As the fourth entry in the Galactic Civilizations series, the game adds an artificial intelligence assistant, a scoring system, and a larger galaxy organized into multiple sectors of tile-based maps.

[3][4][5][6][7] Stardock announced Galactic Civilizations 4 in early 2021, promising to expand the series with a bigger map, revamped systems, and more emphasis on story and characters.

[10] Wccftech praised the gameplay with "plenty to enjoy here, but this game may not quite have the gravitational pull needed to separate you from your 4X favorites", citing "a lack of guidance, bloated tech trees, and some other minor lingering issues".

[5] PCGamesN said that the game is "nothing novel, but Stardock’s latest release builds on classic strategy mechanics while giving them a contemporary, intergalactic twist.

[3] Jason Rodriguez from PC Invasion said that "it's hard to enjoy longer playthroughs", describing how "poor UI, lack of informative tooltips, and odd queueing problems caused unnecessary headaches".