Stellaris will let you engage in the completely legitimate activity of arming insurgents in other empires

The Stellaris team are still whittling away at the space 4X game's so-far-unannounced 2.9 update, which we're learning has a heavy espionage focus. The most recent dev diary goes into more details regarding the kinds of covert operations you can launch against other empires.

To recap, the game is shifting towards a system that is similar to what's in place for historical grand strategy game Europa Universalis IV. Put simply, you can use your diplomatic envoys to go to other polities and form spy networks. These networks can be used to gather intel on the host entity, but as your 'infiltration level' rises, they can also be 'spent' as a way of launching different operations.

This latest developer update highlights two very specific operations that fall under the 'provocation' category; Arm privateers, which is an economic provocation, and crisis beacon, which is a technological one. The first one is an advanced operation that will allow you to attempt to covertly arm insurgents within another empire. Looking at the example given in the diary, if successful this operation will cause a pirate fleet and base to spawn in a part of the target empire.

Read the rest of the story...