There's an interesting duality when it comes to PC gaming. On the one hand, this universal platform is home to a plethora of great games spanning every genre imaginable. But particularly in the modern era, the majority of software can also be played on consoles in one form or another. Even beloved classics like Starcraft and Crysis—while better on PC—have eventually found their way to a few consoles in some form.
Still, there are a number of excellent PC games that have remained exclusive; games that the "pc master race" can still feel grateful to call their own. This piece will highlight some of the very best titles amidst the PC's endlessly-vast library.
Updated May 6, 2022, by Stephen LaGioia: PC gaming is a constantly-evolving form of entertainment in terms of visuals, gameplay concepts, and technical prowess. With this improving hardware comes an endless stream of new titles, mods, remasters, and sequels. With this in mind—and with consoles increasingly hogging the gaming spotlight—it seemed like a good idea to revisit this list. Hopefully, in doing so, gamers can seek out some of these terrific PC exclusives and feel all the more justified in their investment in a new high-end gaming rig.
15 Star Wars: The Old Republic
George Lucas' esteemed fantasy epic makes for a stellar foundation for awesome games. This is illustrated by the onslaught of Star Wars software over the decades. However, while the ever-growing lineup of SW romps has varied in quality, most fans and critics cite The Old Republic as one of the strongest entries of late.
This MMORPG from BioWare features loads of thrilling action and Jedi-Sith skirmishes, despite residing just after a peace agreement between the Empire and Republic. With rewarding gameplay and progression—as well as a rich cinematic presentation, players can find countless hours of enjoyment in this virtual galaxy far, far away. While far from flawless, The Old Republic mostly lives up to the potential and hype of a Star Wars MMO.
14 Sim City 3000
In the 90s, Maxis' Sim franchise dominated a large chunk of the PC gaming scene, with appealing romps like Sim City and the player-focused The Sims. To many, however, this title is the best of the best, towering above most in the genre. The '99 sim feels like a culmination of the franchise's best qualities, refined and polished to perfection.
3000 keeps the depth and micromanaging that allows dedicated players to build their utopia and thrive. At the same time, quality-of-life improvements, a neater interface, and a more streamlined experience beckons newer, more casual players as well. And of course, the game still allows players to trash their town in amusing ways—such as UFOs and Locust plagues.
13 Squad
2020's Squad, crafted by Offworld Industries, feels right at home as a PC exclusive, with its impressive visuals, tactical depth, and online focus. The game has players engage in field combat while in squads, which are split into smaller specialized factions. In many ways, this feels more akin to a war simulator than a frantic FPS.
While there are intense moments to be had, Squad stresses strategy through teamwork over action, featuring ample downtime in the process. In this sense, the game can be compared to a flashier, modernized Counter-Strike—just with far more players on the battlefield (a whopping 100), and far sleeker visuals to boot.
12 Age Of Empires 2: Definitive Edition
Age of Empires 2 stands as the pinnacle of historical RTS games, garnering near-universal acclaim from fans and critics. The formula is somewhat recognizable: construct towns, accumulate wealth and resources, and build armies to conquer opponents. Yet, this game utilizes new features and streamlined mechanics, rounding out a tactical game that's both deep and accessible.
While this PC classic has since been ported, the game has seen new life with a robust remaster. The aptly-named Definitive Edition amps up and polishes the presentation to fit the larger-than-life experience. It injects more content and features, with new civilizations and campaigns to play around with. This is rounded out by co-op gameplay and sharper AI, making for a polished modern rendition and allowing this relic to shine once again.
11 League Of Legends
League of Legends stands as both an addictive online game and a cultural shift in the industry—helping to popularizing the MOBA. Released in 2009, this still-exclusive romp remains a PC gaming draw for millions of dedicated players.
It's easy to see why, as the deep-yet-accessible gameplay is difficult to walk away from. Players will control a "champion" as they team up with others and clash with opponents, utilizing different resources, powers, and battle tactics. Added to this are the delightful social elements and highly rewarding progression system.
10 Counter-Strike: Source
One of the most addictive team-based FPS's to hit the PC—and the gaming scene at large for that matter—this reworked version of the superb shooter Counter-Strike remains a PC exclusive.
This competitive gaming phenom began as a mod that branched off from Half-Life, and exploded in popularity from there, spawning several ports and sequels. This appealing FPS romp takes relatively simple missions—bomb diffusing, hostage rescues, and targetting opponents—and wraps it up in an awesome package. Naturally, Source takes advantage of the new, juiced-up Source game engine, serving as Valve's debut game to show off the engine's improved technical muscle.
9 Rome: Total War
The Total War series has become synonymous with quality RTS epics, and has a vast diverse history. From Medieval times to ancient Rome to Feudal Japan, this franchise has covered it all. It's truly the Assassin's Creed of turn-based strategy games. Amongst this stellar series, however, the pinnacle is widely considered to be the original Rome: Total War.
