Strategy gaming on PC is in a strong position heading into 2026. The genre spans an enormous range of experiences, from real-time tactics to sprawling grand strategy, from intimate city building to planetary-scale 4X. What follows is our rundown of the most significant strategy games arriving or expanding on PC this year, covering new releases, major expansions, and early access titles reaching their full launch.
1. Civilization VII — Year One Pass Content
Civilization VII launched in February 2025 to a mixed but ultimately enthusiastic reception. The base game stripped back some features that Civ VI veterans expected, but its new Age system, which resets the map at key historical junctures, is genuinely inventive. The Year One Pass includes two major DLC packs releasing through 2025 and into 2026, adding new civilisations, leaders, and the content that rounds out the full experience.
For strategy fans who held off at launch, 2026 is the year to get into Civilization VII. By the time the pass content lands, it will be the most complete version of a strong base game.
2. Tempest Rising
Tempest Rising is the most overtly nostalgic game on this list. Developed by Slipgate Ironworks and published by 3D Realms, it is a traditional base-building RTS in the mould of Command and Conquer: Red Alert. Two factions, resource harvesting, unit production, and direct base-to-base combat. It is not trying to reinvent the genre; it is trying to deliver what the genre did well in its 1990s peak.
For a generation of players who grew up with Red Alert and Tiberian Sun, Tempest Rising is the most exciting RTS prospect in years. The footage released has shown confident unit design and the kind of environmental destruction that made those original games feel consequential.
3. Manor Lords
Manor Lords has been in Early Access since April 2024 and has spent that time consistently near the top of Steam’s sales charts, which tells you how much appetite there is for what it offers: a slow-burn medieval settlement builder with a level of visual and atmospheric detail that most city builders cannot match.
The full 1.0 release is expected during 2026, with the Early Access period used to add content including new maps, expanded economic systems, and more complex military mechanics. If you have not played it yet, the 1.0 launch is the moment to enter. If you are already in Early Access, the finished game will represent a significant step up from what is already a remarkable foundation.
4. Anno 117: Pax Romana
Ubisoft’s Anno series has built its reputation on detailed city building with complex supply chain logistics, and Anno 117: Pax Romana takes the series to ancient Rome for the first time. The Roman setting offers a different visual and economic palette from the sailing-era and industrial-era entries the series is best known for.
Anno games are long-term investments: the mechanics reward hundreds of hours and the visual quality of the cities you build is genuinely impressive. Anno 117 is one of the most anticipated city builders of 2026 for the substantial Anno community, and an accessible entry point for newcomers.
5. Age of Mythology: Retold — Return of the Pharaoh DLC
Age of Mythology: Retold launched in September 2024 and delivered a thorough remaster of one of the most beloved RTS games of the early 2000s. The Return of the Pharaoh DLC adds an Egyptian civilisation with its own mythology system and associated units, which was notably absent from the original game’s expansion and heavily requested.
For players who enjoyed the base game, this is a straightforward must-buy addition. For anyone who missed the original Age of Mythology and has nostalgia for the classic RTS era, the complete Retold package with DLC is one of the best RTS experiences available on PC.
6. Victoria 3 — Ongoing Grand Strategy
Paradox’s Victoria 3 has undergone a remarkable transformation since its 2022 launch. The simulation of nineteenth-century industrial society, managing populations, trade routes, political movements, and the competing interests of social classes, is now one of the most sophisticated historical grand strategy games available.
2026 brings continued DLC releases in the form of additional regional content and mechanical expansions. Victoria 3 rewards patience: the learning curve is real, but the stories it generates through play are unlike those of any other game in the genre.
7. Company of Heroes 3 — Continued Development
Relic’s Company of Heroes 3 launched in February 2023 and has received substantial patches and DLC since, addressing the mixed launch reception with mechanical improvements and additional content. The Italian and North African campaigns have grown in scope, and multiplayer has stabilised.
For WWII RTS players, 2026 continues to bring improvements to what is now a solid entry in the franchise. If you bounced off CoH3 at launch, revisiting it with the current build is worth doing.
8. Frostpunk 2 — Season Content
11 bit studios’ Frostpunk 2 released in September 2024 as a bigger, more complex, and more politically fraught sequel to the original. The city governance systems and the moral weight of keeping a frozen-world society alive are more developed than in its predecessor, and the faction management adds a genuinely interesting strategic layer.
The post-launch season content, planned through 2025 and into 2026, adds new scenarios and mechanical additions that expand the base game. For anyone who enjoyed the original Frostpunk and has not yet played the sequel, this is arguably the best city-survival game available.
9. Homeworld 3 — War Games DLC
Homeworld 3, released in May 2024 by Blackbird Interactive, brought the iconic space RTS series back with gorgeous visuals and a campaign that returned to the series’ epic scale. The War Games co-op roguelite mode was added post-launch and has been the most-played component for many players since. Further DLC content and updates are expected through 2026.
For real-time strategy fans who have not experienced Homeworld, the third entry with its post-launch updates is an excellent introduction to one of the genre’s most distinctive series.
10. Total War: Warhammer III — The Immortal Empires Era
Creative Assembly’s Total War: Warhammer III continues to receive DLC that expands the roster of legendary lords, units, and races available in the Immortal Empires combined campaign. As the game matures into its content-rich late period, it is approaching the kind of saturated, near-endless strategic replayability that Total War: Warhammer II achieved by the end of its DLC lifecycle.
Whether Creative Assembly announces a new standalone Total War entry in 2026 or continues developing within the Warhammer III framework, this remains the benchmark for turn-based strategy with real-time battles on PC.
Release dates in the strategy genre are famously subject to change. All titles listed are either confirmed for 2026 or receiving significant new content during the year.
