From real-time classics to modern turn-based favorites, these are the best strategy games on PC. We like a mix between explosive, large-scale action and more complex games of difficult decisions. In this list, you'll find everything from fast-paced and competitive FPS games to long burn 4X games. PC Games Of 2015: Those Wot Could Conceivably Be Good Strategy games. This section is for both – from placing down roads and municipal buildings. Stars Beyond Reach. Hex-based sci-fi 4X planetside. Worlds of Magic. 'A true spiritual successor' to 90s 4X Master of Magic. Chronicle: RuneScape. View all results for PC Strategy Games. Search our huge selection of new and used PC Strategy Games at fantastic prices at GameStop. Jun 12, 2018  Total War: Arena. Total War: Arena is a free-to-play online strategy game in which you take control of historical civilizations and go to war in multiplayer matches with up to 10 people. Your objective is to eliminate other players in 15-minute games. The result is a chaotic, exhilarating experience that ought to keep you playing for hours.

• 2015 Best Pc Games
• Games Of 2015

Welcome to VideoGamer.com's top PC Strategy games of 2015, a list of the best videogames, created from editorial reviews on the site. It's the perfect tool to find that great game you haven't played yet, or even to find a gem for a friend or loved one as a gift.

Please take into account this list is in descending order! VideoGamer.com is always open to hearing about your opinion. Would your list be different? If so let us know by contacting us or tweeting us @VideoGamerCom.

Strategy games

2014 was a good year for strategy games, whether you wanted to direct small squads to storm buildings, take turns to defeat fantasy foes, or simply to spend your time managing the resources of a fantasy village. This section is for both – from placing down roads and municipal buildings to winning the war for the aliens.

Stars Beyond Reach

Genre
4X
Release date
June 5th 2015
What is it?
Hex-based sci-fi 4X planetside. Need some spice? Stars Beyond Reach has no units to speak of, instead creating a sort of competitive SimCity across its massive maps. This doesn’t mean no conflict, just that forces will be controlled more broadly than individual markers of tanks and influenced by factors outside who can churn the most, fastest.

All Stars Beyond Reach posts.

Worlds of Magic

Genre
4X
Release date
Out now!
What is it?
“A true spiritual successor” to 90s 4X Master of Magic, this is already xploring and xterminating all over Early Access. Players are a Sorcerer Lord who wields customisable magic to conquer multiple planes of existence.

Worlds of Magic review.
Worlds of Magic interview.
All Worlds of Magic posts.

Chronicle: RuneScape Legends

Genre
Card Game
Release date
TBA
What is it?
Colloquially “Definitely Not Hearthstone” is troubled Jagex’s attempt to push into CCGs, PC gaming’s hottest new money-printing genre. The similarities to Blizzard’s digitised effort are difficult to ignore, but Chronicle looks to have a much larger single-player component with RPG elements than its PvP-focused rivals.

All Chronicle: RuneScape Legends posts.

Hex: Shards of Fate

Genre
Card Game
Release date
TBA
What is it?
Assuming the lawsuit gets sorted out favourably, Hex stands to take the accessibility and slickness of Hearthstone and merge it with the more complex mechanics of an MTG-like. Could be huge, if it’s allowed to happen.

Hex: Shards of Fate preview.
Hex: Shards of Fate feature.
All Hex: Shards of Fate posts.

Ancestory

Genre
Card Game
Release date
Q3
What is it?
With a leaf from the board game bible, Ancestory combines a buildable deck of cards with tactical movement and combat on a square grid. This adds an extra dose of randomness to the strategy frame and more pre-game choices.

Ultima Ratio Regum

Genre
Early Access, 4X, Roguelike
Release date
TBA
What is it?
A 4X/roguelike that’s both as ambitious as Dwarf Fortress and, thanks to its ANSI-not-ASCII graphics, a good deal prettier despite still basically being letters and shapes. URR is procedurally generating everything, of course – from its landmasses to its civilizations to their religions and cities and keys and coins and crops and riddles. It’s not yet a game, but it’s fun to poke around and read about till NPCs and combat comes later in 2015.

Ultima Ratio Regum interview.
All Ultima Ratio Regum posts.

Deathtrap

Genre
Early Access, Tower Defense
Release date
Out now!
What is it?
Taking a tower defense shell and filling it up with Diablo-like action, Deathtrap is a no-brainer of genre combinations. There’s co-op, naturally, but also a competitive mode where one player can control individual enemies as they try to break past the other’s defenses. You can get most of this in Early Access now.

All Deathtrap posts.

Kaiju Panic

Genre
Early Access, Tower Defense
Release date
Q3
What is it?
A defense-strategy game about fending off giant, adorable monsters. As well as the usual bullets ‘n’ bombs approach, methods to stop the populace overreacting to these terrifying space invaders are required – like “Keep Calm And Carry On” mugs.

All Kaiju Panic posts.

Big Pharma

Genre
Management
Release date
Q3
What is it?
One step back from Theme Hospital, Big Pharma is the management sim about actually producing (and, more importantly, selling) the various drugs used in the treatment of patients. It’s quietly dark, letting you produce placebos just to turn a quick buck and other less than ethical practices.

