The best strategy games 2026 on PC: clever tactical planning

There are many sub-genres among the best strategy games on PC. Nestled within each are myriad experiences that will push your lateral thinking to the max. One moment, you're commanding an entire fleet of starships in an epic sci-fi armada. Next, you're bogged down in a muddy field, barking orders to medieval soldiers as you lay siege to an imposing fortress. From grand strategy games to turn-based strategy games and more there is something for every player.

With so many different experiences to choose from, picking your next big strategy game binge can be even more overwhelming than getting used to the various systems within them you'll need to master. So, join us as we explore a curated collection of the genre's greatest hits, from newcomers to classics, giving you autonomy over your actions - and their consequences.

The best strategy games on PC are:

1. Starcraft 2

StarCraft 2 is the classic base-building RTS, sporting armored cowboys, xenomorphic aliens, space elves, and more. It tasks you with gathering resources, building armies, and killing your enemy before they kill you with quick decisions and even quicker mouse clicks.

StarCraft 2 is one of the best-balanced PvP experiences out there, limiting your ability to climb solely to your skill level. Your enemies are human; at first, they'll likely outpace you as you're learning the ropes. You'll lose a lot, but you'll get better the more you play, making this the perfect strategy game for anyone with a competitive streak who isn't scared of the odd RSI.

But that's not to say Starcraft 2 can't be enjoyed in a more casual environment. There are plenty of excellent player-made PvE modes to explore, letting you gradually develop your competency at a comfortable pace. The PvE campaign is also notable, bringing with it some of Blizzard's best writing. Many developers rely on cutscenes or in-mission dialogue to deliver a narrative, but StarCraft 2 lets you interact with the world outside combat.

2. Manor Lords

If you're not scared to dip your toes into the early access waters, Manor Lords is a strategy game bundled with a cozy city-builder. Here, you'll attempt to build a medieval village from nothing, and eventually take over every region, demolishing anyone who stands in your way.

While the combat portion of Manor Lords hasn't been fully fleshed out, the blueprint is there, and equipping your villagers with weapons you've painstakingly created is nearly as satisfying as outwitting your foes on the battlefield. Ian Boudreau calls it "a beautiful and mechanically impressive city builder that still has plenty of room to grow" in his Manor Lords early access review, and it has only gone from strength to strength since its 2024 early access launch.

We have plenty of Manor Lords guides to get you started, the most important of which include how to increase your Manor Lords population (you can't fight a war without an army, after all) and how Manor Lords trade works. It's one thing to have a mighty legion, but it won't stay that way for long if your troops don't have armor on their backs and food in their bellies.

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3. Solium Infernum

Stunning, unique, and incredibly fun, Solium Infernum is a dark and twisted game that requires a careful mix of Machiavellian politicking and tactical strongarming to excel. This devilishly good strategy game puts you in Hell as you plot to take your place on the throne of the underworld, so as you can imagine, your opponents won't shy away from using underhanded tricks to upend your bid.

In fact, the remake of the 2009 classic is so gloriously good that Ed Smith named it "the best new strategy game in many years" in his Solium Infernum review. "Solium Infernum regards strategy as a game of intellect, patience, and observation," he says. "Put into those terms, it might sound dry, but its visual flair combined with the ingenious ways it turns abstract ideas into tangible, comprehensible, and thrilling game mechanics make it irresistibly playable."

At first glance, it looks like there's a lot to learn in Solium Infernum, but it's incredibly approachable, and you can learn more terrible plots and schemes as you progress. We can help you, too, with our guides to Solium Infernum Rituals, the best Solium Infernum Legions to bid for, and much more on the site.

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4. Against the Storm

For a strategy game with a city-building and roguelike twist, look no further than Against the Storm. Here, you constantly have one eye on the progress bar that visualizes the temper of the queen - the same queen that has tasked you with designing her kingdom. With the threat of the monarch's fiery ire constantly playing on your mind, it's hard to know when to stop tweaking and building, especially when her patience is wavering.

This, alongside the fantasy elements, colorful graphics, and roguelike elements make this one strategy game that's hard to put down, so the 9/10 score awarded in Josh Brown's Against the Storm review comes as no surprise. Josh calls the game "a brilliant mix of roguelike, strategy, and small-scale city building that will hook you from the jump."

Since its launch, Against the Storm has had two major expansions, Keepers of the Stone and Nightwatchers, both of which have been received very positively by players. It's one of the greatest strategy games of recent times, and the continued excellence of developer Eremite Games' work is one of many reasons you should pick it up.

