Articles Endless Space 2

The best strategy games of the past decade—from classic RTS titles like Age of Empires 4 and Tempest Rising to the global empires of Crusader Kings 3 and city-building hits like Cities: Skylines and Manor Lords. The strategy genre is alive and thriving—over the past ten years, so many worthy titles have been released that they’ll provide hundreds upon hundreds of hours of gameplay. This list is updated regularly. This version features 41 games, organized by subgenre, including highly anticipated releases from 2024–2026: Manor Lords, Frostpunk 2, Tempest Rising, Cataclismo, Menace, and Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus 2.

Grand strategy and 4X games put you in charge of a nation or a galactic empire — here are the 24 best, from Civilization and Stellaris to Crusader Kings 3, Europa Universalis 5 and Total War. Developing your realm and taking part in geopolitical rivalry with your neighbors can be so absorbing that a single session easily lasts until morning. The “one more turn” phenomenon is no joke. Our list includes 24 grand strategy games divided into 5 subgenres: classic 4X civilization-building games, historical state-management sandboxes from Paradox, the epic mix of a global map and tactical battles in Total War, space empires, and unusual hybrids. The selection was updated in May 2026 with the major releases of recent years: Europa Universalis 5 (2025), Civilization 7 (2025), and Victoria 3 (2022).