Summary

• True strategy games like Grand Strategy, 4x, or RTS are harder to come by in AAA development, with many modern developers avoiding the genre.
• Exciting indie strategy games like Stormgate and Battle Aces are adding fresh options to the strategy game lineup for players.
• The decline of strategy games can be attributed to a lack of interest in strategic thinking in games, as well as the rise of new genres like MOBAs.

Even though, at one point, the gaming industry was absolutely inundated with high-profile strategy Starcraft 2, Warcraft 3, and the Command & Conquer series, it's been a while since a new strategy game release has really disrupted the market. The general term "strategy game" covers a wide variety of different titles and often bleeds over into other genres like city builders (often categorized as simulations) or MOBAs.

True strategy games, like Grand Strategy, 4x, or RTS (obviously my favorite), are much harder to come by, especially when speaking AAA development. Though there are some stellar exceptions over the years, the majority of the strategy game landscape resembles a barren wasteland with nothing in sight. That was, until recently, as a few exciting indie strategy games are being developed and should be released within the next year.

There Are Several Great-Looking Strategy Games On The Horizon

In Beta Or Under Development

When looking at dominant strategy games of the last decade, there are a handful that really stand out. Titles like Total War: Warhammer 3 and Civilization VI are probably two of the biggest games. That said, Civ VI came out all the way back in 2016, and the original Total War: Warhammer also came out in 2016, making both titles nearly decade-old games. Though both have received updates, with Warhammer specifically receiving two sequels since 2016, the point remains that there aren't that many fresh AAA strategy games.

Luckily, a new batch of developers are working on strategy titles with a new twist to appeal to a more modern audience. Titles like Stormgate, Battle Aces, Supervive, and even the mobile MOBA Dragon Ball: Project Multi will finally be adding some fresh options to the strategy lineup for players. This is a breath of fresh air where many modern developers are seemingly intentionally staying away from the genre.

What Are The Most Exciting Strategy Games?

Civilization 7, Stormgate, Battle Aces, DORF, Supervive

Although it hasn't reached the heights prior to the 2010s, strategy games from smaller development companies are making a resurgence via indie developers. Frostpunk 2 is releasing on September 20 and is a follow-up to the enjoyable Frostpunk — which, in essence, is more of a city builder than a strategy game, but it is worth a mention. The biggest strategy game is the latest title in the iconic Civilization franchise in Civilization 7. Returning to its roots, it'll be taking on a more realistic tone with a variety of enhancements.

More akin to its RTS roots is a game called Stormgate, which I covered back in 2023 when little was known about the title developed by Frost Giant Studios. That game is probably the closest thing to a spiritual successor to Starcraft, with three factions that feel similar, and it is currently free to play in Early Access on Steam.

Stormgate currently sits with Mixed reviews, with most s pointing toward the monetization strategy. The developers have said they are dedicated to bringing the game up to par as it develops in Early Access.

Another neat game that has some potential to gain a following is Battle Aces, which essentially takes out the macro portions of an RTS game. Part auto-battler with much more unit control, the game has already undergone a beta with recent development updates posted as recently as July 2024. Manor Lords is another city-builder with RTS combat mechanics that has the potential to grow into something bigger.

DORF is another game that draws inspiration from Command & Conquer and is slated to come out soon. Last but not least, SUPERVIVE, which was previously Project Loki, is another game that describes itself as a top-down squad-based hero battle royale but is really akin to other "strategic" MOBA-lite titles like Battlerite.

The Decline Of Strategy Games

I Reached Diamond On The Starcraft 2 Ranked Ladder

For people who haven't lived through the rise, peak, and fall of what was the hype around Starcraft 2, it's hard to express how big the game was at one point. While the fandom of players never reached the pinnacle that it did in a country like South Korea, in of esports, Counter-Strike & Starcraft were the two biggest games in the space for a time. This would eventually give rise to esports communities like the ones that would form around League of Legends and Fortnite, but these first games stand as the foundational building blocks of the industry.

Halo and Super Smash Bros Melee also had strong competitive communities.

Starcraft 2 was initially released in 2010, making it now 14 years old, and arguably reached its peak around the time that Heart of the Swarm was released in 2013. Although the competitive community persisted for years, esports prize pools were already starting to dwindle as Legacy of the Void was released in 2015.

I lived through this era with my own Twitch stream and Starcraft clan, where we put on streamed tournaments before that was a thing in the current game. This was an exciting time when names like Maru, Byun, Scarlett, and BoxeR dominated the scene and were known even outside of the Starcraft fandom.

Before its time, there were plenty of other alternatives. Speaking specifically to RTS, there was the Command & Conquer series, Warcraft, Rise of Nations, the Age of Empires and its spinoffs, and a number of other smaller RTS titles. In of grand strategy and 4X, there were also other options too. Beyond the aforementioned Civilization series, there were also Europa Universalis and Stellaris games.

Why Did Strategy Games Decline?

A Lack Of Interest And Rise Of New Genres

The fall of strategy games can't be pinned on exactly any one thing. Rather, it was (and still is) a confluence of factors that make setting a significant budget for a strategy game one that most AAA studios stay away from. According to a Quantic survey in 2024, gamers are generally less interested in strategic thinking in their games. The data surveyed 1.57 million gamers, and the desire to play highly strategic games has declined significantly over the past nine years, with 67% of gamers caring less about strategic thinking and planning than the average in 2015.

Company of Heroes 2 was a highly anticipated RTS, but sadly COH3 failed to deliver upon its release.

While a more cynical view could view this as an overall societal issue and reduced attention span (which the report also touches on), part of the decline could also be a result of gaming just becoming more diverse. Now, there is a more diverse variety of games and genres. Although Sim City is the grandfather of city-builders, a greater variety of city-builder games and offshoot production games like Factorio lets people scratch that macro-management itch that makes up half of RTS gameplay.

Conversely, MOBA games like Dota 2 and LoL took the micro elements of RTS but gave players a lot less to micro-manage on the screen, making it more palatable to those who didn't want to read tutorials or drill builds to climb the ladder. Add to this the emergence of new genres and countless titles for an affordable fee, and strategy games don't feel like the only option anymore. 4X and Grand Strategy games require your entire attention as well, much like RTS games, so that could also be a contributing factor to their decline.

I get it. Drilling build orders to be a few seconds ahead of your opponent so you could implement the 3 Rax strat isn't fun for probably a large swath of players. Being overwhelmed with immense micro-management and performing over 100 actions per second creates a massive barrier for people who are not looking to perfect a skill or play one game for years. That said, I do hope that more developers are willing to take a chance and develop more strategy PC games so I can finally scratch my strategy game itch.

Source: Quantic