The Best RTS Games to Conquer in the Steam Summer Sale 2025
The Steam Summer Sale of 2025 has just begun, with the yearly promise of a tidal wave of discounts on thousands of titles from every conceivable genre. For players who appreciate strategic prowess and real-time decision-making, it’s an excellent opportunity to expand their libraries with some of the best Real-Time Strategy (RTS) games available on PC. Whether you prefer leading massive armies, building intricate cities, managing dark dungeons, or fighting for survival against overwhelming odds, the real-time strategy (RTS) genre offers a diverse array of experiences that challenge your intellect and reflexes in an equal manner. Get ready to deploy your tactical mind and make some savvy purchases, as we dive into a curated list of top-tier real-time strategy (RTS) games to look out for between June 26th and July 10th, 2025, during the Steam Summer Sale 2025.
20 – Age of Empires: Definitive Edition
The first Age of Empires was a seminal title in the development of what later became known as the basics for RTS, including base-building, resource gathering, troop creation, and unit battles. Age of Empires: Definitive Edition picks up the original game and breathes new life into the iconic game that launched a legendary franchise nearly three decades ago. Released in 2018, this remaster goes beyond a simple facelift, featuring completely remastered 4K Ultra HD graphics, a fully re-orchestrated soundtrack, and significant quality-of-life improvements, like a much-needed updated UI that make it a breeze to play. It includes all content from the original Age of Empires and its Rise of Rome expansion, offering hundreds of hours of updated campaign content with new narration and pacing, allowing players to relive the dawn of civilization from the Stone Age to the Iron Age.
19 – Dungeons 3
Dungeons 3 might not be the most tight of RTS games, and not have the most complex tactical mechanics of this list, but it certainly outpaces everyone else in charm and it crushes in the comedic department. It offers a delightful and humorous twist on the real-time strategy (RTS) genre, seamlessly blending traditional dungeon management à la Dungeon Keeper with overworld tactical combat similar to something you might see from Warcraft 3. As the Absolute Evil, players are tasked with constructing an intricate underground labyrinth, filled with traps, torture chambers, and creature dwellings, all while defending against pesky do-gooder heroes attempting to thwart your diabolical plans of defeating all that’s good in the world. What truly sets Dungeons 3 apart is its witty, fourth-wall-breaking narrator, who provides a constant stream of satirical commentary that keeps the experience entertaining and you always on the edge of your seat waiting to hear what snarky comment he is going to do next.
18 – Northgard
Northgard is a game I have recommended several times before in my other lists. Developed by Shiro Games (who have also worked in the most recent Dune RTS as well), the game offers a distinctive take on the real-time strategy genre by integrating strong survival and city-building elements within a rich Norse mythology setting. Imagine a mix of Anno with Settlers, and you would be close to what the game is. Players lead a Viking clan on a newly discovered, unforgiving continent, focusing not just on military conquest but also on resource management, territorial expansion, and crucially, surviving harsh winters, which are, in fact, your ultimate enemy. Each of the diverse clans comes with unique bonuses, playstyles, and a distinct “Lore Tree” for progression, encouraging varied approaches to gameplay. It’s a slower, more economic-focused RTS when compared to other games in this list, but that’s also what makes it so unique and special.
17 – Command & Conquer Generals Zero Hour
Even decades after its 2003 release, Command & Conquer Generals Zero Hour remains a powerhouse in the real-time strategy (RTS) genre, beloved for its explosive modern warfare setting and highly asymmetrical factions. As an expansion to Command & Conquer: Generals, Zero Hour greatly expanded the core game by introducing nine unique Generals, each with distinct specializations, units, and powerful “General’s abilities” (effectively superweapons or game-changing support powers). Players choose to command the technologically advanced USA, the swarming and often unconventional (but funny as hell) Global Liberation Army (GLA), or the overpowered Chinese military. Each faction offers deeply divergent approaches to base building, resource management, and unit combat. If you haven’t had a chance to try this classic out, give it a go if you can and get it in the Steam Summer Sale 2025, because it’s well worth it, even today.
16 – Regiments
The best way to describe this entry is: WARNO is for multiplayer what Regiments is for single-player. Released in 2022 by Bird’s Eye Games, Regiments .plunges players into a hypothetical “hot” Cold War scenario set in Germany, in 1989. This highly-regarded Real-Time Tactics (RTT) game takes the Eugen System’s inspiration to heart focusing on combined arms warfare at a high level, where infantry, tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, artillery, and planes have to come together to defeat the enemy. Players command their chosen Regiment through a series of dynamic operations, calling in artillery, air support, and various Task Forces to break through enemy lines, conduct feigned retreats, and establish mobile defenses across several maps of the authentic German landscape.
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