any porting decisions are made.
Stellar Trader Trailers
We’ve only received one Stellar Trader trailer so far, and it was used to both reveal the game and let players know about the aforementioned playtest. Watch it here:
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