There are two official free ways to try Pax Autocratica: a standalone free Prologue app and a demo hosted on the main store page. The developers confirmed in the official Steam discussions that both have carried the same version since December 1, 2025: this page gathers what is verified about each, and states plainly what has not been announced.
The free Prologue
- What it is: a free, standalone Steam app, Pax Autocratica: Prologue, separate from the paid Early Access game.
- Live since: December 1, 2025.
- What it covers: the first sector, Elysia, including a boss battle and dozens of roguelite buffs: a vertical slice of the colony-to-combat loop the full game expands.
- Price: free. The full game is a separate purchase ($29.99 base, with a 17% launch discount through August 24, 2026: see the release-date status page for the dated price snapshot).
The demo on the main store page
The main store page also hosts a demo (its own app, live since August 27, 2025). Since December 1, 2025 the demo and the Prologue have been the same version, per the developers' official answer in the Steam discussions: picking either one is enough to sample the game.
The demo-era builds were maintained seriously: between June and early August 2026 the developers shipped eleven demo updates and hotfixes, and in October 2025 they patched and recompiled the demo against Unity security issue CVE-2025-59489. The patch notes guide carries the full dated log.
What has not been announced
- Whether Prologue or demo progress carries over into the Early Access game has not been stated in the official channels this wiki tracks. Treat any carryover claim as unverified until it appears on an official channel.
- No separate demo for consoles exists: the game itself is Windows-only on Steam, and no console version has been announced.
If wording like "4 Player Co-Op to be added by full release" matters to your purchase decision, that official answer lives in the multiplayer guide; the Prologue and demo themselves are single-player today.
Sources and verification
- Free Prologue store page: Pax Autocratica: Prologue. Standalone app, coverage, and live date.
- Main store page: Pax Autocratica on Steam. The demo hosted there and the Early Access price.
- Official Steam news feed: Pax Autocratica news. Demo-era update log and the October 2025 Unity security announcement.
- The "same version since December 1, 2025" confirmation is the developers' official answer in the Steam discussions, recorded in this wiki's August 17, 2026 material harvest.
- Verified Aug 18, 2026.