Introduction
2026 is shaping up to be an excellent year for strategy and wargaming fans. This list highlights a mix of under-the-radar titles, upcoming releases from unproven developers, and a few standout games that deserve a repeat mention, even if Nuno has already covered them, because they simply look that good.
To make things more interesting, the first five (15-11) are what I consider to be hidden gems: games from lesser-known studios that may or may not become breakout hits this year. It’s a gamble, but in this genre, risk often leads to the most rewarding experiences.
15 – SPEE
Spee looks like Steam and Iron with an actual budget, a modern UI, and campaign mechanics reminiscent of Rule the Waves. Combat previews are scarce, though, which raises the big question: will it deliver?
14 – Crimson Banner: War of Liberation
A Chinese-developed “beer and pretzels” wargame set during the Chinese Civil War (1946). There’s a lot of discussion around its logistics system, which intrigues me greatly.
Unfortunately, most information is currently available only in Chinese. If it ever receives an English release, Crimson Banner: War of Liberation could be a sleeper hit, especially for players eager to explore underrepresented historical periods.
13 – First Sino-Japanese War
I played the demo of the First Sino-Japanese War, and it shows a lot of promise. While it currently lacks sound effects, gameplay feels like WDS meets Rule the Waves, with a strategic map similar to Strategic Command.
Visually, it looks like Rule the Waves finally received a proper graphics budget. If the developers refine combat to feel more like WDS and polish the audio, this could become a dream game for hardcore wargamers.
12 – WARCOM: Fortress Europe
If WARCOM: Fortress Europe delivers, it could easily become my game of the year.
So far, the developers’ only previous release was a low-budget GTA-style game, but that effort showed promise. WARCOM uses voxel graphics to generate procedural battlefields, potentially offering infinite replayability.
Combat appears closer to Combat Mission than Armored Brigade 2, especially with its tactical pause system. Still, information is limited, and there’s always the risk of it ending up in prolonged alpha limbo like Battlefield Commander WWII.
11 – War of Dots
From what I understand, War of Dots is a free, fully moddable RTS focused on pure mechanics. I wasn’t particularly interested at first, but that changed when I saw screenshots of a NATO Counter Mod. The developer’s description says it all: “Remove everything unnecessary. Strategy in its purest form.”
If the modding scene takes off, this could become a minimalist classic.
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