Big Pharma preview.
All Big Pharma posts.

Cities: Skylines

Genre
Management
Release date
Out now!
What is it?
Disappointed with the most recent SimCity offering, many have latched on to Cities: Skylines and its promise of in-depth management of a growing metropolis. It became our game of the month for April. Expectations: met.

Cities: Skylines review.
Cities: Skylines diary.
Cities: Skylines interview.
Cities: Skylines verdict.
All Cities: Skylines posts.

Dungeons 2

Genre
Management
Release date
Out now!
What is it?
Being an overlord of hell does sound like a pretty great day job. Dungeons 2 has you defending your empire from human invaders in a tower-defense like mode, while expanding from the original by also allowing you to invade their surface homes. Death to the pink-flesh.

Dungeons 2 review.
All Dungeons 2 posts.

No Pineapple Left Behind

Genre
Management
Release date
TBA 2015
What is it?
From the minds behind world-exploitation sim Neocolonialism comes a similar satirical takedown of the education system, replacing children with pineapples and greedy heads of school with you. Managing everything from the layout to the lesson plan, you’ve got to make as much money as possible (and try to teach along the way)

All No Pineapple Left Behind posts.

RollerCoaster Tycoon: World

Genre
Management
Release date
TBA
What is it?
Worryingly few details have emerged about the next game in the long-running, once-great theme park building and management sim series. A mobile-only free to play affair was the last we saw of the franchise, though this is promised to be a “premium” experience: no micro-transactions. A recently announced partnership with online-focused studio Area 52 Games is presumably to enhance the new co-op modes.

All RollerCoaster Tycoon: World posts.

Westport Independent

Genre
Management
Release date
TBA
What is it?
Themes of press censoring and editors bowing to the demands of corrupt governments were unintentionally topical when this was announced, but it’s a solid idea without any outside influence. A series of choices will decide the fate of a newspaper in its final days of publishing.

All Westport Independent posts.

Concrete Jungle

Genre
Management, Card Game
Release date
TBA
What is it?
Deck-building games don’t get the love they deserve in digital form. While much of the pleasure comes from the tactile feeling of holding cards, there’s also significant tactical play to what you choose to mix in and when. This applies that to city-building, different structures on each card, playing them clearing more space to build.

All Concrete Jungle posts.

Heroes of the Storm

Genre
MOBA, Early Access
Release date
Out now!
What is it?
Both an attempt to muscle in on the world’s hottest genre and cross-universe fan service for the Blizzard crowd. Moving from Alpha to Beta very early in 2015 and now in full release, it’s running out of time to generate the serious traction needed to compete with League, Dota, Smite et al.

Heroes of the Storm review.
Heroes of the Storm feature.
All Heroes of the Storm posts.

Mechs & Mercs – Black Talons

Genre
Real-Time Strategy
Release date
Out now!
What is it?
Small squad tactics about a group of mercenaries in a war-torn sector of space. Launching missions from a capital ship from which additional troops, vehicles and weapons can be purchased, the fate of the system will supposedly lie in your hands.

All Mechs & Mercs – Black Talons posts.

Blitzkrieg 3

Genre
Real-Time Strategy
Release date
Q3
What is it?
The eternal search for a decent clip of Mark Corrigan saying “Winning the war for the Nazis” continues, as does the Blitzkrieg series. You probably know the drill – historically accurate real time strategising based on the second world war. This iteration proves different by having a massively multiplayer component that will be free, along with the normal single-player campaign.

Blitzkreig 3 preview.
All Blitzkrieg 3 posts.

Deadhold

2015 Best Pc Games

Genre
Real-Time Strategy
Release date
TBA
What is it?
Inspired by and bearing a striking resemblance to the Myth series, Deadhold is an RTS at the very beginning of its lifespan but regular dev video updates point to something playable in 2015. Since the announcement that it was being made the plan was to release a simple, multiplayer-only game first and build upon it if it proved popular. Expect Early Access and bouncing gibs.

All Deadhold posts.

Grand Ages: Medieval

Genre
Real-Time Strategy
Release date
TBA
What is it?
RTSing in the city-building mold set at the start of the industrious middle ages, you’ll go from a small town to ruling all of Europe before, we assume, collapsing under the weight of your own greatness. Phwoar.

All Grand Ages: Medieval posts.

Grey Goo

Genre
Real-Time Strategy
Release date
Out now!
What is it?
A very traditional three-race RTS that tries to get away from micro-management to focus on tactics, it still includes base building as one of the central mechanics. These races are humans; the Beta, a near-extinct alien species and the titular Goo, nanomachines built by humanity to explore the stars.

Grey Goo preview.
All Grey Goo posts.

Habitat: A Thousand Generations In Orbit

Genre
Real-Time Strategy
Release date
TBA
What is it?
Space RTS with an unusual twist: you must gather bits of space debris from Earth orbit to construct a base, then fend off others doing the same. Deadly engineering rather than space-soldiering, it’s available in Early Access already.

Habitat: A Thousand Generations In Orbit preview.
All Habitat: A Thousand Generations In Orbit posts.

