Stardock Software/Ironclad Games’ top Strategy title Sins of the Solar Empire is expected to see new expansion packs later this year.

While expansion packs for  a RTS game might not be particularly note worthy, Stardock’s delivery and phrasing is.  While the traditional route has been to release a boxed, brick and mortar storefront version, Stardock is stepping out on a bit of a ledge here, and offering the new content as ‘Micro-Expansions’.  This new content will be made available via the company’s digital distribution platform: Impulse.  The first of these expansions, titled Entrenchment, will be made available at Impulse for $10 later this year.

If these ‘expansions’ sound a whole lot like ‘transactions’ you’re not alone.  While typical microtransactions may involve clothing or weapons for players, content in itself is a form of a microtransaction.  Interesting to note that Stardock shys away from the word itself and cloaks it under the term expansion.

Entrenchment’s new features will add “a Starbase defense platform for each race, turret upgrades for each race to make them more powerful and a Subspace Inhibitor platform that will slow enemy ships within its range.”

Ironclad is also working on two additional add-ons for players.  “one of which adds new diplomacy features to the game and another that will add new technologies and ships.”
At present, neither Ironclad of Stardock have given exact release dates for these ‘expansions’.