Screenshots & trailers
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (Metacritic) | – | 82 | 6 |
| Creator reviews (1 tracked) | – | 87 | 0 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 93% | 87 | 1000 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | 84 | 7 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 97% | 92 | 300 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: since the last significant patch (Mar 27, 2025) · 300 reviews sampled · 288 total reviews in window · weighted 211.6 up / 7 down · computed 2h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (24)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 85
“A wonderful last hurrah though, as expansions go. With the new ships and tech, the internal divisions along with everything else, there's hundreds more hours of fun to eek out of this game. ”
read full review ↗ - 85
“Rebellion is the best way yet to experience the strategic joys of the Sins of a Solar Empire franchise.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“Miles deep, loaded with options and gorgeous art, Sins: Rebellion is a great, genre-transcending strategy game. [Aug 2012, p.60]”
- 86
“Bigger and more stable than ever, Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion will happily strip-mine your life of its free time.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“I do feel that $40 is a little steep for a stand-alone expansion after developer Ironclad's Vancouver, British Columbia neighbor Relic has spent years training me to expect a $30 price for its content-rich Company of Heroes and Dawn of War 2 expansions. But on the other hand, Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion is an outstanding and unique real-time strategy game that offers a welcome, slower alternative to StarCraft 2's intense pacing. As a life-long fan of sci-fi space battles, I simply can't help but strongly recommend it.”
read full review ↗ - 62
“Rebellion is clearly an improvement over the original Sins of a Solar Empire, but it's still a not very successful attempt to cross an RTS with a 4X strategy game.”
read full review ↗ - 100
“Rebellion is nearly as revolutionary with its new subfactions, and it's easily as revolutionary with its new victory conditions.”
read full review ↗ - 75
“If you've been meaning to check out the series, but never have, then Rebellion is the perfect entry point. However, if you've been a loyal fan, you're likely to be disappointed by the tweak-first, content-second approach that Rebellion offers. ”
read full review ↗ - 87
“If you've never experienced Sins of a Solar Empire before, you'll find no better entry point than Rebellion. But if Rebellion commits any sins of its own, it's in the $40.00 price tag, which seems excessive for an expansion that will almost certainly strike its loyal fans as little more than a meaty content patch.”
read full review ↗ - 82
“Of all the current space strategy games Sins of a Solar Empire is my favorite. ”
read full review ↗ - 90
“An excellent strategic piece. You may be discouraged only in the case you own the original SoaSE with all its DLCs (The Trinity edition); because all that is new could be put into a tiny DLC.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Rebellion isn't a massive departure for Sins of a Solar Empire, but it's a good enough reason to get back into the game or to discover for the first time one of the more interesting evolutions of the strategy genre in recent memory.”
read full review ↗
GameWatcher
GameSpot
PC Gamer
IGN
GameTrailers
Game Informer…and 12 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- NOW OUT: First DLC for Sins of a Solar Empire II and Major v1.4 UpdateMar 27, 2025significant · resets scoring window
- Update Notes for February 20, 2024Feb 20, 2024
- Update Note for October 9, 2023Oct 9, 2023
- Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion v1.98 Now AvailableAug 23, 2023significant · resets scoring window
- Update Notes for 7/27/23Jul 27, 2023
- Update Notes for October 13, 2022Oct 13, 2022
- Update Notes for v1.974Aug 9, 2022
- v1.973 Hotfix Change ListAug 1, 2022
- Hotfix for v1.96Jun 28, 2021
- Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion Hotfix NotesMar 12, 2020
- Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion HotfixSep 27, 2019
- Sins of a Solar Emipre: Rebellion v1.92 ReleasedJul 26, 2018
- v1.9 Update marks 5 Year Anniversary for Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion!Apr 4, 2017significant · resets scoring window
- Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion v1.86 ReleasedNov 15, 2016
- Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion v1.86 ReleasedNov 15, 2016significant · resets scoring window
- Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion 1.84 ReleasedJun 14, 2016
- Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion 1.84 ReleasedJun 14, 2016
- Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion v1.82 ReleasedMay 20, 2014significant · resets scoring window
- Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion v1.82 ReleasedMay 20, 2014significant · resets scoring window
- Sins: Rebellion v1.79 Beta BeginsAug 21, 2013
- Sins: Rebellion v1.79 Beta BeginsAug 21, 2013
- Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion v1.52 HotfixJun 27, 2013
- Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion v1.52 HotfixJun 27, 2013
- Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion v1.51 ReleasedJun 18, 2013