Interloper

Genre
Real-Time Strategy
Release date
Out now!
What is it?
An RTS that strips away the complexity so common to the genre and leaves just the basics of area control and fast reactions. There’s no base building, just structures and units to be captured and used to do more of the same on a variety of top-down maps.

All Interloper posts.

Salvaged

Genre
Real-Time Strategy
Release date
TBA
What is it?
One of the first dedicated second-screen (as in another device, rather than a second monitor) games around. Your screen will display the FPS perspectives of your party, on board the ship you’re reading for supplies. A tablet controls them on an RTS level, using touch screen commands to give a feeling of future tech.

All Salvaged posts.

StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void

Genre
Real-Time Strategy
Release date
TBA
What is it?
The final part of the StarCraft II trilogy and hopefully the end of nearly a decade of “one game in three parts” jokes. Blizzard are planning some major changes to the way the game functions in a hope to raise their e-sport from ex-darling to major player once again.

All StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void posts.

There Came An Echo

Genre
Real-Time Strategy
Release date
Out now!
What is it?
The latest attempt to develop a game around the concept of voice control, making it more than a gimmick and the premiere way to control your tactical squad of cyberpunk humans. The strength of There Came An Echo is that while devs Iridium Studios are giving top billing to the voice commands, they’ve also crafted a beautiful game with strategic depth.

All There Came An Echo posts.

Crookz – The Big Heist

Genre
Real-Time Strategy
Release date
TBA
What is it?
A “tactical strategy” game about committing stealthy heists. While its ’70s inspirations make it similar to The Masterplan, Crookz is 3D, also inspired by funk, and its live action trailer featured Ron Jeremy. Hrmm.

Nantucket

Genre
Real-Time Strategy
Release date
TBA
What is it?
A sequel to Moby Dick, you take the role of Ishmael still dealing with the aftermath of the events of the book many years later. Gathering a crew and venturing onto the high seas, it’s a strategy game about hunting whales.

Battle Of Empires: 1914-1918

Genre
Real-Time Strategy
Release date
Out now!
What is it?
Already in Early Access, a hardcore and historic RTS of the sort we’re most used to seeing depicting World War 2 based games, Battle of Empires moves the timeframe back but keeps the horrendous realism. A series of campaigns will tell the stories of different fronts across Europe.

Call To Arms

Genre
Real-Time Strategy, Early Access
Release date
Q3
What is it?
A spiritual successor to Men of War, Jim’s most beloved strategy game about small squads of men dying in a war. This trades past battles for a modern setting, with two factions, 20 vehicles and 60 firearms. This was funded by the community and is due to hit Early Access early 2015.

Call To Arms interview.
All Call To Arms posts.

Factorio

Genre
Real-Time Strategy, Early Access
Release date
TBA
What is it?
Rather than governing people into an efficient machine, why not just use machines in the first place? Factorio’s about creating a manufacturing plant that runs smooth and, coincidentally, vomits noxious chemicals into the air, aggroing the local wildlife who must be defended against.

Factorio review (early access).
All Factorio posts.

Plague Inc: Evolved

Genre
Real-Time Strategy, Early Access
Release date
TBA
What is it?
Reminiscent of Madagascar-simulator web-game Pandemic 2, you design, control and spread a virus around the world with the express intention of eliminating all human life. Now in Early Access, mind control, zombification and movie tie-ins are all part of your humanity-destroying repertoire now.

Plague Inc: Evolved preview.
All Plague Inc: Evolved posts.

Satellite Reign

Genre
Real-Time Strategy, Early Access
Release date
TBA
What is it?
Syndicate is remembered for its cyberpunk style, its strategy, its violence. Satellite Reign is the spiritual successor that game deserves, Kickstarted and currently available in Early Access. It’s early days, but it’s aiming to offer a city of system controls to hack, infiltrate, sneak and fight your way across.

Satellite Reign review (early access).
Satellite Reign feature.
Satellite Reign preview.
All Satellite Reign posts.

The Masterplan

Genre
Real-Time Strategy, Early Access
Release date
Out now!
What is it?
A top-down, strategy heist-’em-up about commanding a merry band of thieves to sneak, shoot and steal their way through banks and museums and other classic settings from ’70s crime capers. The loot you gather from missions can be used for kitting out your between-crimes hideout and hiring more thieves to your team. It’s a bit like what Introversion aimed to do with Subversion, except it’s already playable and fun.

The Masterplan feature.
The Masterplan review (early access).
All The Masterplan posts.

Boid

Genre
Real-Time Strategy, Early Access
Release date
TBA 2015
What is it?
Simplifying the RTS to its basics, a constant stream of troops can be modified at different capturable locations across the top-down map. Turrets help to hold down territory while fast movement of your swarms determines your victory or defeat.

All Boid posts.

Folk Tale

Genre
Real-Time Strategy, Early Access, RPG
Release date
TBA 2016
What is it?
City-building RTS and action RPG and peasant management game and sandbox – Folk Tale wants to do it all. One of the very first Early Access titles, it’s been slowly developing for many months, including scrapping the campaign mode that some bought it for in the first place. Ambitious, though, and if finished a unique blend of genres.

All Folk Tale posts.

