At the very least, you could still come join the Steam group for Stellaris Multiplayer and that way stay caught up on how things are going/when new games start.
It's more than just this game, there's over a hundred people joined and at least a half-dozen games ready to start right after game launch.
Come to think of it, my computer's five years old this summer as well, but it (barely) exceeds everything on the recommended specs list so I'm not too worried. If only I had the money to upgrade. . .