Best Strategy games — Titles to grip your brain and keep you up all night

✓ VideoGamer Summary

• The first strategy game was Utopia, released in 1981 for the Intellivision, and was developed by Mattel Electronics.
• Age of Empires, Total War, and Civilization are three series known to define the strategy game genre today.
• The most successful strategy game franchise is Total War, having sold over 20 million copies since its 2000 debut.
• The COVID-19 pandemic was a huge factor in highlighting strategy games, with lockdown keeping players in their homes, allowing many to rediscover the genre.

The best strategy games don’t need to have been released in 2025; many have been out for almost a decade, but still stand strong today. From developer and community support, there are plenty of titles that give the impression they’re as active as the day they were released for their respective platforms.

However, there are also plenty of modern strategy games that have made their mark, and not just on PC, either. For this guide, we’re not going to be giving a wide array of games from the genre. Instead, we’re laying out below a streamlined list of what we believe are the best strategy games you can play in 2025, right now.

Civilization VII

Despite the latest entry in the series, Civilization VII, debuting in early 2025, has already been turning heads with its commitment to taking the series forward. Although players have long been able to guide a nation from the beginning of history to the space age, faction leaders can now be scientists, religious figures, and others, too, offering an unprecedented degree of variety. 

Civilization VII is, like previous games in the series, massively replayable due to how your nations can influence history, with consequences that can decide the fate of your people. Combined with an augmented reality version, available on Meta Quest 3 and 3S headsets, Civilization VII has also helped to take the genre into a possible future where you could be playing your favorite strategy games on a coffee table instead of your Nintendo Switch 2.

Crusader Kings III

Crusader Kings III, released in 2022 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S|X, PC, and macOS, delves deep into the medieval age and succeeds in droves. Here, you play as characters that you create through its vast creation mechanics, whereby they can seize the throne after a time, giving you control over how the family dynasty will work through the era. 

The way Crusader Kings III turns strategy game tropes on their head by giving you free rein on how these characters conduct their personal and political lives. This offers a sort of ‘bottom-up’ gameplay where events are driven by a roster of diverse personalities. It’s innovative stuff and offers gripping emergent storytelling, which gives even the best RPGs a run for their money. 

Command and Conquer: Remastered

It’s hard to argue that the Command and Conquer series helped to define war strategy games in the 1990s. Developed by Westwood Studios, the original game was a runaway hit, spawning sequels and spin-offs. You can build armies while going through a campaign mode, watching interesting videos performed by actors to carry the story along, all as you grow your soldiers and more to defeat the opposing team. 

For years, the original games were lost to time, unable to be played on modern PCs, until the Remastered Collection arrived in June 2020. Featuring updated 4K graphics and modernised controls, this collection includes every expansion and is a perfect way to revisit a series that conquered the strategy games genre for a long while.

Starcraft II

Starcraft II was one of the most anticipated sequels of its time, and for good reason. Following on from 1997’s Starcraft, developer Blizzard released the sequel across the 2010s with different campaigns, culminating in a Mission Pack released in 2016. Dramatic, interwoven storylines were a big draw in Starcraft II, but didn’t get in the way of the game’s fantastic gameplay and presentation. 

As you complete missions, you can slowly buy units and upgrade others to take on the more difficult tasks later. Although difficult to master, Starcraft II is a deep and rewarding title, so much so that it’s also gone on to be a standout in several esports tournaments worldwide to this day. Combined with its map editor feature that lets players create missions, maps, and even custom game modes, Starcraft II is a classic and a worthy entry on our best strategy games list 

X-COM 2

Not many games capture the tension of strategy like X-COM 2. Leading a resistance against an alien invasion, missions are turn-based, meaning every move you make has to be meticulously planned to progress. Objectives are often timed, too, adding a sense of mounting pressure as you struggle to save humanity from invaders. 