Shallow Space

Genre
Real-Time Strategy, Early Access, Space
Release date
TBA
What is it?
Space RTS with highly customisable ships, not only letting you decide armour and armament but where these are located on the hull. There’s also a campaign map in singleplayer, generating random missions along with the pre-written storyline.

All Shallow Space posts.

Flagship

Genre
Real-Time Strategy, First-Person, Space
Release date
TBA
What is it?
Space RTSing from the first person perspective, controlling a fleet from its (you guessed it) Flagship while interacting with the crew on a personal level. It’s a fantastic idea, but one that didn’t come to fruition in the cold, pitiless waters of Kickstarter in 2014. It is still in development, however.

All Flagship posts.

Games Of 2015

War For The Overworld

Genre
Real-Time Strategy, Management
Release date
Out now!
What is it?
The closest to Dungeon Keeper 3 we’ve ever gotten, War For The Overworld has been available on Early Access for more than a year. The full version of the game will have a campaign mode along with more of basically everything.

War For The Overworld review.
War For The Overworld feature.
War For The Overworld preview.
All War For The Overworld posts.

Clockwork Empires

Genre
Real-Time Strategy, Management, Early Access
Release date
TBA 2015
What is it?
Dwarf Fortress by way of SimCity and Cthulhu, in which you manage a growing settlement of pilgrims who are endeavouring to both survive the harsh winters and also to avoid staring into the abyss and being confronted by cosmic horrors as a result. It’s still early days for what’s aiming to be an ambitious, AI-driven fantasy town management game.

Clockwork Empires preview.
All Clockwork Empires posts.

Stonehearth

Genre
Real-Time Strategy, Management, Early Access, Creative
Release date
TBA
What is it?
Voxel sandbox strategy-survival, starting out as a small band of people and eventually building up a large city. It’s procedurally generated with “modules” of set-pieces put on top. Naturally, these can be made by anyone and will eventually be distributed via the Steam Workshop. Has a deliberately slow pace to allow decisions to be considered and meaningful. Massively ambitious and a long way off finished, it’s the most unique survival project of 2015.

All Stonehearth posts.

Kingdom Under Fire II

Genre
Real-Time Strategy, MMO, Action RPG, Third Person
Release date
TBA
What is it?
Originally announced as far back as 2010, this high-octane MMO was re-debuted at TGS 2014. It has all the usual Korean fantasy tropes you’d expect, with the caveat of playing more like a Devil May Cry game than World of Warcraft. An incredible concept, for sure, but given the years in development hell it may have some issues – on top of the grindy nature of Asia’s usual MMO output.

All Kingdom Under Fire II posts.

SpellForce 3

Genre
Real-Time Strategy, RPG
Release date
TBA
What is it?
If you’ve read the title of SpellForce 3, you know as much as we do. It’s a third entry in the fantasy RPG/RTS series, set in the same world but by a new development studio.

RIOT

Genre
Real-Time Strategy, Simulation
Release date
TBA
What is it?
An RTS-ish that lets you play both the angry, anarchic side of civil uprisings and the brutal law enforcement sent to stop them. Not filled with laughs, it has no concept of “victory” and plans more to educate players about the realities of recent problems in Egypt, Italy and elsewhere.

All RIOT posts.

Tech Executive Tycoon

Genre
Real-Time Strategy, Simulation, Management
Release date
TBA 2015
What is it?
Take control of a tech business and manage every part of its day to day operations – hiring staff, budgeting, developing new prototypes and so on. There are semi-regular updates on how the game is progressing over on the official site and donations are being taken to help it along.

Oh My Gore!

Genre
Real-Time Strategy, Tower Defense
Release date
Q1
What is it?
A splattering of genres, Oh My Gore! is attempting to combine standard RTS with both tower defending and offending in its simulation of being the ancient evil most games are about stopping. Naturally you need blood and death to regain your lost powers and take over the world. With luck, the game will hold up to its enticing concept.

Super Roman Conquest

Genre
Side-Scrolling, Strategy, Early Access
Release date
Q3
What is it?
A seriously strange mix of genres, taking massive land battles and displaying them from a side-on perspective which is controlled as a strategy game: telling units to move forward, retreat, exploit special abilities and move into the background or foregrounds. The metagame for this is a campaign map that involves developing your army as a whole, choosing which troops are where and how they’re equipped.

All Super Roman Conquest posts.

Galactic Princess

Genre
Space 4X
Release date
December 2015
What is it?
Very pretty side-on take of FTL with a more open feel and sandbox-survival focus. Design ships and crew them, then head out into the far future galaxy as it collides with Andromeda. Fights take place on and off ship, with boarding actions as common as inter-ship laser fire.

All Galactic Princess posts.

The Mandate

Genre
Space 4X, RPG
Release date
Q1 2016
What is it?
As is the space-game fashion, The Mandate crams genre after genre together. It’s a 4X about fighting galactic rebels, an RPG about being a spaceship captain and a tactical strategy game about fleet fights and boarding actions. Kickstarter approved to the tune of $700k in 2013.

The Mandate interview.
All The Mandate posts.

