Starbase Orion vs Star Traders
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Starbase Orion
Engage in a deep 4X space strategy experience. Explore, expand, and conquer the galaxy by colonizing worlds, designing ships, and outmaneuvering opponents in turn-based combat. Features a robust AI and multiplayer options for galactic domination.
- Explore new worlds
- Expand your empire
- Exterminate rivals
- Design custom ships
- Engage in turn-based combat
- Diplomacy and espionage
- Multiplayer via GameCenter
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"The best 4X game currently available for mobile" - PocketTactics.com "This one is geek heaven" - AppAdvice.com "Master of Orion in Your Pocket” - GamePro.com "Starbase Orion has an epic-feeling" - TouchArcade.com "Starbase Orion is here, and it's glorious." - TUAW.com Explore. Expand. Exterminate. Can you defeat your friends and become the ruler of the galaxy? Starbase Orion is an old-school 4X space strategy game that draws inspiration from titles such as Master of Orion and Galactic Civilizations. Lead your empire from the birth of its space age; colonize new worlds, explore new horizons, and discover other players attempting to do the same. It is a race to the stars where only one empire can declare victory over the galaxy. New to 4X Strategy Games? No Problem Starbase Orion includes a hand tailored tutorial mission perfect for those new to the genre. It features high-quality voice acting provided by the very talented Maurice Thomas. Aged like a Fine Wine With nearly a five year life span the dedicated community of Starbase Orion players and the developer have produced twenty-four fantastic updates. Each update has introduced new features and player suggested functionality to make the game better, more strategic, and more immersive. Strong Single-Player Experience Compete against a battle-tested artificial intelligence. Our AI was derived from our entry into to 2010 Google AI contest, where it placed in the top 15% of thousands of competing intelligences. Go head-to-head against a single AI opponent, or ramp up the carnage with a 4 way free-for-all. GameCenter Multiplayer Turn-Based Games Starbase Orion was designed to provide a fantastic multiplayer experience. Launch the game, sign into GameCenter, and start a new multiplayer game. No need to coordinate play times or seek out other players. Just go play, when you want and on your terms. Choose Your Race, Or Create Your Own There are five uniques races included; Human, Draske, Vass, Cyban, and Isather. You can also create your own custom race by picking and choosing between different race characteristics. Intense Space Combat Design your ships from a variety of weapons, hull, and systems. Send them into battle against the enemy. Give them orders, then watch the battle in unfold as they duke it out in the dark expanses of space. Diplomacy, Espionage, Free Agents Direct confrontations not your cup of tea? Negotiate your way to victory through diplomatic endeavors. Confound your enemies with an army of spies. Contract one of the many power and unique leaders to help you to victory. iCloud Support Starbase Orion is built from the ground up for iOS 5. It supports iCloud so that your saved games are instantly available on all of your devices. Start a game at home on your iPad, then pick it up again the next day on your iPhone. Simple, streamlined, fantastic. Universal - You Bought the Cool Gadgets, Go Play on Them Full support for iPad, iPhone, iPod, standard and Retina displays. Play when you want, where you want. Guaranteed Pricing While it is quite common for apps to become “free for a day”, Starbase Orion is not one of those apps. The standard price for Starbase Orion is $7.99 USD; it will never run a “free for a day” campaign. Tens of thousands of players have placed their confidence in us by purchasing Starbase Orion, and this is our guarantee to you. Guaranteed Free Updates We have a lot more planned for Starbase Orion. We plan to release all updates for free, without any hidden fees or In-App Purchases.
Star Traders
Command your own starship and crew in a vast, procedurally generated open universe. Forge your path as a pirate, merchant, bounty hunter, or explorer, influencing factions and shaping your crew through your choices in this epic sci-fi RPG.
