One of the parts of Endless Space (1) that I absolutely loved was the ability to create custom factions based on the list of available traits to try a different game style not available through any of the major factions.  Maybe I'm missing something, but I'm not seeing that capability since the new release this morning.

Is there a way to create a custom faction currently, and if not is that slated for a future release?

It is possible.

Don't know wheter there are other wayys, but when creating a game you can click o the portrait of the chosen faction leader to get into the Faction selection screen.

There should be an "add" button used to create custom factions.

Thank you!  I only saw the initial drop-down list, didn't think to click on the portrait.