Unending Galaxy

Genre
Space 4X, RPG
Release date
June 2015
What is it?
From a long time X-Universe modder comes this 2D take on the formula, allowing you to build from a simple pirate to ruler of a galactic empire. Other factions and NPCs will build ships, trade with one-another and invade regions of space, generating missions based on what is happening.

All Unending Galaxy posts.

Frozen Cortex

Genre
Sports, Early Access
Release date
Out now!
What is it?
From the makers of Frozen Synapse and originally named Frozen Endzone, this trades turn-based combat for turn-based sports – albeit with the same futuristic aesthetic as that first game. It’s a bit American Football-ish, but not as much as it initially appeared.

Frozen Cortex review.
Frozen Cortex preview.
Frozen Cortex interview.
All Frozen Cortex posts.

Toy Soldiers: War Chest

Genre
Tower Defense
Release date
TBA 2015
What is it?
Taking the World War 1 tower defense makeup of the previous games and continuing down the wackier route the toy box stylings allow, War Chest is about the eternal battle between army men and unicorns. A classic tale.

All Toy Soldiers: War Chest posts.

Armello

Genre
Turn-Based Strategy
Release date
Q3
What is it?
Built on a board/card game framework, Armello is an RPG and turn-based strategy about beating other players to depose the now-mad King of the land. Also: you can play as a bear. GOTY.

Armello review.
All Armello posts.

Chaos Reborn

Genre
Turn-Based Strategy
Release date
TBA 2015
What is it?
Remake of designer Julian “UFO: Enemy Unknown” Gollop’s first game, featuring turn-based fantasy wizard battling and all the creature-summoning you can handle. In Early Access for the last few weeks.

Chaos Reborn review (early access).
Chaos Reborn preview.
Chaos Reborn interview.
All Chaos Reborn posts.

FAR Colony

Genre
Turn-Based Strategy
Release date
TBA
What is it?
Split into two phases, this hard sci-fi RTS is about managing humanity’s first space colony. To begin with you’ll need to pick a landing site and start to set your colony up. This lasts one year of in-game time, at the end of which you’re given a score that governs the difficulty in the simulation-strategy second half. Keeping the colony functioning is then a sandbox, with random events keeping things interesting.

All FAR Colony posts.

Hearts Of Iron IV

Genre
Turn-Based Strategy
Release date
Q2
What is it?
A new entry in Paradox’s hyper-realistic WW2 strategy series, and the first to enter development since their rise to prominence with the medieval but similarly simulated Crusader Kings II.

Hearts of Iron IV preview.
All Hearts Of Iron IV posts.

Might & Magic Heroes VII

Genre
Turn-Based Strategy
Release date
TBA
What is it?
Sticking to tried and true methods, M&MH 7 is the same combo of overworld armies and hex-grid battles we’ve seen before. The community has been voting on how the game will come together, including which factions will be involved and which bits of art are used.

All Might & Magic Heroes VII posts.

That Which Sleeps

Genre
Turn-Based Strategy
Release date
TBA 2015
What is it?
An evil god game where you play a Sauron-type figure manipulating events from afar until you gain enough power to fully awaken and wreck havoc. An exceedingly great idea that proved it with a cool octupling of its Kickstarter goal.

All That Which Sleeps posts.

Twilight Struggle

Genre
Turn-Based Strategy
Release date
TBA 2015
What is it?
The video game port of one of the most popular board games of all time, depicting the Cold War in its entirety from 1945 through to the late 80s. Two players take the role of either the Soviet Union or the United States and vie for control of the world through proxy wars, trade deals and nuclear weapons.

All Twilight Struggle posts.

The Battles Of King Arthur

Genre
Turn-Based Strategy
Release date
TBA (Cancelled?)
What is it?
Medieval strategising in the seat of the mythical King, commanding the Knights of the Round Table and the help of Merlin to invade Europe. Also has a realistic element of managing the logistics of building middle-ages cities and supplying armies across hundreds of miles. Seems to have disappeared off distribution platforms and elsewhere.

Antihero

Genre
Turn-Based Strategy, 4X
Release date
TBA
What is it?
Rather than city-states or empires, this 4X is about rival thieves guilds vying for control of a city’s wealth. You’ll be organising the nabbing from the rich while fending off assassin’s attempts to pick off your agents.

All Antihero posts.

Battle Brothers

Genre
Turn-Based Strategy, Early Access
Release date
TBA 2016
What is it?
XCOM like mission-picking and tactical strategizing as a mercenary band who discover themselves the last defense of a mercilessly invaded land. The plot will progress through picking up the pieces, defending villages and eventually striking at the unknown source of the invasion.

All Battle Brothers posts.

Invisible Inc.

Genre
Turn-Based Strategy, Early Access
Release date
Out now!
What is it?
A procedural stealth game about corporate espionage. You break into rival companies, attempt to secure intel about their dealings, and to escape before all your units get killed. It’s challenging because the procedural generation means you never know what’s around the next corner and the longer you spend stealing (and being detected by your mistakes), the higher the alarm level goes and the harder escaping becomes.

GAMENAME review.
Invisible Inc. verdict.
Invisible Inc. video.
Invisible Inc. preview.
Invisible Inc. interview.
All Invisible Inc. posts.