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5. Total War: Warhammer 3

If you thought that Total War: Warhammer 2 was big, it's got nothing on Total War: Warhammer 3's sheer sense of scale. It has everything that made that game great, all while bringing all 15 of the tabletop game's core races to life with jaw-dropping visuals. A new five-hour tutorial prologue helps get new players up to speed, so it's also the best jumping-in point if you've never experienced the long-running series.

You can read Richard Scott-Jones's Total War: Warhammer 3 review if you want a more in-depth sense of just how packed it truly is, but the long and short of it is that once you begin to play, you're likely to be playing the same campaign at least a calendar year down the line, and still have a smile on your face as you discover yet another new thing. As Rich says, these are the "best and most diverse single-player campaigns" ever to grace the series.

If you somehow plumb the depths of Warhammer 3 in their entirety and are still hungry for more, then our best Total War Warhammer 3 mods guide features whole new ways to play. Even if you're a newbie, you'll still find plenty of great game-altering tweaks that'll only increase your enjoyment.

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6. Terra Nil

Instead of commanding armies to build a base fit for conflict, Terra Nil is a more peaceful strategy game that tasks you with bringing a barren wasteland back from the brink, transforming it into a flourishing habitat teeming with lush flora and thriving wildlife. The decisions you make and the machinery you build determine how successful your restoration is and how it affects the land around you.

Writing for our super sister site, Pocket Tactics, Holly Alice raves about Terra Nil's "satisfying gameplay and scientific mechanics" in her Terra Nil review. "I feel like David Attenborough would approve of Terra Nil, and that's a very high compliment in my eyes," she says. "I absolutely love playing this as it scratches the same itch that the likes of Let's Build a Zoo and Civilisation do, by figuring things out and placing things on tiles to reach your goals - but this time, being excited when it rains and when jellyfish return to your oceans."

Terra Nil has received a couple of really great content updates since its 2023 launch. Vita Nova introduced new missions and landscapes to work on, each with their own challenges to overcome. For example, the Scorched Caldera is a volcanic crater singed and dried by lava, which you must attempt to turn into a lake brimming with life. Likewise, its most recent Heatwave update has you restore rivers to a desolate desert biome, in-turn inspiring the return of new savannah animals like lions and hyenas. There's a notable lack of warthogs and meerkats, though, so you'll have to hold off on your Lion King dreams for now.

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7. Marvel's Midnight Suns

If you've ever wanted a little more deck-building in your turn-based combat, Midnight Suns has you covered. Developed by strategy stalwarts, Firaxis, Midnight Suns puts you in the shoes of the Hunter, a mysterious hero who's been dead for the past few centuries, pitting them against the scariest foe of all: their mother (love you, mom).

The combat is thought-provoking and often spectacular, with the deck-building aspect turning encounters into puzzles rather than all-out brawls. In his glowing Midnight Suns review, Samuel Willetts calls it "a superhero game that teases the brain as much as it can tug at the heart, with rich strategy mechanics, great writing, and wonderful characters."

If you do don your cape (against Edna Mode's advice), then make sure you check out our Midnight Suns tier list to make sure you're drafting in only the best of the best to your team.

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8. Crusader Kings 3

Talk about a murderous bastard of a grand strategy game. Crusader Kings 3 has massively overhauled the series' formerly byzantine interface, making it a welcome proposition for new players while retaining much of the depth the series is known for. It may look like a traditional grand strategy map-painter, and while it certainly features in-depth systems for waging war, the heart of Crusader Kings 3 lies in its personal, often hilarious stories.

Ian's 9/10 Crusader Kings 3 review praises the way it "modernises the medieval strategy series, preserving much of what's good and adding some interesting new ideas." Though its DLC has been hit and miss in terms of quality since its 2020 launch, there's still plenty of top-tier add-on content out there.

So, will you seize power through military might, wealth, religious influence, diplomacy, or subterfuge? Each CK3 starting character you can play has their own personality and lifestyle focus, and each member of your dynasty will shape their empire, for better or worse, before bequeathing it to their next in line. It's a game that makes personal plots hatched behind closed doors as important as battles between nations.

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9. Offworld Trading Company

Offworld Trading Company is right at the other end of the strategy games spectrum from Civilization, though its designer, Soren Johnson, also worked on Civ 4. While Civ spans the history and some of the future of humanity, chronicling the progress of mankind, Offworld Trading Company is all about making a fortune by exploiting our red neighbor, Mars.