This helps add weight to every decision you make. What’s more, maps are procedurally generated, making each mission feel fresh even after multiple playthroughs. With its expansions also building upon these successes of the game, X-COM 2 is an example of how the best strategy games work in the modern age, mixing procedurally generated content with exceptional gameplay fundamentals. 

Age of Empires IV

Another title that helped to define the strategy game genre, Age of Empires is an iconic series that lets players take armies from the Dark Ages into the Imperial Age with improved technology and battalions. Age of Empires IV, released in 2021 and developed by Relic Entertainment and World’s Edge, modernised the series for today’s players by combining a wide range of accessible narrative campaigns with simplified yet rewarding gameplay. 

All of this made Age of Empires IV a fantastic return for the series, seamlessly educating players whilst offering fun campaigns throughout. It’s a masterclass in pacing, bursting with robust mechanics that have stood the test of time. If you’re keen on discovering the very essence of what the best strategy games have to offer, then Age of Empires IV will serve you well. 

Total War: Warhammer III

Since its 2000 debut, the Total War series has always shone at combining real-time battles with turn-based management with its empires, but Total War: Warhammer III elevates the series to new heights. Released in 2022, the title is set in Game Workshop’s fantasy universe, replete with a dizzying array of different factions steeped in lore. 

In Total War: Warhammer III, armies of disciplined high elves can clash with hordes of skittering rat folk. This variance has allowed the Total War series to move past the restrictions of real-life, historical settings and embrace the wide vistas of possibility offered by setting their title in a fantasy world. This, alongside a steadfast commitment to realising Games Workshop’s iconic dark fantasy setting, is a big part of what made Total War: Warhammer III one of the best PC strategy games of 2022.

Marvel: Midnight Suns

Marvel: Midnight Suns was proof that a strategy game set in a comic book universe could not only work, but thrive. Released in 2022 for PC and consoles, developer Firaxis Games has players control a team of Marvel heroes, including Blade, Spider-Man, Iron Man, and 14 other characters. 

On missions, you’ll be faced with turn-based strategic battles with a twist, namely the introduction of a card system. Each hero has their own deck, corresponding to actions you can take on a given turn. These decks can be heavily customised between missions. There’s also the Abbey, where players can control their protagonist in third person, interacting with other heroes and building bonds of friendship. This social, character-driven twist on the genre elevates Marvel: Midnight Suns beyond many of the best strategy games out there, offering something genuinely distinctive. 

Field of Glory: Kingdoms

Field of Glory: Kingdoms leans heavily into the historical aspect of the early medieval period and doesn’t apologise for it. Developed by AGEOD and released in June 2024, this ambitious historical title tasks you with keeping your population under control with political authority, religious machinations, and good, old-fashioned warfare. What makes this title so unique is how it focuses more on governance rather than war. 

A great touch is the ability to move battles into Field of Glory II, bridging a previously unknown gap so you can measure your tactics in a more detailed fashion, then export them back into Kingdoms. This allows for an optional layer of additional depth. When coupled with the title’s emphasis on governance, this puts Field of Glory: Kingdoms in a position to offer a deep yet customizable strategy experience.  

Star Wars: Empire at War

Granted, Star Wars: Empire at War is a game fast approaching its 20th anniversary, but sometimes the classics don’t age. Developed by Petroglyph Games, players can lead armies from the prequel or original trilogies, deploying droids or AT-ATs to turn the tide against the Empire or the Rebellion. 

Empire at War stands the test of time alone. However, an active and devoted community has helped make the title shine, thanks to its many mods that add new campaigns to the game, overhauled user interfaces, and plenty more besides. If you love Star Wars but are new to strategy games,​​ Empire at War is a perfect entry point. Don’t be put off by the dated graphics; the gameplay and feel are utterly timeless. 

FAQs

References

1. Star Wars: Empire at War (Nexus Mods)
2. The role of video games in enhancing managers’ strategic thinking and cognitive abilities: An experiential survey (Science Direct)