Play as Trump, Sanders, Clinton in This New Political Strategy Game

Sins of a Solar Empire and Galactic Civilizations developer Stardock released its next game today, but it might not be what you would have guessed. The Political Machine 2016 is a PC political strategy game of sorts in which you can play as "dozens" of candidates, including the leading ones like Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders, and Hillary Clinton. Your goal is to win the US presidency by giving speeches, appearing on talk shows, and even hiring "unsavory operatives" to do your bidding.

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If you don't want to play as any of the real-world candidates, you can create your own and choose what they look like, their political affiliation, and hometown.

"The game deals with topics like the Keystone XL Pipeline, human trafficking, and other issues that are current and relevant to this year's election," producer Patrick Shaw said in a statement.

The Political Machine 2016 also includes a polling feature that shows how your in-game race compares to what's actually happening in the real world.

Throughout the game, players will have to deal with issues that flare up out of the blue, including email scandals, "torrid affairs," and natural disasters. Players can also buy virtual advertisements and deploy them in certain states to curry favor with the people there. Additionally, endorsements from groups modeled after the NRA and NAACP can also be won.

For a closer look at The Political Machine 2016, you can click through the images in the gallery above.

The Political Machine normally sells for $10, but is marked down to $7.50 on Steam as part of the platform's just-launched Lunar Sale.