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Today, the strategy genre is way past its apogee, with more casual games and genres entering the market. That doesn’t mean they’re outdated and dull, however. One only needs to take a good look at some of Steam’s offerings for free strategy games to get an idea of how the genre evolved. These free titles have kept the flame going and also brought some much-needed innovations.
Updated February 5, 2022, by Sid Natividad: Sometimes a more elaborate and asymmetrical chess match is what some gamers need to break the monotony of action and adventure games. Strategy games provide that opportunity. Like every good strategist would say: why spend resources for something more expensive when something free offers the same experience? Thankfully, there are plenty of free strategy games on Steam. Since that’s the most PC-friendly platform and strategy games are usually best played on PC, it’s a match made in heaven. Genre fans will certainly find some of the best free strategy games on Steam, so even more have been added to the list.
15 Conflict of Nations: World War 3
Release year: 2018 Steam All Reviews rating: Mostly Positive - 72% Download here
Conflict of Nations: World War 3 is a grand strategy title set in a modern world where all-out war is as easy as bombing the colored territory. It plays out similarly to games like Civilization, or the campaign mode in Total War. It also helps players familiarize themselves with geography, since the game takes place on a fictional modern version of Earth.
That means that players who want to take control of a certain country to wage a war over something could fulfill their war nerd fantasies. Those who get tired of playing with the AI can also opt for multiplayer where they can duke it out mentally with other human players.
14 Governor of Poker 3
Release year: 2018 Steam All Reviews rating: Mostly Positive - 70% Download here
It’s poker, so it’s automatically included here, as poker is one of the most strategic and mentally taxing games out there. The free price tag is justified by the multiplayer focus, as Governor of Poker 3 is all about outsmarting and out-bluffing other players online.
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It also doesn’t just feature one poker game but several variants, most of which are viable for multiplayer intensity. Do be warned that some chief complaints about the game are the relentless advertisements and aggressive monetization schemes, but that’s to be expected in a free game.
13 Crusader Kings 2
Release year: 2012 Steam All Reviews rating: Very Positive - 90% Download here
Crusader Kings 2 is one of the most solid and most intricate grand strategy games out there. As the title implies, it’s a medieval history and war simulation set in the European theater. Players can pick their European country and manage them through wide variations of victory from diplomacy to war.
One of the most celebrated aspects of Crusader Kings 2 is its deep and thoughtful political systems, where the AI feels more organic and humanlike compared to other grand strategy games. Moreover, players can micromanage every aspect of their kingdom down to chromosome sharing in the family tree.
12 Fallout Shelter
Release year: 2017 Steam All Reviews rating: Very Positive - 88% Download here
Fallout Shelter is a cute little spinoff game from the Fallout franchise and unlike the main games, it’s less dark as the animation and the art style appear to be the third and fourth game’s propaganda visuals. There’s also a huge difference in gameplay as Fallout Shelter is a management sim that doubles as a strategy game.
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Players take control of underground vaults or apocalyptic shelters while its inhabitants wait out the nuclear war on the surface. They will have to conserve resources while expanding the underground partitions of the vaults and also controlling some surface explorers.
11 Firestone Idle RPG
Release year: 2019 Steam All Reviews rating: Very Positive - 80% Download here
Firestone Idle RPG might have a different genre tag in its name, but it’s a turn-based RPG where the game takes pride in its chill gameplay. The “idle” in its title means players can sit back after assembling their teams, as combat is mostly automated and all they have to do is to plan out abilities and consider synergies.
If anything, that sounds more like a strategy game than an RPG, since most of the gameplay lies in preparation for battles or “strategizing.” The game also offers seasonal events and a fairly fast opportunity for players to progress without spending real money.
10 Game Of Thrones: Winter Is Coming
Release year: 2019 Steam All Reviews rating: Mixed - 61% Download here
So far, no Game of Thrones video game has had a stellar reception, but Winter is Coming is at least lukewarm. It’s a free game, so there’s not much debate to be had about its value. Winter is Coming is a Civ-style title where players get to control their own Seven Kingdoms faction and play politics in Westeros or beyond.
It also helps when one has dragons and some of the most prominent power players of the Iron Throne at their disposal. The game closely follows the events and themes of the HBO TV show, and is generally a fun way to emulate the Mad Queen or Tyrion Lannister from the safety of a gaming chair.
9 Shadowverse CCG
Release year: 2016 Steam All Reviews rating: Mostly Positive - 75% Download here
A big chunk of the most popular strategy games today consist of collectible card games. They’re quite the rage, thanks to the manageable learning curve and high skill ceiling. Shadowverse CCG is one of those and it shares a common trait with most CCGs: easy to learn, hard to master.