It's an RTS crossed with the intricacies of top management games, one in which victory is not achieved by throwing tanks at enemies or demolishing their bases. Instead, your weapons are resources and cash, which you use to manipulate the marketplace not just to get rich but to screw over your competitors completely. You might not expect an economic strategy game to be very aggressive, but Offworld Trading Company encourages you to be just as hostile as a warmonger.

When you're eyeing up menus, planning what to build next, what to sell, which company to launch a hostile takeover against next, it's as thrilling as when you're sending infantry across artillery-pummeled fields or launching sneak air attacks against an enemy stronghold. Offworld Trading Company hasn't received any new DLC in quite some time (it was released in 2016, after all), so it can be considered complete at this point. As such, you can hop in now for a full-bodied experience.

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10. XCOM 2

XCOM 2 remains to this day a masterclass in turn-based strategy games. Set 20 years after the original game, XCOM 2 sees the remnants of humanity's military work guerrilla-style rid the planet of its alien occupiers once and for all. The battles are challenging and varied, full of horrific adversaries with tricky, surprising abilities, but the biggest changes are found on the strategic layer. You will travel all over the world, setting up cells, infiltrating black sites, and hunting for more resources so you can field more powerful weapons and tools; it is compelling rather than an afterthought.

Jeremy Peel said it was something special back in his 2016 XCOM 2 review. It takes the best bits from the series - the savage struggle, the ragtag group of heroes, the devious aliens, the tight tactical battles - and throws improvement after improvement on top. "XCOM 2's storytelling is worthy of the mechanical scaffolding it's draped across," as Jeremy says.

It's a toss-up as to whether the War of the Chosen expansion is objectively better, but there are plenty of excellent XCOM 2 mods that can bring the vanilla game up to scratch. Both offer distinct yet equally rewarding experiences. There is plenty of other XCOM 2 DLC available as well.

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11. Civilization 6

While not the most recent entry in Firaxis' legendary 4X series, Civ 6 retains its crown as the best of the bunch. Epitomizing the ideal of 'one more turn' that makes these kinds of games so addictive, Civilization 6 offers many more mechanics to bring the world to life around you. It's not just about schmoozing this civ or declaring war on that civ - you've got to pay attention to how you're impacting the world and working towards your goals, of which there is a wide variety.

Robert Zak's mighty 9/10 Civilization 6 review attests to its quality. "More than any other Civ game," he says, "[Civ] 6 is a joy to be in - a beautifully presented new angle on the grandfather of 4X games with a celebratory atmosphere that keeps you as compelled as ever to click your way through human history over and over again."

There's plenty to dive into with Civ 6's base game, and even more beyond that. Whether it's the healthy amount of DLC available or the vibrant and creative collection of Civ 6 mods, you'll have 100s, if not 1,000s of hours of peak gameplay ahead of you.

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12. Company of Heroes 3

If you're after an RTS with World War 2 trappings, then Company of Heroes 3 will be right up your street. Whether you're taking to the skies above North Africa, skirmishing in the streets of Italy, or proving your naval superiority in the Mediterranean Sea, Relic's strategy series will more than scratch your itch for quick, tactical combat.

Company of Heroes has a history of rocky launches. CoH 2 was bailed out by its exquisite Ardennes Assault expansion after failing to replicate the plaudits of the original. The story was the same when Relic launched CoH 3 in 2023, with Ian granting it a modest 7/10 in his Company of Heroes 3 review. "The classic RTS battles carry the third entry in this once-essential series, returning more or less untouched," he says, "but alongside a bloated and unfinished campaign mode that feels at odds with the core ideas of Company of Heroes."

As we know from the past, Relic isn't quick to give up and has since added new maps, revamped old ones, and gone to town on the game's balance. CoH 3's latest Endure & Defy DLC is its best yet, proving that Relic is moving in the right direction. It may still lag behind its predecessor, but there's a solid game in there that's only getting better with time. If you do take the plunge, check out our Company of Heroes 3 beginner tips and tricks guide to help ease you in.

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13. Command & Conquer: Remastered Collection

There's much to love about Command & Conquer Remastered, from the corny FMV cutscenes to the bonkers secret levels. You'll struggle to find a strategy game with as much personality and charm as this RTS. It includes the original Command & Conquer, set in a near future where the Global Defense Initiative (GDI) and the Brotherhood of Nod fight to control an ultra-valuable energy resource called Tiberium. It also stars Joseph D. Kucan as Kane, a man we swear hasn't aged a day since the 1990s.

