Shadow Empire

Shadow Empire

VR Designs · December 3, 2020 · Strategy, Simulation, 4X, RPG, Wargame

Buy the Shadow Empire key for Steam from YUPLAY at $8.31 — the cheapest of 18 stores we compare.

PC
Very Positive83% · 1,96978Metacritic83playing now
Best price 81 Lowest tracked
$8.31-69%
$37.66⭐ lowest tracked
YUPLAY Buy at YUPLAY

Prices last checked

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Where to buy Shadow Empire — official stores

Fanatical
Standard Edition · Steam
-69%
$12.39
$39.99
Buy
Steam
Steam
Standard Edition · Steam
-50%
$19.99
$39.99
Buy
GamersGate
GamersGate
Standard Edition · Steam
-10%
$35.99
$39.99
Buy
Gamesplanet
Standard Edition · Steam
-10%
$35.99
$39.99
Buy
GreenManGaming
Standard Edition · Steam
$39.99
Buy
AllYouPlay
AllYouPlay
Standard Edition · Ubisoft Connect
$39.99
Buy
Humble Store
Humble Store
Standard Edition · Steam
$39.99
Buy
IndieGala Store
IndieGala Store
Standard Edition · Steam
$39.99
Buy
GOG
GOG
Standard Edition · DRM-Free
$39.99
Buy
WinGameStore
WinGameStore
Standard Edition · Steam
$39.99
Buy

Cheapest Shadow Empire keys — keyshops

Keyshops are third-party marketplaces — keys are resold and can be region-locked or a different edition. Check the listing's region & edition before buying.

YUPLAY
Standard Edition · Steam
-78%
$8.31
$37.66
Buy
Driffle INC
Standard Edition · Steam
$8.76
Buy
Eneba
Standard Edition · Steam
$8.76
Buy
Gameseal
Standard Edition · Steam
$9.14
Buy
Loaded
Standard Edition · Steam
-78%
$9.39
$41.79
Buy
CJS CD Keys
CJS CD Keys
Standard Edition · Steam
$11.02
Buy
Kinguin
Standard Edition · Steam
$11.12
Buy
Gamesporium
Gamesporium
Standard Edition · Steam
$39.99
Buy

Some store links are affiliate links — playze may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. It never changes the price you pay, and the cheapest confirmed price is always shown in the Best price box above.

Shadow Empire price by region

Shadow Empire costs £6.27 in the United Kingdom, €7.50 in Europe (EUR), $8.31 in the United States, $8.31 in Georgia (USD), CA$11.84 in Canada, A$17.65 in Australia, NZ$28.49 in New Zealand, zł34.93 in Poland and R$49.44 in Brazil right now.

Cheapest Shadow Empire offer in each region, in local currency
RegionBest priceOfficial storeKey shopStores
United Kingdom £6.27 −69% £9.60 £6.27 15
Europe (EUR) €7.50 −69% €10.53 €7.50 17
United Statesyour region $8.31 −69% $12.39 $8.31 18
Georgia (USD) $8.31 −50% $9.24 $8.31 17
Canada CA$11.84 −69% CA$14.10 CA$11.84 15
Australia A$17.65 −69% A$17.65 A$58.50 14
New Zealand NZ$28.49 −50% NZ$28.49 NZ$56.99 13
Poland zł34.93 −62% zł92.49 zł34.93 15
Brazil R$49.44 −50% R$53.99 R$49.44 13

Each row is a real price from that region's own stores, not a currency conversion, so the figures are not directly comparable. Switch regions in the header to shop the one you buy in.

Screenshots

About Shadow Empire

✦ AI summary

Shadow Empire is a deep turn-based 4X wargame where you rule a devastated planet, commanding military conquests, managing complex economics, and navigating intricate diplomacy with procedurally generated worlds and over 100 technology fields to research. It stands out through its obsessive attention to operational detail—from customizable unit loadouts and supply chain logistics to leader skill systems, political voting bodies, and 200+ situational stratagems that let you automate vast swathes of micromanagement.

