7 – War in the Pacific: Admiral’s Edition
Look, I’m going to be honest, I’m not even going to pretend that I’m a bit decent at playing, War in the Pacific: Admiral’s Edition, but having listened to my podcast co-host ramble about it so much, I can see the appeal of it, and how this game is less of a video game and more of a highly accurate, turn-based military simulation that can take months, or even years, to finish a single campaign. This monolithic masterpiece tracks everything across the entire Pacific Theater of WWII, from individual pilot fatigue and fuel tons to the daily cargo requirements of isolated island garrisons. It features an incredibly steep learning curve, but it offers an unparalleled level of grand-strategic depth that no other naval game has ever managed to match. It’s probably the hardest game on this list to pick up, learn, and play, and it’s also very expensive, costing a whopping $79.99, so please do be very sure you want to pick this one up before you regret your decision.
6 – Rule the Waves 3
Rule the Waves 3 is the kind of title that you are either going to love or absolutely hate. Let me help you decide, so you can either move on to the next entry or stay and read this one. Do you enjoy controlling every little aspect of shipbuilding? Was one of your childhood dreams to be Secretary of the Navy? Have you ever wanted to do naval contract work? If you answered yes to all of those, Rule The Waves 3 is going to fit you like an admiral’s glove. If you said no to just one, maybe it’s time to have a look at Cold Water, my friends. Rule the Waves 3 abstracts traditional 3D graphics in favor of a deeply satisfying text-and-blueprint-driven spreadsheet layout that lets you design, build, and command global navies from 1890 through 1970. Yes, this does mean you get to fight a dynamic campaign with the ships you built and designed, and influence the World around you using said navy. The real magic happens in the highly detailed ship designer, where tweaking a deck’s armor thickness or moving a gun turret can completely alter the course of future generation-spanning naval battles, as you watch how the technological breakthroughs mold your forces as naval warfare transitions from steam-powered ironclads to massive carrier groups and guided missiles.
5 – UBOAT
UBOAT is a brilliant hybrid experience that acts as equal parts survival simulator and part World War 2 sub-sim that sets you loose on the Atlantic Ocean to carry out mission strikes against convoys, Royal Navy vessels, and installations. Instead of just controlling the vessel itself, you are responsible for managing the physical and mental well-being of your crew during the Battle of the Atlantic, dealing with toxic air quality, mechanical breakdowns, and crushing depth-charge attacks. When the time comes to strike, you must manually step up to the periscope, use real mechanical computation tools to track target speeds, and plot complex torpedo solutions to strike fear into the roaming destroyers above. It’s no wonder it’s one of the best-reviewed games of the genre, as its sandbox nature gives players ample freedom to tackle challenges they feel most comfortable with, and offers plenty of progression opportunities. If you’re on the lookout for a World War 2 simulator in 2026, I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch to say that this is the best one out there.
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