Fallen: A2P Protocol

Genre
Turn-Based Strategy, Early Access
Release date
Q4 2015
What is it?
Bearing some striking similarities to the newer X-Coms, Fallen takes their tactical combat and applies a Fallout-inspired post-apocalyptic wasteland. Rather than a stationary home base from which combat missions are launched, you’re travelling across the world in a caravan.

Legends of Eisenwald

Genre
Turn-Based Strategy, Early Access, RPG
Release date
July 2nd 2015
What is it?
RPG strategy inspired by King’s Bounty and the like, gathering troops and ordering them about in turn-based battles. The setting is “low-fantasy” meaning closer to Game of Thrones’ gritty-but-dragons than the warlocks-‘n’-cauldrons you might be thinking of. On Early Access for more than a year, it’s now entered an optional beta phase that includes the entire campaign, but in a still-to-be-tested form.

All Legends of Eisenwald posts.

Massive Chalice

Genre
Turn-Based Strategy, Early Access, RPG
Release date
Out now!
What is it?
Massive Chalice casts you as an immortal, leading your nation through a generations-long war. It’s an XCOM-like strategy game where each character spawns offspring that you can then recruit, turning the long game into a balancing act of keeping yourself well stocked with troops and their bloodlines healthy.

Massive Chalice review.
Massive Chalice preview.
Massive Chalice interview.
All Massive Chalice posts.

Mordheim: City of the Damned

Genre
Turn-Based Strategy, Early Access, RPG
Release date
October 2015
What is it?
There was a time when Games Workshop properties in digital form were few and far between, rather than the endless influx of cash-grab crap we have now. Mordheim is more interesting than that, based on one of the skirmish-based spin-offs set in a city infested with rival gangs and warbands. In Early Access now.

Mordheim: City of the Damned review (early access).
Mordheim: City of the Damned preview.
All Mordheim: City of the Damned posts.

Dungeon Dashers

Genre
Turn-Based Strategy, Early Access, RPG
Release date
TBA
What is it?
The odd combination of turn-based dungeon crawling aiming for a fast, co-op pace. Fantasy tropes abound: chests filled with gold, robed wizards with pointy hats and monsters galore. It’s been in Early Access for over a year, every new update adding levels, enemies and characters.

Total War: Attila

Genre
Turn-Based Strategy, Real-Time Strategy
Release date
17/02/2015
Release date
Out now!
What is it?
Set just as the empires built up across Rome 2 are starting to fall, Attila bears some resemblance to the expansion pack for the original Rome: Barbarian Invasion. The titular warlord’s Hun horde are mostly antagonists, a huge mass in the grand-strategy world and an unstoppable force in the RTS battles. Hopefully it doesn’t suffer the launch woes and AI problems of the last Total War game.

Total War: Attila preview.
All Total War: Attila posts.

Blackguards 2

Genre
Turn-Based Strategy, RPG
Release date
Out now!
What is it?
While the original failed to impress, the concept of Blackguards 2 is enough to keep it in sight. A cast of rogueish anti-heroes battle it out on a hex grid in a strategy-RPG hybrid, something a little rarer than we’d like. There’s a new grand campaign map too, protecting villages and planning your next attack.

All Blackguards 2 posts.

Galactic Civilizations 3

Genre
Turn-Based Strategy, Space 4X
Release date
Out now!
What is it?
Gal Civ 2 is still one of the best strategy games ever made, owing to radically different factions, AI with strong personality, and an ability to win the game in ways as diverse as destroying all the galaxy’s suns or broadcasting its best television shows. Gal Civ 3 aims to mimic most of those successes, while being prettier, smarter, and refining its interface and controls. It’s not there yet, but the Early Access has been adding major features throughout 2014 and should culminate in 2015.

Galactic Civilizations 3 preview.
All Galactic Civilizations 3 posts.

Homeworld Remastered

Genre
Real-Time Strategy, Space
Release date
Out now!
What is it?
HD remakes of Relic Entertainment’s classic space RTSes. A collaboration between the original developers, fans and IP owner Gearbox to bring hot new textures to the old games and redistribute the original versions in one package. Also means you’ll be able to grab them on the online distribution platform of your choice, from which they have been sadly and confusingly missing for many years.

All Homeworld Remastered posts.

Homeworld: Shipbreakers

Genre
Real-Time Strategy, Space
Release date
TBA
What is it?
Previously unrelated-to but inspired-by the Homeworld franchise under the name Hardware: Shipbreakers, Gearbox gave the ex-Relic developers Blackbird Interactive their blessing to develop it under its new name. They’re also now helping out with funding, changing it from a planned F2P game to full retail release.

All Homeworld: Shipbreakers posts.

StarDrive 2

Genre
Turn-Based Strategy, Space 4X
Release date
Out now!
What is it?
Sequel to 2013’s samurai-space-bear-featuring 4X with the aim of emulating and improving on Masters of Orion 2’s well-loved formula. The turn-based empire building is supported by real-time battles with player designed ships and all the diplomacy/espionage your space bear brain can handle.