The other game in this immaculately recreated collection is Command & Conquer: Red Alert. Set in an alternative history where Hitler was assassinated before rising to power, we instead get the Allies warring over Europe against the invading Soviet Union. It may not be as wild as the sequels, one of which manages to cast J.K. Simmons, Tim Curry, and George Takei, but it's still a fantastically silly time. The remastered versions modernize both games, featuring a rebuilt multiplayer mode, allowing you to find skirmish matches easily. This is just one of many reasons why Richard Scott-Jones says it's "one of the best remasters around, and an easy recommendation for the nostalgic or the curious" in his Command & Conquer Remastered Collection review.

For those who may be new to RTS games or strategy games in general, we can think of no better place to start than here. Well, either here or with the next entry in our list.

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14. Age of Empires 2 Definitive Edition

One of the greatest RTS games ever, Age of Empires 2 has retained a loyal following for over two decades, and for good reason. It is incredibly approachable, to the extent that even kids won't have a hard time picking it up. Getting up to speed with its gameplay loop is only made easier by its top-class campaign, which artistically retells the histories of key figures like Joan of Arc and Genghis Khan. However, once you're comfortable enough with micromanaging units, building your economy, and pumping out Hussars like they're going out of fashion, you'll find an even greater thrill in its multiplayer mode. You'll quickly realize just how high AoE 2's skill ceiling is, and you'll inevitably get lost in the sauce of mastery.

2019 saw the release of Age of Empire 2's Definitive Edition; a remastered version of the base game that introduced a bunch of new content. Since then, AoE 2 DE has gone from strength to strength, as regular balance patches and even entirely new campaign paths and civilizations continue to arrive.

Though Age of Empires 4 may be the latest iteration of the beloved series, many (ourselves included) will tell you that AoE 2 reigns supreme. If you do decide to try your hand at this exceptional strategy game, then consult our Age of Empires 2 cheats guide for a full suite of game-changing codes that are a boatload of fun to use.

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15. Ara History Untold

Ara History Untold is more than just another Civ-like, as Oxide Games has introduced some marvelous innovations to give the well-trodden grand strategy genre a real kick. The biggest thing to watch out for when playing Ara is that civs complete their turns simultaneously, meaning you're going to have to try to anticipate your opponents' every move.

Unlike Civilization, Ara doesn't have multiple win conditions as such. Instead, you earn Prestige points that contribute to a global leaderboard. At the end of each epoch, the least inspiring civ is wiped from history; it's very battle royale-coded. Though Ara's "mix-and-match approach to history can be hard to swallow," as Grace Benfell states in her Ara History Untold review, it's a spirited strategy experience that won't disappoint.

Oxide Games hasn't sat on its laurels post-launch, either. A year after it launched, Ara's 2.0 update arrived. This not only introduced a full-fledged culture system, but it also overhauled leaders and factions to make them more distinct, and streamlined much of the busywork that goes into managing a civ.

16. Unity of Command 2

An excellent title that doubles up as a viable gateway to the world of digital war games, Unity of Command 2 does everything its predecessor did and more. By changing up the scenario design, adding in new elements like HQs, and a more meaningful meta-campaign, few repeats of the same mission will play out the same. However, Unity of Command has always had a trace of 'puzzle' DNA within it, which is still true but not to the same extent as the first game.

Unity of Command 2 takes players to the more familiar waters of the Western Front, starting with the closing stages of the battle for North Africa to the invasion of Sicily, before finally allowing you to re-live the Normandy campaigns.

As you play through the grand strategy game's campaign, your army units and headquarters will grow and improve over time, and there's also a light card mechanic that allows you to play a limited number of special actions that can make or break an offensive. It's one of the best war games to try as a new player.

17. Knights in Tight Spaces

A follow-up from the equally brilliant Fights in Tight Spaces, Ground Shatter's KiTS combines entertaining RPG narrative with deck-building mechanics and turn-based combat.

In Knights in Tight Spaces, your cards are your moveset, and selecting the right one at the right time makes all the difference. Where you are in relation to your foes, your moves, and theirs, all affect the outcome of each turn, too, meaning you have to consider your next attack and target carefully. Certain decisions could leave you stuck between enemies - or could result in you tossing an opponent over the side of a ship or through the window of an inn.

