It Belongs in a Vivarium – Announcing Grand Archive

I’m pleased to announce that the third Episode of Stellaris: Season 08, the Grand Archive Story Pack, will be released alongside the Stellaris 3.14 ‘Circinus’ update on Tuesday, October 29th, 2024. This release completes the Stellaris: Season 08 Expansion Pass.

“The Grand Archive preserves and exhibits the most valuable artifacts we have collected throughout the galaxy…”

The galaxy is vast and filled with artifacts!

Grand Archive adds 151 specimens to the base game, but we have revisited all of the content ever created for Stellaris to add more. The overall total is over 240 unique specimens!

Collect them all and display the prize pieces in your own Grand Archive.


“This is no mere rock collection.”

“…Reserved within is also a dedicated Vivarium for live Space Fauna containment and observation.”

Contained within your Grand Archive, the Vivarium is a controlled environment where wild space fauna can be cared for and studied. Space fauna in captivity will grow faster and breed more easily than in the wild. These creatures can then be dissected for research, resources, or their genetic material.

With the development of the Controlled Mutations technology, Space Fauna can be customized to form a fleet which will grow and become stronger over time.


“These non-lethal projectiles can safely capture and transport Space Fauna to our Vivarium, where they can continue to reproduce new specimens of their kind.”

The void is full of life.

Two new forms of Space Fauna are coming in the Grand Archive Story Pack.

Cutholoids are ambush predators that lurk within asteroid belts, waiting for prey.

“Culling and dissecting these creatures will allow the harvesting of their Genetic Material for cloning purposes as well as other resources.”

Voidworms are a more active parasitic threat with a full life cycle that can grow into a mid-game Crisis if their populations are left to breed.


“If this variant species were allowed to spread unchecked, it could upset the balance of the galactic ecosystem entirely.”

“With the mysteries of the galaxy at our doorstep, there is everything left to learn.”

The Grand Archive Story Pack comes with two Civics, two Origins, and two new Tradition trees, each focusing on either different aspects of coexistence with Alien Fauna or the hunt for the hidden mysteries and treasures of the universe.


The Corporate, Hive Mind, or Machine Intelligence versions of these Civics require access to their Authorities – MegaCorp, Utopia, and either Synthetic Dawn or The Machine Age, respectively.

Stellaris: Grand Archive includes:
  • Space Fauna capture, breeding, and modification systems
  • 151 Specimens to collect and display across events from Grand Archive and the base game
    • Over 240 Specimens total including those distributed across other Stellaris content
  • 15 new Relics
  • Two new Tradition trees
    • Archivism
    • Domestication
  • Two new Origins
    • Primal Calling
    • Treasure Hunters
  • Two new Civics
    • Beastmasters
    • Galactic Curators
  • Two new forms of spaceborne life
    • Cutholoids
    • Voidworms
  • A new possible mid-game crisis – the Voidworm Plague
  • Three new music tracks
  • Events, Anomalies, Archaeology Sites, Technologies, Galactic community resolutions, and more!

Note: The Grand Archive Story Pack also unlocks access to the Curator Order Enclave, which is also unlocked by Leviathans or Distant Stars.

Dev Diary Schedule​
  • Sept 26​ – Announcing Grand Archive​
  • Oct 3 – Building a Grand Archive and Displaying Your Collection​
  • Oct 10​ – The Care and Feeding of Tiyanki​
  • Oct 17​ – New Life in the Galaxy​
  • Oct 24​ – 3.14 “Circinus” Preliminary Release Notes​

The Grand Archive Story Pack can be purchased as part of the Stellaris: Season 08 Expansion Pass, or as a standalone purchase for $14.99 (regional pricing may vary).

It is also included as part of the Stellaris Expansion Subscription


Pre-purchase Stellaris: Grand Archive alone or with a discount as part of Stellaris: Season 08!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2863080/Stellaris_Grand_Archive/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2863190/Stellaris_Season_08__Expansion_Pass/

Written by: Burnsy - Community Leader