Best RTS games on Steam
Unlike generic lists, our strategy game recommendations use a rigorous analysis of Steam user reviews to identify and feature only the best, community-validated rts games. For those who prefer not to search, lists of the most played, top deals and best free rts games are available at the bottom of the page.
Gods and Idols
Take the role of a newly ascended deity in Gods and Idols. Carve your place among the stars in an open, dynamic, and massive MMORTS universe. Command the powers of the cosmos, form alliances, and use your worshipers as instruments to further your goals.Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun
Shadow Tactics is a hardcore tactical stealth game set in Japan around the Edo period. A new Shogun seizes power over Japan and enforces nationwide peace. In his battle against conspiracy and rebellion, he recruits five specialists with extraordinary skills for assassination, sabotage and espionage.Creeper World 2: Anniversary Edition
Deceptively simple... amazingly deep. Creeper World 2 thrusts you into the 14th millennium fighting and enemy that flows and oozes through the terrain. Employ advanced weapons,gravity manipulating repulsors, wormhole like rifts, and your own wit against this never yielding enemy.Creeper World: Anniversary Edition
Imagine an enemy that is everywhere and moves like a giant, organic mass across the map. Imagine your base and your people surrounded by a blanket of crushing destruction from all directions. Your only hope, well what hope? Then you take the high ground and pound this enemy into oblivion.Screeps: World
Screeps: World is an open source MMO RTS sandbox game for programming enthusiasts, wherein the core mechanic is programming your units AI. You control your colony by writing JavaScript which operates 24/7 in the single persistent open world filled by other players on par with you.Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation
A massive-scale real-time strategy game where you command entire armies on a dynamic battlefield. Conquer multiple worlds across several single-player campaigns; or play with your friends in multiplayer combat.EmergeNYC
EmergeNYC is a simulation of New York City's Emergency Services. Drive over 30 different Emergency Vehicles with up to 32 of your friends through busy City Streets with blazing sirens and air horns. Take the role of a firefighter, medic, or police officer and ride with your friends to emergenciesZombie Defense
A modern hybrid of the classic RTS and modern Tower Defense. Recruit soldiers, place them on slots and let them shoot incoming waves of zombies by their own. Order supplies, throw grenades, order airstrikes and many more... Perfect mix of strategy, tactics and micromanagement.Particle Fleet: Emergence
Build and design your own fleets and stand opposed to the Particulate in this physics/strategy/RTS/fleet hybrid. Build partially destructible and self repairing ships that interact with enemies less controlled by some scripted logic and more driven by a real time massive physics particle simulation.Cossacks 3
Cossacks 3 is the return of RTS classics. Obtain resources, build cities and research technologies while taking command of great armies, crushing enemies in grand historical warfares on land and sea!Stronghold Legends: Steam Edition
Catapult werewolves over castle walls, incinerate troops with dragon fire and command the Knights of the Round Table! This remaster of the mythical ‘castle sim’ features Steam multiplayer, Workshop support, new maps, achievements and DLC campaigns.Master of Orion
The ascendant spacefaring 4X strategy game returns! A new chapter in the epic Master of Orion saga is poised to once again capture the imaginations of millions of gamers.The Hive
The Hive is a strategy game with RPG elements where you assume command as the insectoid hivemind. Build and expand your underground colony, harvest resources, and evolve your swarm using DNA. Will you survive in this hostile yet beautiful underworld?8-Bit Hordes
From the team that brought you 8-Bit Armies comes a new fantasy RTS as fast-paced and friendly as the original! 8-BIT HORDES is a colorful strategy-arcade game that is easy to learn for players of all skill levels. Collect resources, build up and defend your base, amass your army of orcs or humans and ultimately crush your opponents!Infectonator: Survivors
"Infectonator : Survivors" is a Randomized Permadeath Survival Simulator that combines RTS, Tower Defense, Roguelike, and Management-Simulation gameplay. The goal is to lead a group of survivors in a struggle to stay alive and find rescue in a zombie apocalyptic world.Kingdom Rush Frontiers - Tower Defense
Command your troops through an epic (mis)adventure as you defend exotic lands from dragons, man-eating plants, and ghastly denizens of the underworld -all with flashy new towers, levels, heroes, and more goodies to help you crush your foes in this Fantasy Action Tower Defense game!Crush Your Enemies
Go back to the awesome glory days of Real-Time Strategy games. Crush Your Enemies has everything you love of the genre: Planning, choosing different types of units, managing resources, taking enemy territory and outwitting your opponent with the ingenious formations of your men.Hearts of Iron IV
Victory is at your fingertips! Your ability to lead your nation is your supreme weapon, the strategy game Hearts of Iron IV lets you take command of any nation in World War II; the most engaging conflict in world history.Total War: WARHAMMER
Addictive turn-based empire-building with colossal, real-time battles, all set in a world of legendary heroes, giant monsters, flying creatures and storms of magical power.Istrolid
In Istrolid you design your own unique spaceships from a large number of parts to fit your strategy and play style. With no set units or factions you are free to create a fleet where each ship has its own balanced strengths and weaknesses, from basic fighters and bombers to hulking battleships and speedy destroyers.Flesh Eaters
Flesh Eaters is retro style single player RTS zombie survival game with resource gathering and crafting. Zombies are everywhere! You must gather resources to build barricades, upgrade weapons and armour and explore the city under the siege of the deadMost played rts games on Steam
Take a look at the top rts games that are currently attracting the largest player bases on the Steam platform, as of April 17th 2025.
