Sorcerer King: Rivals, a standalone expansion to Stardock's 4X strategy game, is coming next month

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If you want to be the god, you've got to beat the god.

In Stardock's 4X strategy game Sorcerer King, you play as the leader of a small city-state who's struggling to prevent the mighty, titular Sorcerer King from gaining ultimate power, taking over the world, and ascending to godhood—while at the same time dealing with the sometimes petty, shortsighted shenanigans of your fellow small-time bosses. The standalone expansion announced today, Sorcerer King: Rivals, maintains that asymmetric setup, but adds a twist: Now you're out to seize godhood too, and everyone else is determined to stop you. 

Sorcerer King: Rivals will feature two new factions, the Frozen Realm and the Necromancers, each with its own sovereign, spells, units, and abilities, and a trio of powerful new lieutenants that have joined the Sorcerer King's army. New quests have been added, and there's also a new quest editor and Steam Workshop integration. But the real hook is the new Ascension Victory condition: Instead of destroying the magical shards the Sorcerer King is searching for, you can collect them yourself, cast the Ascension spell, and beat him to the divinity punch. 

Of course, there's a downside to all of this: The Sorcerer King's ascension to godhood will mean the end of the world (which is why you're trying so hard to stop him), and so will yours. Tough call to make there.   

Sorcerer King: Rivals is set to come out in September. Details are up at sorcererking.com.

Andy Chalk
Andy Chalk
US News Lead

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.