New historical grand strategy game scratches the itch for Europa Universalis 5

New 18th-century grand strategy game Master of Command brings the Seven Years' War to Steam. It lets you direct more than 150 historical units across large-scale, tactical battles and a real-time campaign. Built by indie studio Armchair History Interactive, this upstart challenger is set to launch in 2025, and if you're looking for something to scratch the historical strategy itch while we await Europa Universalis 5, Master of Command might be just the thing for your wishlist.

As the most-represented developer on our best grand strategy games list, we're naturally excited for the prospect of EU5 as the next big Paradox contender. But the Europa Universalis 5 release date is unlikely to even be confirmed in 2025, having only recently been officially unveiled. In the meantime, however, indie offering Master of Command has caught my eye with its distinctive spin on the Seven Years' War, which ran from 1756 to 1763. In a time of resource scarcity, every soldier and piece of equipment matters, making wrong decisions deadly beyond the initial losses.

"At its core, Master of Command is about the relationship between your army and the world around it," Armchair History explains. "March too far and your men will starve. Rest too long and the enemy will reinforce. Your troops rely on you not just to lead them into battle, but to keep them fed, equipped, and alive long enough to reach the final objective." An experience system helps lend further weight to maintaining veteran officers and soldiers, and their stats and morale will be further impacted by the historically accurate gear you equip them with.

The major decisions here will be deciding the speciality of each regiment. Hand those line infantry long-range rifles, speed their reloads with cylindrical ramrods, and assign them a squad of field musicians to keep morale high. Decide which officers merit promotion, and ensure they're in charge of troops that will benefit most from their specific traits. The customization options extend to the outfits, however; you can personalize uniforms and flags to bring your own touch to the conflict.

While Master of Command is based on a historical conflict, and features over 150 units from its five major powers (Britain, France, Prussia, Austria, and Russia) that are grounded in reality, it uses procedural landscape generation to keep each campaign fresh. When your armies march out to tackle an objective, the nature of the terrain, villages, enemy patrols, battlefield wreckage, and such that lies between your squad and their destination is random. You'll have to make smart choices in response to every ambush, injury, or opportunity.

Once battle breaks out, you'll be faced with large-scale, real-time combat designed to be grounded, brutal, and unforgiving. Reminiscent of Total War's grand conflicts, your forces will break if hit from the flank, or falter as they become exhausted. While numbers and equipment will naturally affect proceedings, disciplined management is even more vital to your chances of success; keenly timed charges, tactical retreats, or supportive rallying cries are essential if you're going to come out ahead.

Master of Command is set to launch in 2025. For now, you can wishlist it on Steam, where you'll also find a series of developer blogs that discuss many of its mechanics in more depth.

If you're eager to put your battle prowess into practice, we've designated the best war games on PC right now. You'll also find plenty worth your time among our best strategy games in 2025.

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