Sorcerer King

Genre
Turn-Based Strategy, 4X
Release date
Q3
What is it?
Stardock’s other Early Access 4X, this time fantasy-based and with a unique twist: you play as the last remnants of a civilisation defeated by the Sorcerer King, who will soon ascend to godhood. Rather than out-performing the other factions on the map, the goal becomes to defeat this malevolent force.

All Sorcerer King posts.

The Banner Saga 2

Genre
Strategy, RPG
Release date
TBA
What is it?
Looks to be more of the same from the tactical RPG Kickstarter success story, which will be more than welcome. There’s little been revealed besides a trailer confirming that the gorgeous 2D art is back.

All The Banner Saga 2 posts.

Total War: Warhammer

Genre
Strategy
Release date
TBA
What is it?
Still not officially announced but long-rumoured/assumed and greatly anticipated high-fantasy entry in the grand strategy series. Obviously going to be heavily followed by the hivemind, we’ll have more information soon – for now, let’s hope Creative Assembley’s AI can keep up with Skaven, Orks and the forces of Chaos.

All Total Warhammer posts.

Battlefleet Gothic: Armada

Genre
Strategy
Release date
TBA
What is it?
Well it’s just sort of wonderful it exists. The spaceship spin-off to Warhammer 40,000 (spinception) was never the most popular of Games Workshops model-based attempts and thus never warranted a video game. That’s finally changing, though we have few details beyond the very pretty starships are using the Unreal engine.

Battlefleet Gothic: Armada preview.
All Battlefleet Gothic: Armada posts.

Victory Command

Genre
MOBA, Early Access, RTS
Release date
Q4 2015
What is it?
After a failed Kickstarter things looked bad for Peteroglyph’s MOBA-with-a-twist, but publisher interest and the power of Early Access saved it. In it you control small squads of modern military men and equipment rather than a single all singing, all dancing hero.

All Victory Command posts.

Executive Assault

Genre
RTS, First Person, Shooter, Early Access
Release date
TBA
What is it?
Combining the strategising and base-building on a massive map akin to Supreme Commander with the ability to grab a rifle and join your troops on the front line as the CEO of your robot army. There’s a target on your back and if you die, your army, leaderless, goes with you.

All Executive Assault posts.

Devouring Stars

Genre
Strategy, Early Access
Release date
Q3
What is it?
Playing as a race of star-system eaters trapped in a realm deeper than hell, you’re looking to escape and survive being hunted by others of your species. There’s no base building or unit producing but your entities can merge with one another to create more complex versions of themselves.

Magic Duels: Origins

Genre
Card Game
Release date
Q3
What is it?
The last yearly iteration of Magic: The Gathering’s Duels of the Planeswalkers series, now moving to a free to play model that will be regularly updated. Hopefully that means improvements to the UI that can carry a game indefinitely.

All Magic Duels: Origins posts.

All Guns On Deck

Genre
Strategy, Action, Early Access
Release date
Q3
What is it?
In a world where ship-building has been long abandoned as a form of warfare, your nation revives it to take on the massed aerial forces of their enemies in a bid for world conquest.

Ashes of the Singularity

Genre
RTS
Release date
TBA
What is it?
Full on Supreme Commander inspired massive battles over huge landscapes with ridiculous numbers of troops and ludicrously large tanks and guns. There’s a lot of new graphics and physics tech going in there to make it the most beautiful horrific world war ever conceived.

All Ashes of the Singularity posts.

Blood Bowl 2

Genre
Sports, Strategy
Release date
June 2015
What is it?
The second digital edition of the American Football x Warhammer genetic monostrosity. It boasts a new graphics engine, better multiplayer and a campaign of more than strung-together matches. You can almost hear the hivemind buzzing with excitement.

Blood Bowl 2 interview.
All Blood Bowl 2 posts.

Lithic

Genre
RTS, RPG
Release date
TBA
What is it?
Set in a fantasy stone age you control a race of humanoids as they attempt to make their way in a world they do not yet understand. You play as their god, summoned through a magic ritual to guide them.

Skyworld

Genre
TBS, VR
Release date
TBA
What is it?
A hex-based strategy game of floating island kingdoms fighting each other. The devs are pushing a full-room VR angle where you’ll be able to wander and fly around your island, commanding your forces.

Train Valley

Genre
Management, Early Access
Release date
September 2015
What is it?
Cutesy but complicated train management across the United States, starting from the 1849 gold rush through to 2020. Includes both sandbox modes and a full campaign.

Nobunaga’s Ambition: Sphere of Influence

Genre
Grand Strategy, Turn Based
Release date
September 4th 2015
What is it?
Feudal Japan stategising on a massive scale. Set between 1467 and 1603 you’ll go from small village to ruler of a united Japan via economic, diplomatic and, natch, warlike means.

All Nobunaga’s Ambition: Sphere of Influence posts.

NBA 2K16

Genre
Sports
Release date
September 29th 2015
What is it?
Latest in 2k’s annual NBA series which has massively varied in quality over the years. With all the usual minor tweaks to the game engine and options comes, for some reason, a story mode written by Spike Lee.

