Fast-paced strategy game Space Tyrant rockets out of Early Access this month

Here are just a few of the things developer Blue Wizard Digital has called Space Tyrant: "a surprisingly deep beer and pretzels strategy game," a "roguelike-lite-ish 5X game," and a "zero-attention span mega-empire builder." For those wondering, according to Blue Wizard, a 5X game is "like a 4X game, but with even more X."

With the help of several ancient texts and a crack team of linguists, I've deduced that Space Tyrant is, in fact, a fast-paced, card-based 4X strategy game about building a space empire and menacing the galaxy—and, crucially, doing it pretty quickly compared to most strategy games. At its core, Space Tyrant simplifies and streamlines the 4X formula to make it punchier.

"We're confident Space Tyrant is the only turn-based space strategy title on the market where you can get through a complete game in under 400 hours," Blue Wizard said. "It's built by hardcore 4X fans who know exactly what fat to trim away and what's needed to keep it tasty."

Blue Wizard Digital was founded by Jason Kapalka, who also founded flash game titan PopCap back in the day. The Seattle-based studio consists of people who've collectively worked on Bejeweled, Peggle and Plants vs. Zombies.

Space Tyrant is in Early Access on Steam, and it will fully release on February 27. It's currently $20, and rather than a post-Early Access price jump, Blue Wizard is planning a launch week discount.

Austin freelanced for PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree, and has been a full-time writer at PC Gamer's sister publication GamesRadar+ since 2019. They've yet to realize that his position as a staff writer is just a cover-up for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a focus on news, the occasional feature, and as much Genshin Impact as he can get away with.