1. Total War: WARHAMMER III
The cataclysmic conclusion to the Total War: WARHAMMER trilogy is here. Rally your forces and step into the Realm of Chaos, a dimension of mind-bending horror where the very fate of the world will be decided. Will you conquer your Daemons… or command them? Total War: WARHAMMER III is a strategy, turn-based strategy and grand strategy game developed by Creative Assembly and Feral Interactive and published by Feral Interactive and SEGA. Released on February 16th 2022 has received 117,985 reviews of which 85,271 were positive and 32,714 were negative resulting in a rating of 7.2 out of 10. The game has hit the top spot as the #1 most played rts game, thanks to its 25,917 peak concurrent players over the last day.2. Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition
42 Civilizations, 229 Campaign Missions, Singleplayer, Co-Op, Multiplayer, In-Game Editor, Mods, Cross-play...It is good to be the king. Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition is a strategy, rts and city builder game developed by Forgotten Empires, Tantalus Media, Wicked Witch, World's Edge and CaptureAge and published by Xbox Game Studios. Released on November 14th 2019 has received 159,608 reviews of which 151,527 were positive and 8,081 were negative resulting in an impressive rating of 9.4 out of 10. While seeing 19,812 players online at once in the last 24 hours, this game is currently ranked #2 among rts games based on player count.3. Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition
Celebrating its first year of delighting millions of global players, the award-winning and best-selling strategy franchise continues with Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition, putting you at the center of even more epic historical battles that shaped the world. Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition is a strategy, rts and base-building game developed by Relic Entertainment, Forgotten Empires, Climax Studios and World's Edge and published by Xbox Game Studios. Released on October 28th 2021 has received 78,584 reviews of which 67,670 were positive and 10,914 were negative resulting in a rating of 8.5 out of 10. While seeing 12,965 players online at once in the last 24 hours, this game is currently ranked #3 among rts games based on player count.4. Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition
Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition offers players a trial of this historical single & multiplayer RTS experience. *Note: To unlock all features of the game please see the “Base Game” product. Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition is a strategy, base-building and rts game developed by World's Edge, Tantalus Media and Forgotten Empires and published by Xbox Game Studios. Released on October 15th 2020 has received 47,511 reviews of which 40,165 were positive and 7,346 were negative resulting in a rating of 8.3 out of 10. With 4,115 concurrent players in the last 24 hours, the game currently holds the #4 spot among the most played rts games.5. Call to Arms - Gates of Hell: Ostfront
Call to Arms - Gates of Hell is a realistic RTS/ RTT game that offers endless replay value. Command all types of troops in historical singleplayer, dynamic campaign, PvP and PvE battles. Are you ready for some serious immersion in World War 2? Call to Arms - Gates of Hell: Ostfront is a world war ii, strategy and real time tactics game developed by Barbedwire Studios and Digitalmindsoft and published by Digitalmindsoft. Released on June 11th 2021 has received 22,710 reviews of which 18,875 were positive and 3,835 were negative resulting in a rating of 8.2 out of 10. With 3,209 concurrent players in the last 24 hours, the game currently holds the #5 spot among the most played rts games.6. Age of Empires II (Retired)
Age of Empires II has been re-imagined in high definition. With the release of Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition, this product will not be updated further. Age of Empires II (Retired) is a strategy, rts and medieval game developed by SkyBox Labs, Hidden Path Entertainment, Ensemble Studios and Forgotten Empires and published by Xbox Game Studios. Released on April 09th 2013 has received 101,108 reviews of which 96,842 were positive and 4,266 were negative resulting in an impressive rating of 9.4 out of 10. With 3,075 concurrent players in the last 24 hours, the game currently holds the #6 spot among the most played rts games.7. Company of Heroes 2
