Hooded Horse and Pavonis Interactive have announced Dark Skies, the first DLC for sci-fi grand strategy game Terra Invicta, releasing on 27 July 2026 across Steam, GOG, Epic Games Store, and the Microsoft Store.
The DLC adds two new starting scenarios that significantly alter the conditions under which players prepare for the alien invasion at the heart of the game. The first moves the start date back to 2003, during the US-led invasion of Iraq, giving players two additional decades to build their response before the main alien fleet arrives. The extended timeline is not straightforwardly advantageous: public scepticism about the alien threat is far higher in 2003 than in the game’s default start, making political and organisational work harder even as players gain additional time for research and preparation. Offworld infiltrators and human collaborators remain active threats throughout. The press release describes the scenario as a longer, slower fight on Earth.
The second scenario, Broken Earth, takes place in an alternate timeline in which the Cuban Missile Crisis escalated into full nuclear exchange. A century after that war, the world is unrecognisable: major powers have fractured into new and distinct political entities, and a diminished humanity must rebuild its strength before the alien fleet arrives. The scenario presents a far more hostile starting position than either the default game or the 2003 scenario, with players managing the aftermath of civilisational collapse alongside the alien threat.
Two new spaceship visual styles are also included, one inspired by NASA aesthetics and one drawing on industrial hard science fiction design.
Terra Invicta left Early Access and reached its 1.0 release earlier in 2026 after an extended development period. Dark Skies is the first paid content addition since the full launch.
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