Shadow Empire is a deep, turn-based 4X wargame with a unique blend of military focus, procedurally generated content and role-playing features. Players take the seat of the supreme ruler of a small nation, with the goal of reconquering a devastated planet. Set in an alien universe, Shadow Empire immerses players in a dark and unforgiving future, where they take command of military conquests and engage in delicate diplomacy. Control the nation's budget, recruit and oversee governors and commanders, build the economy, and develop infrastructure. Every decision plays a pivotal role in shaping the fate of the empire.Shadow Empire is one of the most ambitious games VR Designs has ever made. It offers a rich experience and stands out as a truly unique game, one unlike anything players have experienced before. The game’s complex systems require players to make agonizing choices in response to events affecting the nation, the demands of leaders, or external pressures from factions like cults and crime syndicates. Stratagems offer the opportunity to craft responses to crises or create new opportunities for growth.Leaders with diverse skill sets can be recruited and become zone governors, council directors, army commanders or advisors. Leaders can have over 40 different skills and can receive Leader feats to augment their statistics.Political systems, including parliaments, senates, or politburos, can be established and evolve as the game progresses. Political bodies will vote on laws, which introduce new dynamics to gameplay. The outcome of these votes can have far-reaching consequences on the direction of the empire.Diplomacy with neighboring factions is also a key component of the game. Minor regimes can be coerced to become vassals. Major regimes can be tied down with pacts and deals, ensuring a peaceful coexistence or you can use your spies to manipulate their politics and reveal their military forces.Managing the expectations of both the populace and the ruling class is a delicate balancing act. There is a strong role-playing and human dynamics element to Shadow Empire, and mismanagement can lead to discontent, strikes, corruption, or even full-scale rebellion.Thanks to specialized procedural design, Shadow Empire offers extensive replayability, allowing players to experiment with various strategies. Detailed, procedurally generated planets that adhere to the rules of Astrobiology can be explored. Including detailed climate, rainfall, deserts, snow, glaciers, lava streams, deep forests, alien evolutions, mountain chains, resources, rivers, biohazard levels, respiratory hazard levels and more. The game features a huge variety of mining operations: water, metal, rare metals, oil and even radioactive materials. Prospecting is often necessary for discovering resources that could be mined and you‘ll need to scavenge through the ruins of fallen empires and discover rare artifacts from a lost age.There is also a separate system for discovery of technology, formations and units. Research and development paths are different in every game and this ensures that the route to success is different every time, too. More than 200stratagems can be explored and deployed. Stratagems are complete plans and series of actions that allow players to complete vast swathes of micromanagement tasks simply and easily. This system can also help respond quickly to crisis or unforeseen situations. It’s even possible to craft procedural Stratagems. 30+ different unit types such as light tanks, walkers, missile launchers, aircraft and much more can be designed to fit the needs of the army, choose their loadouts, balance speed and armor and create the exact land and air forces that the nation needs. Each unit type can be customized upon design by choosing its component parts like gun and engine type. Shadow Empire comes with over 100 different formation types, deploy Infantry regiments, Siege Battalions, Tank Divisions and so much more. Combat is deeply operational, with detailed resolution based on factors like readiness, morale, supply, experience, entrenchment, landscape, recon, rivers, weapon and armor technologies, concentric attacks, leader skills and posture stratagems. Strategic planning is essential to victory, as forces must be carefully managed across numerous specialized unit types and formations. Over 100 different fields of technology can be discovered. The game starts at a low level of technology as the nation drags itself out of the ruins of a galactic collapse, but at the end of the tech tree players will find knowledge that enables the construction of exciting advanced technologies such as ICBMs, laser guns, atomic missile launchers, walkers, shield-generators and more.Players have to manage a realistic supply chain that has real consequences: running out of ammo could mean that the military is unable to attack or defend itself. Running out of food could have even more dire implications.

Logistical network capabilities can be extended by building roads or rails as well as constructing truck stations, maglev stations and supply base assets. The development of transport helicopters and cargo planes is essential to set up Air Bridges to support Invasions or to drop supplies into isolated positions.

Please note: 
The game features AI-generated portraits, created by combining a base image with layered facial variations. Using advanced AI tools, elements such as eyes, mouth, hair, and aging effects are rendered separately and overlaid dynamically to create diverse and evolving character appearances.

Shadow Empire — game info

Platforms
Windows
Steam Deck
Unsupported
Player modes
Single-player, Online PvP, Co-op, Split screen
PC Game Pass
Not included
More games like this:Split-screen games

DLC & expansions

🎁 Complete the collection

Base game + 2 of 2 DLC at today's best prices.

$24.54
to own everything

What Steam players say

Recent verbatim reviews from Steam — separate from playze.io community reviews below.

✦ AI summary

Shadow Empire is a deeply complex grand strategy game that players find compelling once they master its intricate UI and systems, but it suffers from significant technical and performance issues that severely hamper enjoyment. Common complaints include excessive AI turn times that can stretch to 30 minutes on even small maps, general optimization problems causing menu lag, Linux compatibility issues, and repetitive notifications that clutter gameplay.

Not recommended Sep 30, 2026
Does not work on Linux, game will not load past the launcher. Posting this negative review is the only way that I feel I can meaningfully provide feedback that encourages Linux support & I'll remove it once I can launch the game. I played the game in the past (but didn't get too far) and it seemed very compelling, at some point I purchased the 1st expansion and wanted to give it a go again, but unfortunately, I can't.
7 found this helpful
Not recommended Sep 30, 2026
I really want to like the game, but even on small maps the AI turns take 30 minutes so you get to play the game something like 10 minutes per hour tops. It's hard to like a game that you don't get to play. The menus and interface has tremendous lag between clicking and the action happening. It is just poorly optimized all around. I only managed around 60 turns in 30 hours.
2 found this helpful
Not recommended Oct 5, 2026
Refused to run until I edited the text file "direct2d" changed the two lines to false. Not for me though. I think I need a little more game in my games.
1 found this helpful
Recommended Sep 30, 2026
This game is incredible. I have a lot more hours played than shown here, so just believe me- its one of if not the most complex grand strategy/4x game out there. Once you get to grips with the UI, you'll be hooked. The UI is really well designed, contrary to first impresions- the complexity is necessary, and once you familiarise yourself with it, navigating it becomes second nature.
1 found this helpful
Recommended Sep 28, 2026
Good game, if only the game would give player the option to turn off report about Zone city upgrade and Creating new council. It keep pestering me every few rounds. Also have to manually move every unit is tiresome.
Recommended Sep 28, 2026
me like

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