- Open universe exploration
- Multiple captain careers (26 jobs)
- Spaceship customization (350+ upgrades)
- Crew assembly and talent management
- Dynamic narrative and faction influence
- Crew molding based on player choices
- Varied difficulty options including permadeath
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You are the captain of a starship venturing through a massive open universe. Customize your crew and take command at the helm of your very own ship as you explore a galaxy torn apart by internal strife, alien threats, and political intrigue. Command your ship and crew as a space pirate, merchant, bounty hunter, and more in Star Traders: Frontiers – an epic space RPG from Trese Brothers Games. Venture forth into a massive open universe, rich with adventure and the lore of the Star Traders. Choose your path by assembling and commanding your custom crew and spaceship in a constantly evolving galaxy torn by internal strife, political intrigue, and alien threats. Will you fly as a pirate terrorizing shipping lanes, join the solar wars as a military captain, or track targets across the stars as a fearsome bounty hunter? - Explore a rich, open universe: Discover endless procedurally-generated galactic maps, meet unique characters, and take on enemies to conquer the galaxy! - Become an intergalactic captain: Take on the role of a spy, smuggler, explorer, pirate, merchant, bounty hunter, and more (26 jobs total)! - Customize your own spaceship: Choose from more than 350 upgrades and 45 ship hulls to build your very own vessel to venture across the vast reaches of space. - Assemble and tailor a loyal crew: Assign talents and equip specialized gear for every spaceship crew member. - Experience an ever-changing narrative: Decide to make friends or foes with other factions and influence political, economic, and personal vendettas. - Mold the crew by your choices: As you make decisions and set the tone for your ship, your crew will grow and change to match. Destroy enemy ships with all hands on deck and your crew will become more bloodthirsty and savage. Explore distant worlds and loot dangerous wastelands and your crew will become intrepid and clever ... or scarred and half-mad. - Varied Difficulty Options! play with save slots to try out different builds or storylines or turn on character permadeath and enjoy classic roguelike experience - Achievement Unlocks: accomplish story and challenge goals to unlock additional optional (but not better) content like new starting ships and new starting contacts First there was the Exodus – when survivors of a great war left the ruins of the Galactic Core behind in search of a new home in the stars. Scattered worlds were claimed on the fringe of the galaxy. Each pocket of survivors held on to an isolated set of worlds while trying to rebuild under the great law of Shalun. Three centuries later, technology has brought them back together again. Discovery of the hyperwarp has bridged what was once an unimaginable distance between far-flung colonies, long-lost families, and political factions. With that reunification has come great economic prosperity. The hyperwarp reestablished the transportation of cargo, goods, and technologies between the quadrants – but it has also brought great strife. Political rivalries have been rekindled, blood has been shed in age-old feuds, and the fires of war have been stoked. Amidst the political infighting, a ruthless revolution is rising – and the fervent explorers of the hyperwarp have awoken something that was better left asleep. Our very first game, Star Traders RPG, took hundreds of thousands of gamers on an interstellar adventure. Star Traders’ success and overwhelmingly positive reception helped to launch Trese Brothers Games. It was the adventures of our community’s star-crossed captains that put us on a trajectory to share more of our worlds, ideas, and dreams. We set out to capture the loneliness, bravery, and camaraderie of people living together in a spaceship sailing across the stars. It is with great pride that after releasing four other games in the Star Traders universe, we’ve created a sequel to the original Star Traders RPG. Step onto the bridge of your starship, take to the stars, and create your own story in Star Traders: Frontiers.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Star Traders at every 3 weeks against Starbase Orion's every 3 months. Star Traders also leads on chart position (#54 vs #173) and price ($6.99 vs $7.99). Starbase Orion's advantage is review sentiment (81% vs 73%). On rating, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Starbase Orion costs $7.99 and Star Traders $6.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Starbase Orion against 4.6 for Star Traders. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 329 and 674 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 81% of Starbase Orion's written reviews are positive against 73% of Star Traders's.
Starbase Orion ships an update every 3 months, Star Traders every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on October 29, 2026.
| Parameter | Starbase Orion | Star Traders |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $7.99 | $6.99 — better |
| Rating | 4.7 (329 ratings) — better | 4.6 (674 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 81.3% of reviews — better | 73.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 329 | 674 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Best chart rank | #173 | #54 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 11.2 — better | 12.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 239 MB | 316 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Chimera Software, LLC | Trese Brothers |
Customer experience
Starbase Orion
Star Traders
User reviews
Starbase Orion
From 329 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Excellent 4x strategy game
- 👍 Faithful recreation of Master of Orion
- 🚀 Continuously updated with new features
- 👍 Vibrant player community
- 🚀 Smooth gameplay and intuitive controls
Room to improve
- 🐛 Crashes and stability issues
- 🔍 Limited diplomacy and foreign relations
- 🔍 Automated combat lacks depth
- 🔍 Repetitive late-game experience
- 🔍 Outdated visuals
Star Traders
From 674 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🌟 Impressive depth and complexity
- 🌍 Vast open-world with endless possibilities
- 🔍 Engaging story and lore
- 🤖 Diverse gameplay options (trading, exploration, combat, etc.)
- 🕹️ Satisfying ship and crew management
Room to improve
- 🤔 Steep learning curve, lacks clear tutorials
- 🔍 Repetitive or tedious aspects in late game
- 📱 UI/UX issues on smaller mobile devices
- 🎲 Frustrating RNG elements and difficulty spikes
- 🔒 Lack of cloud save functionality
Bugs and requests
Starbase Orion
Reported bugs
3 issues- Crashes and save file corruption
- UI issues with overlapping text and unresponsive controls
- Multiplayer matchmaking and connectivity problems
Requested features
5 requests- More ship classes and customization options
- Expanded tech tree and research system
- Deeper diplomacy and espionage mechanics
- Manual control of ship combat
- Improved end-game content and victory conditions
Star Traders
Reported bugs
4 issues- Crew combat screen UI issues causing accidental input
- Reputation/faction system bugs leading to unexpected outcomes
- Crashes and freezes when navigating certain screens
- Inconsistent behavior with ship component upgrades
Requested features
5 requests- Ability to customize ship colors and appearances
- Option to command/control multiple ships as a fleet
- More end-game content and progression systems
- Improved UI scaling and optimization for larger screens
- Cloud save/sync functionality across devices
In-app purchases
Starbase Orion
No in-app purchases
Star Traders
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Starbase Orion free?
Is Star Traders free?
Which has better reviews, Starbase Orion or Star Traders?
Do Starbase Orion or Star Traders have ads?
Which is updated more often, Starbase Orion or Star Traders?
Which is more popular, Starbase Orion or Star Traders?
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