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Shadowverse boasts a status as Japan’s number one collectible card game. Players get to pick leader classes which dictate the flavor of their deck of cards. Each of the classes has its own strengths, weaknesses, and synergies, making for a deep level of customization and gameplay.
8 GWENT: The Witcher Card Game
Release year: 2020 Steam All Reviews rating: Very Positive - 88% Download here
Who could have thought that a card game made to replace a simple dice gambling mini-game for a AAA title would be one of the most competitive CCGs in the market right now? GWENT: The Witcher Card Game has definitely gone above and beyond expectations.
It’s pretty much a simplified simulation of a medieval fantasy battle, translated into a card game. Players then try to whittle down their opponent’s life counter by removing the opposing army. It just so happens that the Witcherlore is brimming with spin-off opportunities that GWENT has taken advantage of in creative ways.
7 War Planet Online: Global Conquest
Release year: 2017 Steam All Reviews rating: Mixed - 61% Download here
Back in the real-time strategy (RTS) heyday, Red Alert was one of the biggest titles, as it was also one of the earliest wargames on the PC. Today, many mobile strategy games have tried to utilize the template that Red Alert established, and one of those is War Planet Online: Global Conquest.
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The gameplay here is simple: build a base, produce an army from scratch, and then crush the enemies, hopefully before they do the same. It’s a fast-paced mini-wargame that rewards familiarization and ingenious tactics. As an added bonus, there’s an online competitive component here with rankings, leaderboards, and incentives to boot.
6 Lords Mobile
Release year: 2019 Steam All Reviews rating: Mixed - 68% Download here
Lords Mobile was made in the same vein as breakout titles of the past such as Clash of Clans and the like. These games presumably took inspiration from Civilization titles, making the gameplay familiar for the same fans. Lords Mobile thus lets players build their own kingdom and battle it out in a turn-based skirmish for territory and supremacy.
It’s simple but deep, as players can opt to customize their troop formations and optimize their societies so they can produce better armies and a stronger economy. Like War Planet Online, there’s also an MMO component here, which is enough incentive to make a good kingdom.
5 Idle Champions Of The Forgotten Realms
Release year: 2020 Steam All Reviews rating: Very Positive - 81% Download here
Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms is Wizards of the Coast’s attempt at making a viable, decent video game about their franchise characters. It’s safe to say that based on the reception, it panned out well, unlike most of their Dungeons and Dragons games.
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Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms puts a party of the Forgotten Realms’ most popular heroes as they take on the equivalently notorious monsters of their world. To that end, it’s a hero management game with friendly visuals and accessible gameplay.
4 EVE Online
Release year: 2003 Steam All Reviews rating: Mostly Positive - 75% Download here
Speaking of accessible gameplay, that’s what EVE Online has been trying to achieve ever since it went free-to-play. The space simulator/management strategy title is inching ever closer to that goal. For the most part, though, EVE remains one of the most difficult and complex games out there.
It’s a huge, open-space sandbox game where the universe is the player’s oyster. There are plenty of opportunities in all directions and dimensions, be it a space admiral career, pirate, or merchant. All of those endeavors, however, require management tools just short of an Excel spreadsheet in order to be efficient or effective.
3 Eternal Return
Release year: 2020 Steam All Reviews rating: Very Positive - 82% Download here
Eternal Return is a good example of what strategy games can be if they start tapping into other genres, such as survival. It’s a mashup of several video game elements ranging from MOBA, RPG, and of course, real-time strategy.
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Players must plan out their crafting paths and manage their resources in order to survive. It can also be a battle royale depending on the game mode or the number of players. Truth be told, it would have belonged to another genre instead of strategy if the view wasn’t isometric or top-down. That only goes to show how interesting this title is and how it’s a novelty for the strategy genre.
2 Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Links
Release year: 2017 Steam All Reviews rating: Very Positive - 84% Download here
Currently, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Links remains as one of the most popular CCGs on Steam and even outside of it in the paper format. This is factoring in the advent of newer titles such as GWENT or Slay the Spire. What makes it strong is the rather versatile theme and easy rules.
In Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Links, players get to summon their monsters from a pool of different themes from mechas to ancient Egyptian fantasy gods. This wild crossover of different media genres is governed by the deceptively simple gameplay, where the monster’s summoners must duel each other in a bid to whittle down their opponent’s life counter.
1 DOTA 2
Release year: 2013 Steam All Reviews rating: Very Positive - 83% Download here
One of the last few games that developer Valve created before they started losing interest in game development, DOTA 2 has withstood the test of time and now remains one of the strongest esports titles. This MOBA is the official sequel to the Warcraft mod that transformed the real-time strategy genre into a more action-packed tower-defense game.
It’s still strategy in its very essence, as the players need to carefully plan out their attacks and coordinate with one another while being competent with their chosen heroes. The end result is a more intense and visceral game of hero micro-management that the traditional RTS games can’t match.
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