The game is a delightful virtual trip to the past for ancient history buffs, RTS vets, and newcomers alike. Players can command factions ranging from Hellenistic to tribal armies, and lead hordes of troops to victory in a palette of majestic ancient settings. Rome: Total War offers the perfect blend of nuance, depth, and accessibility.
8 Roller Coaster Tycoon 2
There are few sims that can measure up to this underrated gem in terms of sheer content and delightfully addictive gameplay. While the first Roller Coaster Tycoon is robust and well-crafted as it stands, the sequel took this solid foundation and built a behemoth of gaming greatness. Six Flag fans can also rejoice, as RCT2 offers scenes and content based on their parks.
Not only does the game add more rollercoasters, stalls, and other accouterments to the huge lineup of buildable assets, it fleshes the building mechanic out with more versatility and depth. Structures and coasters can now be constructed with greater precision. This game even adds the ability for users to play with their own custom scenarios, adding to the range of objectives already present in the vast campaign.
7 Unreal Tournament 2004
Fans often gravitate to the iconic original Unreal Tournament when it comes to this "epic" game—fittingly from the studio of the same name. Yet, this follow-up refines and expands upon certain aspects from the first arena FPS. It also maintains exclusivity, which its predecessor cannot claim. Gamers can thank the PS2 and Dreamcast for that one.
Even more so than the 1999 hit, this sequel offers a diverse palette of gameplay options, satisfying physics, wildly fun weapons—and allows for countless mod variants by users. While FPS phenoms have come and gone since 2004, Unreal shines as one of the most enduring, addictive multiplayer shooters out there.
6 Battlefield 2
Similar to FPS greats like Goldeneye and Call of Duty 4, Battlefield 2 strikes a nerve with shooter fans with its rock-solid mechanics, a slew of fun gameplay modes, and "easy to learn, tough to master" gameplay.
While games like Call of Duty ran with deep online functionality, communication, and progression, it's largely 2005's BF2 that pioneered these traits, offering truly fun online romps. The game also nails the concept of unique classes possessing different strengths and abilities, adding to the dynamic of the thrilling squad-based matches. Despite its fairly dated graphics, this is a top-notch shooter that still holds up.
5 StarCraft 2
This sequel to the renowned sci-fi RTS manages to dwarf that effort in terms of depth and detail. The game is so monstrous that it had to be divided up into three skews, each of which centers around one of the three factions; human Terrans, buglike Zerg, and advanced alien Protoss. And this doesn't factor in the endless content via addictive online play, courtesy of battle.net.
This long-awaited sequel draws from the appealing foundation that made the first StarCraft so great. At the same time, it amps this formula up to absurd heights with new upgrades and units, added abilities, flashy cinematics, and a reworked map-making feature.
4 Warcraft 3
When it comes to dynamic and entertaining RTS romps, this is Blizzard at its best. The developer draws from the deep mechanics from pasted WC entries, while prettying up the visuals, fleshing out the details, and crafting a more intuitive interface. It also brings an inventive new "Hero" feature that legions of other strategy games would emulate. These are basically juiced-up units that can players can level up and customize.
Warcraft 3 additionally offers a solid, streamlined online system that brings loads of customizations, colorful maps, and up to 12 players.
3 Everquest
The fact that this MMORPG has over two dozen expansion packs and still has a large dedicated fanbase is a testament to how great this virtual adventure is.
From the thick woodlands of Kelethin to the lunar landscapes of Luclin, Everquest's locales are lavish and vast; and continue to grow. It's tough to beat the satisfaction and fun this game grants in spades, with its range of cool monsters, sweet loot, and fruitful quests that invite players to team up. The best part? It's become a free-to-play game, making it all the more worth diving into this awesome journey.
2 Civilization 4
This rich RTS ventures way back to the archaic era of 4000 BC, and impressively progresses all the way to futuristic space flight. It's hard to really find a "bad" iteration of the long-running series spearheaded by game designer Sid Meier. Yet, the 4th rendition of this strategy epic is arguably the pinnacle of the series; the moment in which the balance between complexity and accessibility hits that sweet spot.
Just about everything in Civilization 4 is on the nose; from the intuitive interface to the charming colorful visuals to the huge variety of objectives, units, and upgrades. This is like a virtual version of building and maintaining a society from prehistory to modern times.
1 World Of Warcraft
While this MMO phenom has pretty much been memorable since its release in 2004, the release of WoW Classic reminds fans just how amazing the original version of this Blizzard epic was, even surpassing some of the glitzy RPGs of the modern era.
This game borrowed from Everquest in terms of its dynamic system of upgrades, huge scale, and lavish fantasy landscapes. Yet, Blizzard improved and honed the social element with its accessible system of raiding and grouping up in highly-populated zones. At the same time, WoW offers great versatility by allowing for tons of solo quests and dungeon crawling as well.