Experience the ultimate WWII RTS platform with COH2 and its standalone expansions. This package includes the base game, which you can then upgrade by purchasing The Western Front Armies, Ardennes Assault and/or The British Forces. More info in the "About This Game" section below. Company of Heroes 2 is a strategy, world war ii and rts game developed by Relic Entertainment and Feral Interactive (Linux) and published by Relic Entertainment, Feral interactive (Mac) and Feral Interactive (Linux). Released on June 25th 2013 has received 109,353 reviews of which 86,351 were positive and 23,002 were negative resulting in a rating of 7.8 out of 10. With 2,932 concurrent players in the last 24 hours, the game currently holds the #7 spot among the most played rts games.8. Age of Mythology: Retold
From the creators of the award-winning Age of Empires franchise, Age of Mythology: Retold goes beyond history to a mythical age where gods, monsters, and humans collide. Age of Mythology: Retold is a strategy, rts and base-building game developed by World's Edge, Forgotten Empires, Tantalus Media, CaptureAge and Virtuos Games and published by Xbox Game Studios. Released on September 04th 2024 has received 16,088 reviews of which 14,473 were positive and 1,615 were negative resulting in a rating of 8.8 out of 10. With 2,568 concurrent players in the last 24 hours, the game currently holds the #8 spot among the most played rts games.9. Northgard
Northgard is a critically acclaimed strategy game based on Norse mythology. Lead your clan, uncover the secrets of a mysterious newfound continent and defeat your enemies to conquer the Throne! Northgard is a strategy, city builder and simulation game developed and published by Shiro Games. Released on March 07th 2018 has received 64,080 reviews of which 55,486 were positive and 8,594 were negative resulting in a rating of 8.5 out of 10. With 2,382 concurrent players in the last 24 hours, the game currently holds the #9 spot among the most played rts games.10. Total War: WARHAMMER II
Strategy gaming perfected. A breath-taking campaign of exploration, expansion and conquest across a fantasy world. Turn-based civilisation management and real-time epic strategy battles with thousands of troops and monsters at your command. Total War: WARHAMMER II is a strategy, fantasy and turn-based strategy game developed by Creative Assembly and Feral Interactive (Linux) and published by Feral interactive (Mac), Feral Interactive (Linux) and SEGA. Released on September 28th 2017 has received 124,090 reviews of which 114,619 were positive and 9,471 were negative resulting in an impressive rating of 9.1 out of 10. With 2,008 concurrent players in the last 24 hours, the game currently holds the #10 spot among the most played rts games.Best deals on rts games on Steam
Discover fantastic savings with the best discounts on a variety of rts games available on Steam right now, updated on April 17th 2025. Looking for even more deals? Use the search filters to explore a wider range of discounted rts games.
1. Ancestors Legacy
Ancestors Legacy is a squad-based real time strategy with a strong focus on tactics. Inspired by medieval European history, it brings to life four different nations and their conflicts, usually solved by war. Ancestors Legacy is a strategy, rts and medieval game developed and published by Destructive Creations. Released on May 22nd 2018 has received 8,335 reviews of which 6,569 were positive and 1,766 were negative resulting in a rating of 7.7 out of 10. Featuring a massive 95% discount, this game currently holds the #1 spot in the best deals for rts category.2. Stronghold Crusader 2
Stronghold Crusader 2 is the long awaited sequel to the original castle sim. After 12 years Stronghold returns to the desert with a new 3D engine and powerful Havok Physics. Crusader 2 recaptures the original game’s addictive, fast-paced gameplay and authentic castle simulation. Stronghold Crusader 2 is a strategy, medieval and city builder game developed and published by FireFly Studios. Released on September 22nd 2014 has received 16,919 reviews of which 12,202 were positive and 4,717 were negative resulting in a rating of 7.1 out of 10. Thanks to its incredible 95% discount, this game is now the #2 best deal in rts games.3. Homeworld Remastered Collection
Experience the epic space strategy games that redefined the RTS genre. Control your fleet and build an armada across more than 30 single-player missions. Choose unit types, fleet formations and flight tactics for each strategic situation. Homeworld Remastered Collection is a space, strategy and rts game developed by Gearbox Software and Aspyr (Mac) and published by Aspyr (Mac) and Gearbox Publishing. Released on February 25th 2015 has received 13,504 reviews of which 11,934 were positive and 1,570 were negative resulting in a rating of 8.6 out of 10. Thanks to its incredible 94% discount, this game is now the #3 best deal in rts games.4. Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation
