Stellaris: Willpower and 4.6 “Corona Borealis”
Willpower is the next Stellaris expansion, out with the free 4.6 'Corona Borealis' update on Monday, November 23, 2026, for $24.99 (£20.99, €24.99) and part of Season 10. It turns an empire's fanatic Ethic into an Ideology that spreads across borders, adds relocatable Galactic Halls, the Force of Will ambition and three origins: Golden Generation, Lost Makers and Great Mosaic.
From Paradox's own posts; every line below names its source. The game files of 4.6 are not out yet — this site shows 4.5.2 until release day.
Release date and price
Ideologies
- Fanatic Factions appear: they produce more but disapprove faster when their demands go unmet. A faction can turn fanatic after long high support and approval. [2]
- A fanatic faction can lead the empire to adopt an Ideology (also from the Manage Faction menu); keeping it costs a monthly Influence upkeep. [2]
- An Ideology spreads from populated colonies as Ideological Reach — faster with more Unity, Amenities and Trade — and has its own map mode and flag. [2]
- Inside your Reach, claims and starbases outside your borders cost less Influence and starbase upkeep is lower. [2]
- The empire that forms an Ideology becomes its Ideological Authority and alone codifies Tenets: three slots, each later slot at a higher intensity; Tenets can be reformulated for Influence and time. [2]
- Ideological Momentum tracks recent strength; if it turns negative, penalties and Ideological Revolts follow — which can spawn an opposing Ideology or secede several colonies at once. [2]
- Other empires can adopt your Ideology and then spread it too; empires sharing an Ideology view each other more favourably. [2]
Galactic Halls and ideological buildings
- Galactic Hall technology opens once you have an Ideology and enough Ideological Strength; each Ethic has its own Hall design. [3]
- A Hall orbiting a colony boosts it (some bonuses depend on your guiding Ethic); it can also orbit any body you control to push Reach outward. [3]
- The Hall is a movable megastructure: relocating costs Energy and has a 10-year cooldown. [3]
- Halls have Chamber module slots (one at first); you cannot take the Chamber of the Ethic opposed to yours. [3]
- Ideological Beacons can be built on any starbase: they produce Unity and raise Ideological Push. [3]
- Ethical Buildings (colony-unique, opened by the Galactic Hall technology) raise Ideological Strength and bring back Culture Workers; two upgrades need special Ideological society technologies. [3]
- Nomads project Reach through their waystations and build Galactic Halls as modules. [3]
Gestalt empires
- Gestalt pops are not converted one by one: foreign ideas in their systems cause Deviancy, and enough Deviancy can win the whole empire over. [3]
- Hive Minds codify Instincts and Machine Intelligences adopt Directives, after contacting independent empires and completing a special project. [3]
- Tenets adapt to the empire type (a Specialist bonus becomes a Complex Drone bonus). [3]
Force of Will ambition
- A new ambition and route to victory: make the galaxy follow your Ideology and defeat all the Fallen Empires. [4]
Three new origins
- Golden Generation: educate a cohort of promising students at the Golden Academy, then recruit them as leaders. [1]
- Lost Makers (Machine Intelligence only): a search for your creators tied to one of the galaxy's Precursors; you start with the negative Redundant Module trait, can restore its purpose later, and unlock an origin-only civic. [3]
- Great Mosaic: start with an additional civic and no prescribed narrative path. [1]
- Lost Makers is one of two new origins that can generate a special Ideology at the end. [3]
Civics and more
- Five new Fanatic Civics. [1]
- One of them, Open Stars Sovereignty, is only for Fanatic or Absolute Xenophiles; its Immigration Bureau, built on systems bordering other empires, brings a mixed population to every planet. [2]
- Willpower also unlocks the Shared Burdens and Oppressive Autocracy civics, so every Fanatic Ethic has a Fanatic Civic without MegaCorp or Galactic Paragons. [1]
- Also announced: ideological diplomacy and espionage, a Casus Belli to impose your Ideology, 40+ events, 8 Ideological Paragons, the Inquisitor shipset, city set and advisor, and 4 music tracks. [1]
On release day
When 4.6 is out we read the new game files: the new origins, civics, technologies and buildings get their own pages from the files, and Patch changes lists everything 4.6 changed against 4.5.2, field by field. Until then every number on this site is 4.5.2's.
Willpower: questions
When does Stellaris Willpower come out?
Monday, November 23, 2026, together with the free 4.6 "Corona Borealis" update (Paradox, Stellaris Dev Diary #437 - Willpower Release Date, Galactic Halls, and Gestalts, 2026-10-21).
How much does Willpower cost?
On Steam $24.99, £20.99, €24.99; it is part of Stellaris: Season 10 (Steam store page, read 2026-10-23).
What are the new origins in Willpower?
Golden Generation, Lost Makers (Machine Intelligence only) and Great Mosaic (Paradox, Dev Diary #435 and #437).
Are Scenarios in 4.6?
No. Paradox moved Scenarios to the 4.7 "Capricornus" update, planned for Q1 2027 (Dev Diary #435).
Sources
- [1] Stellaris Dev Diary #435 - Willpower (2026-10-08)
- [2] Stellaris Dev Diary #436 - Ideologies (2026-10-15)
- [3] Stellaris Dev Diary #437 - Willpower Release Date, Galactic Halls, and Gestalts (2026-10-21)
- [4] Stellaris: Willpower on Steam (2026-10-23)
Checked 2026-10-23. The wording is ours; Paradox may still change features before release.