40 – KaiserPunk
Kaiserpunk was one of my most anticipated strategy games of 2024 and a couple of months ago it was announced that it was getting pushed back into Q1 of 2025. I like the ideas the team is trying to put together: a city-state builder where you construct your town and set it up for social and economic success, with a grand strategy layer where you can set up trade deals or raise mighty armies to take whatever you need by force. The only thing missing is some sort of real-time strategy game mechanics.
39 – Builders of Egypt
I don’t remember ever seeing a year as jam-packed with city-building releases as 2025. Whether you enjoy historical titles or futuristic settings, there’s something for everyone. Builders of Egypt is another city-building economic strategy videogame that’s taking place… well, in Ancient Egypt. It’s looking very similar to something like the Impression titles of the early 2000s. The game has been in development for quite a while now and is shaping up to be a great entry. If you want, you can give its demo a go right now!
38 – Faraway Lands: Rise of Yokai
Warning: this is just the first of the many city-builders that’s going to feature in this list, however, it might rank amongst the most interesting: Faraway Lands: Rise of Yokai is set in mystical feudal Japan, players will act as Lords and be tasked with growing their settlement into a mighty stronghold that’s able to withstand the Yokai (Japanese demons) onslaught during the nights. I love the setting, the art style, and the base-defense twist it has. Players will be able to explore new lands and establish partnerships with other countries and civilizations. I’m super interested to see how this one is going to pan out.
37 – Modern Naval Warfare
Modern Naval Warfare will put players at the helm of the newest generation of the nuclear SSN-774 Virginia-class submarines in the complex battlefields of the 21st century across more than a million square kilometers of intricate and highly detailed underwater terrain. The technology on display during the Home of Wargamers Live 2022 did enough to convince me that Modern Naval Warfare is aiming higher than the end-user market and will be, most likely, going after military contracts in the future.
36 – B-17 Flying Fortress The Bloody 100th
Another MicroProse title makes the list. In B-17 Flying Fortress The Bloody 100th you’ll be commanding a B-17 and its crew from the moment you receive your orders in the briefing room, all the way to the target and on the way back home. You’ll have to fend off enemy fighters, do damage control, render first aid to injured crewmates and, of course, drop the bombs by lining up your sights. Make all the 25 sorties required and you’re free to return home as a war hero!
35 – Era One
Era One is a real-time strategy title with base building that wants to space survival, fleet management, and deep tactical battles. The most impressive aspect of Era One is its massive modular warships, that can be custom-built to suit your needs and the resources available. Each aspect of the ship can be customized: its command unit, engine, armament, and armor. It’s all very impressive stuff, and it looks like it’s going to allow for some wild creations from imaginative players.
34 – Liegecraft
Liegecraft is a medieval 4X sandbox video game that’s coming to Steam Early Access in 2025, and it’s trying its best to mix up the best aspects of Civilization and Crusader Kings. The game plays on a turn-and-hex-based map, where you build your kingdom, but also has an interpersonal relationship layer where you, as king, have to manage your court and your vassals.
33 – Grit and Valor: 1949
I admire Grit & Valor – 1949 bravery for going down the road of simplifying RTS to its basics alongside roguelite elements, set in a world where World War Two didn’t end in 1945 and now both sides have mechs. While the premise couldn’t sound any more generic, the demo it had during one of Steam’s Next Fest made me realize that we might have something interesting in our hands.
32 – Gilded Destiny
I’ve seen promos about Gilded Destiny hanging around YouTube, but for some reason, I rarely read or hear about the game, and it’s coming out in 2024. Gilded Destiny is a grand strategy game that aims to take a dig at Victoria 3 and is set during the transformative era of the Industrial Revolution. This grand simulation will have you experiencing the societal transformation, industrialization, and economic and warfare changes of the 19th century. It’s a hex-based game, and the main map has over 1 million hexagons, each one expertly drawn to represent its specific location on Earth.
31 – Empire Eternal
Microprose and EPO Games recently announced their up-and-coming real-time strategy game Empire Eternal, clearly inspired by the Empire Earth series of games from the early 2000s. In this RTS you’ll lead your civilization from the Stone Age until the distant future, going from wooden huts and bronze weapons to massive cities, aircraft carriers, and laser mech units. Very little was revealed about the game, but the team’s already detailed this RTS will have some sort of evolved melee combat system, with wall-scaling and ship-boarding.
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