Introduction

The strategy genre is in an amazing place right now, with 2026 starting off strong with the release of 3 amazing games like Strategos, Task Force Admiral, and MENACE. These new experiences go on to add to and increase the growing catalogue of strategy games available as the years go by. In this article, I took a look at this ever-growing vault of strategy treasuries and picked up 10 underrated strategy games that I think are very much worth your time (and money, if you don’t already have them in your library).

If you’re looking for something more mainstream, you can check my recent breakdown of the 10 best real-time strategy (RTS) games to play in 2026, or the top 10 must-try strategy games demos for the Steam Next Fest 2026.

10 – Combat Mission: Battle for Normandy

I don’t think I have ever spent as much time with a wargame as I have with Combat Mission: Battle for Normandy. This tactical-level wargame is the most realistic depiction in gaming of the combat that took place in Normandy during World War 2. Players act as commanders on the field and have to command each individual squad and vehicle. The game has pristine ballistics, armor modelling, dozens of scenarios playable by both sides, an easy-to-use map editor, and 5 beefy DLCs that add the Commonwealth Forces and expand the game to feature the Market Garden Operation, making it into one of the best games set during the most devastating conflict in Human History. If World War 2 isn’t your thing, the Combat Mission series is an expansive one, and the Black Sea and Shock Force 2 entries take its formula into the 21st century.

9 – Battle of Empires 1914-1918

Here’s a bit of trivia for you. Did you know that Battle of Empires 1914-1918 was one of the first articles I have ever written? It’s hard to believe it has been 5 years since I last finished the entire game. And when I say the entire game, I’m not just talking about a couple of missions here and there; I’m saying that I finished all the major nations’ campaigns, which took me a couple of weeks to get through. There’s so much content in Battle of Empires that if you love single-player strategy games and want to play something set in the seldomly seen battlefields of the First World War, this adaptation of the Men of War formula is the best RTS you can play in 2026.

8 – Phantom Brigade

Phantom Brigade had everything to be a top-tier strategy game: XCOM-inspired, turn-based combat, amazing graphics and unique artstyle, a fun twist on the TBS formula, and mechs. A lot of mechs. However, when it came out, the whole ordeal felt kind of flat and boring. Fortunately, the team kept at it, and in November of 2025, the game got a massive, free update that transformed the whole experience and raised the bar to a whole new level. Phantom Brigade 2.0 rebuilt the overworld and campaign experience by adding new maps, provinces, quests and a system that dynamically generates new missions. It added a new pilot system to the game that allows players to recruit pilots with over 100 unique traits and skills, as well as a new layer of pilot management that didn’t exist before. This, essentiatlly, turned the game into one of the best turn-based strategy games available at the moment.

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