15 – The Great War: Western Front
The Great War: Western Front stands out as one of the best RTS games of World War 1, offering a unique and engaging experience in 2026. It’s a convenient yet captivating option—ideal for a quick gaming session before returning to other activities. Completing a single campaign demands approximately 20 hours, more if you opt to engage in every battle. Positioned on the Western Front, the game naturally transforms most battles into challenging, meat-grinding slogs.
Distinguished as one of the best RTS in 2023 by Strategy and Wargaming, The Great War innovatively combines strategic planning on a grand map with tactical control of units on the ground. This distinctive blend proves remarkably effective, notwithstanding somewhat repetitive battles. The persistent terrain damage and trench layouts across campaigns prevent monotony, ensuring that revisiting the same battleground remains compelling. The game’s ability to capture the essence of World War 1 is particularly noteworthy.
Consider The Great War: Western Front as your go-to choice for the Best RTS and wargame set during the First World War, offering a refreshing take on historical strategy gaming with its intriguing mix of grand strategy and tactical control.
14 – Grand Tactician: The Civil War (1861-1865)
Don’t be fooled by the naysayers that shout how inferior Grand Tactician: The Civil War (1861-1865) is inferior to its tactical counterparts like Scourge of War: Gettysburg, and Sid Meyer’s. Name one other game that allows you to take control of either side in a Grand Campaign while also giving players the ability to lead their troops from the front, Total War style? I would that few do Civil War as well as Grand Tactician. The campaign is massive and complex, and the battles are big and long affairs that mimic the confusion and order delays (borrowing a bit from Scourge of War) of their real-life counterparts.
Despite its rocky launch, 3 years have gone by, and the team behind Grand Tactician has been steadily toiling away and has launched massive patches adding new weapons, quality of life upgrades, 3D models and even going as far as revamping the whole economy. In 2023 they launched a new DLC titled Whisky&Lemons that introduced a fantastic and very unique take on the whole thing, by having a character-driven campaign that sees players rising through the ranks as officers during the American Civil War.
13 – Arma 3
Few lists can forfeit the presence of Arma 3, and this is no exception. Arma 3 is the universal WarSim and Military Sandbox from a first-person perspective.
What makes Arma 3 earn its spot on every list isn’t just the realistic physics, sprawling maps, detailed weaponry, and massive online community dedicated to simulating every known conflict under the sun. Instead, what makes Arma 3 the go-to milsim is its dedicated modding community. These passionate folk are responsible for the creation of- literally- thousands of weapons and vehicles, maps, equipment, missions and everything else in between.
Pair that up with the lovely real-time editor that allows you to modify your missions on the fly, and Arma 3 stands tall as the go-to military shooter, even a decade after it originally came out.
12 – Hearts of Iron 4
Hearts of Iron 4 is an amazing game that managed to introduce a whole new generation of players to the idea of wargames and military strategy. This grand strategy title from Paradox is set before, during and after the Second World War, with the fantastic premise that you can take any nation in the World, no matter how small, and guide its destiny across one of the most convoluted times in History.
I heavily disagree with those who accuse the title of being a dumbed-down version of previous titles, and instead, I would argue its focus changed a bit, and it removed a lot of the busy work the previous entry entailed. It’s a game whose focus is on commanding a nation as well as its army, navy, airforce, and the logistical nightmare it was to have a proper war economy running.
Criticisms on how Hearts of Iron 4 leans heavily into its alt-history are certainly legit, and this might put off some people looking for a more realistic experience. Hearts of Iron shed the hardcore military simulator skin the third entry had, but managed to successfully replace that with a sense of control and endless possibilities. It isn’t realistic, but it sure is fun and authentic. If you’re looking for a more military-focused grand-strategy title, Hearts of Iron 3 costs less than 10 dollars and it’s still pretty great for a 15-year-old title.
11 – Command: Modern Operations
When it comes to simulating the complexity of modern warfare in videogame format, Command: Modern Operations has no equal, and this isn’t even me exaggerating. Command: Modern Operations is the definitive experience if you want to simulate any military conflict post World War 2 at a tactical and operational level. Ground, sea and air operations are all possible to model with this title to an absurd degree of accuracy and complexity. Heck, some say the equipment database (it has around 70K entries, I believe, but don’t quote me on that) alone is worth the asking price of 80 dollars!
Just in case you’re still doubting how real Command: Modern Operations is, well it’s the commercial version of a title called Command Professional Edition that’s used by organizations such as the United States Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, the Royal Navy and the Luftwaffe.
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