A massive-scale real-time strategy game where you command entire armies on a dynamic battlefield. Conquer multiple worlds across several single-player campaigns; or play with your friends in multiplayer combat. Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation is a rts, base-building and pvp game developed by Stardock Entertainment and Oxide Games and published by Stardock Entertainment. Released on November 10th 2016 has received 4,738 reviews of which 3,526 were positive and 1,212 were negative resulting in a rating of 7.3 out of 10. Currently offered at a significant 94% discount, this title has earned the #4 position in the best deals for rts games.5. Medieval Kingdom Wars
Rewrite medieval history through bloody siege combat in a fusion of RTS and Grand Strategy genres. Rule, build, and serve your King as a minor lord in medieval Europe. Experience siege, field and naval combat with an unseen degree of brutality. Rogue-like progression, epic towns and battles await… Medieval Kingdom Wars is a grand strategy, rts and medieval game developed by Reverie World Studios and published by indie.io. Released on January 03rd 2019 has received 2,585 reviews of which 1,977 were positive and 608 were negative resulting in a rating of 7.4 out of 10. Currently offered at a significant 93% discount, this title has earned the #5 position in the best deals for rts games.6. Tooth and Tail
Lead the revolution with an army of flamethrowing Boars, mustard gas-lobbing Skunks, and paratrooper-puking Owls. Tooth and Tail is a Real-Time-Strategy game featuring Single Player, Online Competitive Play, Split Screen, Replays, and more. Build a base, lead your army, eat your enemies! Tooth and Tail is a strategy, rts and pixel graphics game developed and published by Pocketwatch Games. Released on September 12th 2017 has received 4,043 reviews of which 3,234 were positive and 809 were negative resulting in a rating of 7.8 out of 10. Currently offered at a significant 91% discount, this title has earned the #6 position in the best deals for rts games.7. Cartel Tycoon
Cartel Tycoon is a survival business sim inspired by the ‘80s and '90s narco trade. Expand and conquer, fight off rival thugs and evade the authorities. Earn people's loyalty and strive to overcome the doomed fate of a power-hungry drug lord. Cartel Tycoon is a top-down, rts and resource management game developed by Moon Moose and published by tinyBuild. Released on July 26th 2022 has received 3,507 reviews of which 2,680 were positive and 827 were negative resulting in a rating of 7.4 out of 10. Currently offered at a significant 91% discount, this title has earned the #7 position in the best deals for rts games.8. Sudden Strike 4
Sudden Strike is back! The beloved Real Time Strategy series returns, this time with bigger battlefields, more units, better graphics, new scenarios and legendary commanders – making Sudden Strike 4 more tactical and realistic than ever before! Sudden Strike 4 is a strategy, rts and world war ii game developed by Kite Games and published by Kalypso Media. Released on August 11th 2017 has received 7,774 reviews of which 6,056 were positive and 1,718 were negative resulting in a rating of 7.6 out of 10. Currently offered at a significant 90% discount, this title has earned the #8 position in the best deals for rts games.9. Men of War: Assault Squad 2
Men of War: Assault Squad 2 features new single player style skirmish modes that take players from extreme tank combat to deadly sniper stealth missions. Commanders can now faceoff against opponents on various new multiplayer 1v1 – 8v8 maps. Men of War: Assault Squad 2 is a strategy, world war ii and war game developed by Digitalmindsoft and published by Fulqrum Publishing. Released on May 15th 2014 has received 43,994 reviews of which 40,143 were positive and 3,851 were negative resulting in a rating of 9.0 out of 10. Currently offered at a significant 89% discount, this title has earned the #9 position in the best deals for rts games.10. S.W.I.N.E. HD Remaster
S.W.I.N.E. HD Remaster is the new edition of the challenging classic strategy game S.W.I.N.E! The filthiest of all wars between the Rabbit and the Pig armies is a sophisticated real-time strategy with completely revised textures, detailed unit models, a 16:9 adapted interface. S.W.I.N.E. HD Remaster is a strategy, rts and retro game developed by Kite Games and published by Kite Games and WhisperGames. Released on May 23rd 2019 has received 1,186 reviews of which 1,081 were positive and 105 were negative resulting in a rating of 8.6 out of 10. Currently offered at a significant 88% discount, this title has earned the #10 position in the best deals for rts games.Free rts games on Steam
Check out this fantastic list of free-to-play rts games you can enjoy on Steam right now, updated on April 17th 2025. Looking for even more free titles? Use the search filters to explore a wider range of free to play rts games.