The narrative unfolds as you progress, introducing you to new characters to build out your team. Your recruits can each use different moves, and your deck must be built to suit. Of course, the enemy teams get tougher as you go, but play your cards right - literally - and so do you.

18. Battle for Wesnoth

What kind of strategy game list would it be without an open-source or free elder statesman of the turn-based sub-genre?

Just inching out People's General, The Battle for Wesnoth is a sprawling suite of tactical hexery. The Battle for Wesnoth is accommodating, and its community modules are vast and varied, and it's even been ported to phones.

Wesnoth feels at an aesthetic crossroads between traditional Japanese SRPGS and Western heavy-hitters like Heroes of Might and Magic. Light enough to run on the most dismal of systems and not cost a brass razoo, The Battle of Wesnoth is truly the people's game.

19. Endless Legend

Many grand strategy games prefer to stick to the historical past, but Endless Legend invites you to explore and conquer an original fantasy universe populated by elves, dragons, and mages. Fans of Civilization and Heroes of Might and Magic will find themselves instantly at home thanks to its hex map and factional armies, while its rich universe offers a window into the genre for newcomers who dislike the political landscape of real-world history.

In Fraser Brown's Endless Legend review, he wrote: Endless Legend has a strong design philosophy that sticks to the tenets of 4X but it also sets itself apart from its peers by bringing something different to the genre."

The game prioritizes empire expansion over all-out warfare, but its turn-based battles have the tactical depth to sustain any bloodthirsty general. However, its technology and lore are sure to send you on grand expeditions across procedurally generated continents as you bring new heroes under your banner and complete the unique storylines for each fantasy civilization. Sci-fi fans may prefer the vast expanse of Endless Space, but Endless Legend is a fantastical treat.

20. Europa Universalis IV

The previous gold standard of Paradox grand strategy, this is the fourth iteration of a series that was originally adapted from an old-school board game of the same name. Pull your nation through the turbulent times of the 15th Century all the way through to the Age of Reason and Napoleon's revolution, upgrading your technology, your political acumen, and your ability to judge your neighbors along the way.

Among historical grand strategy games, Europa Universalis IV is notable for not focusing exclusively on Europe but giving access to much of the world for its whole span. Want to turn a First Nation tribe into an industrial powerhouse to invade Europe? Want to dissolve the HRE and form Germany early? The only limit is your imagination.

What's more, there's a truly staggering volume of EU4 DLC available to purchase. Alternatively, if you'd prefer to expand your borders without spending a penny, our list of the best EU4 mods will steer you in the right direction.

21. Stellaris

The first of Paradox's grand strategy games to stray into '4X' territory thanks to its sci-fi theme, in Stellaris, you're no longer limited to simple terrestrial life. Create a new space-faring species, decide on its political and social inclinations, and then take to the stars to spread an empire across a randomly generated galaxy. You will need to compete for resources and position against your equals and the polities of long-fallen superiors.

Stellaris is over five years old now and already has several DLCs that extend and expand options for your space empires. While it may not have the historical depth that other Paradox titles can depend on, it is more focused on evolving new experiences with new sci-fi stereotypes as often as possible, with a heavy emphasis on player customization. In Fraser Brown's Stellaris review, they said that it "tickles the part of my brain that wants every battle to have some greater context, every move I make to be part of a larger narrative. Stellaris manages to do this without history to lean on, though, and does so with aplomb."

Plus, you get to design your own spaceships, which is always a bonus. If you need a hand getting started, we've got some useful Stellaris tips. Of course, we've also got a guide to the best Stellaris mods for seasoned space explorers, too.

New strategy games

We're always on the lookout for great new strategy games to play, and our upcoming PC games list has already thrown up some potential candidates. After over a decade of waiting, we're finally getting a new Heroes of Might and Magic game, Olden Era. It's not only the first game in the iconic series to be developed by Unfrozen, but it's also the first to be published by Ubisoft. It could be an all-timer or a total failure, but we're nonetheless ecstatic to see the series revived. We're also massive Warhammer fans here at PCGamesN, so of course we're going to mention Dawn of War 4. It's the first Warhammer game to ever feature a playable Primarch, so we're naturally buzzing with anticipation.

Until they arrive, you have 15 best-in-class strategy games to wile away the months with. If your favorite strategy game hasn't made the list, feel free to jump into our community Discord server and state your case. While you're here, check out the best MMOs for even more slow-burn goodness. And if you're after the absolute cream of the crop across the board, check out our list of the best PC games of all time.