XCOM 2

Genre
Strategy
Release date
November 2015
What is it?
Sequel to the massively popular reboot of the classic franchise, set 20 years after a failed campaign from that game, making all our first attempts canon. XCOM are now the invading force to a totalitarian state controlled by aliens and have a big flying base to launch from, rather than a hole in the ground.

XCOM 2 feature.
All XCOM 2 posts.

Act of Aggression

Genre
RTS
Release date
June 2015
What is it?
From the devs behind Wargame comes the closest we’ll ever get to another maybe good C&C game, and certainly the best impression of Generals 2 there’s been in a long time. Three superpowers fight it out in base-building, bank capturing, unit making goodness.

Act of Aggression feature.
All Act of Aggression posts.

Cossacks 3

Genre
RTS
Release date
TBA
What is it?
A remake and sequel to the 2001 classic. Boasts base-building and massive battles in 17th century Europe. As was the norm at the time, landscape will play a big part in how these battles play out. It’s being developed by STALKER-makers GSC Gameworld.

All Cossacks 3 posts.

Coaster Park Tycoon

Genre
Management
Release date
TBA 2016
What is it?
Very little is known about this spiritual sequel to RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 by same devs, Frontier Developments, who are also still working on Elite. They’re promising a “sophisticated simulation” of the whirly death machines.

All Coaster Park Tycoon posts.

Warhammer 40,000: Dark Nexus Arena

Genre
MOBA, Early Access
Release date
TBA
What is it?
Well of course there’s a 40k MOBA in the works, why wouldn’t there be? There’s direct WASD control of your character in 4v4 battles that take more of a team deathmatch feel than the lane pushing of contemporaries. Beta weekends are ongoing.

All Warhammer 40,000: Dark Nexus Arena posts.

The Settlers: Kingdoms of Anteria

Genre
RTS, RPG
Release date
TBA
What is it?
Merges the resource optimisation and town building of the classic series with creation of a unique hero to lead your people. Just where the balance between the two roles lies and whether there will be a single-player component is still to be announced.

All The Settlers: Kingdoms of Anteria posts.

Total War: Arena

Genre
RTS, Early Access, Free To Play
Release date
TBA
What is it?
Takes the battlescape of the grand strategy franchise and allows teams of up to 10 players to control different elements of a single, big fight. Your warband can be levelled up in a larger metagame.

Total War: Arena preview.
All Total War: Arena posts.

Warhammer 40,000: Regicide

Genre
TBS, Early Access
Release date
Q3
What is it?
What we thought to be 40k chess turns out to be chesslike, but with frag grenades and heavy machine guns making quite a big impact on the usual rules. Why ‘pieces’ are still moved in a similar manner, it’s a more traditional turn based strategy past that point with health, armour and firepower values to be considered.

All Warhammer 40,000: Regicide posts.

Eastside Hockey Manager

Genre
Management, Sports, Early Access
Release date
TBA 2015
What is it?
Full simulation of what it’s like to manage an ice hockey team in any number of countries around the world. Allows you to take direct control of the team’s tactics or hire a coach to do it for you and focus on general management duties.

Eastside Hockey Manager feature.
All Eastside Hockey Manager posts.

World of Tanks: Generals

Genre
Card Game, Early Access
Release date
TBA
What is it?
Collectible card game spin off from the massively popular World of Tanks MMO, it’s currently in open beta. Attempts to simulate World War 2 battles with cards that represent men, equipment and orders.

Supernova

Genre
MOBA, Free To Play
Release date
TBA
What is it?
An intergalactic lane pusher with all the usual bells and whistles, plus the ability to spend resources on specifically upgrading your endless waves of disposable minions to be better than your opponents.

All Supernova posts.

Galactic Inheritors

Genre
4X, Strategy, Space, Early Access
Release date
Q4
What is it?
From a studio headed by Chris King, designer on Paradox’s Hearts of Iron and Crusader Kings series comes a space 4X about media manipulation, diplomacy and the odd planet-killing war.

All Galactic Inheritors posts.

Civilization: Beyond Earth – Rising Tide

Genre
TBS
Release date
Q4
What is it?
Badly needed expansion to the promising but lacklustre Civilization: Space Edition from last year. Improvements are being made in every area and the team behind it is well aware that they didn’t go far enough with their last effort.

Civilization: Beyond Earth – Rising Tide feature.
All Civilization: Beyond Earth – Rising Tide posts.

Hegemony III: Clash of the Ancients

Genre
RTS
Release date
Q3
What is it?
Ancient pre-Caeser Italy serves as the battleground for various Greek city states against the native tribes. With battle tactics evolving quickly from battle to battle at this time in history, it’s about how quickly you can adapt to a more organised foe.

Axis Football 2015

Genre
Sports
Release date
August 15th 2015
What is it?
An indie attempt at the Madden crown. It’s specifically being developed for PC, using the ultimate power of mouse and keyboard to allow for more accurate passing and movement.

Legions of Steel

Genre
TBS
Release date
August 2nd 2015
What is it?
Based on a board game, robot armies are attacking across the galaxy and Earth’s government along with a coalition of aliens are attempting to fight back. Along with a full campaign for each side there’s multiplayer.