Highlights

• Strategy games have evolved and adapted over time, with more casual games and genres entering the market.
• Free strategy games on platforms like Steam have helped keep the genre alive and brought new innovations.
• Strategy games offer a wide range of gameplay experiences, from intricate and asymmetrical chess-like matches to fast-paced card games and quirky social deduction games.

Strategy is one of the oldest genres in the gaming industry. Dating back to the late 1980s, it gained much popularity in the following decade with games like Warcraft, Starcraft, and Red Alert. Back then, games were made like intricate and asymmetrical chess matches with extra steps — after all, that's what the tech permitted at the time.

Today, the strategy genre is way past its apogee, with more casual games and genres entering the market. That doesn't mean they're outdated and dull, however. One only needs to take a good look at some of Steam's offerings for free strategy games to get an idea of how the genre evolved. These free titles have kept the flames going and also brought some much-needed innovations.

Updated October 24, 2023 by Mark Sammut: The specifications have been added for each Steam strategy game, include links to their profiles.

16 Marvel Snap

With the MCU looking as popular as ever with a million upcoming projects, Marvel Snap is looking to capitalize on that ongoing popularity. This is Marvel's attempt at its own CCG, and it's looking great with obvious inspirations from genre staples like Hearthstone and Gwent.

Right now it's only on early access, but it's already playable and well-received in its current state. It's also a fast-paced CCG that lets players collect and control Marvel superheroes as their cards and it's easy to see where the appeal of the grind will come from.

15 Goose Goose Duck

For those who aren't tired of social deduction video games after the landslide meme popularity of Among Us, Goose Goose Duck is another strong contender. Players assume the role of titular geese characters who must keep an eye out for impostor birds such as mallards, etc.

There's a deeper layer of strategy and tactics involved here compared to the other simpler social deduction games and of course, it's a lot wackier and more humorous. More importantly, there's a built-in proximity chat for those who prefer to panic out loud.

14 Risk: Global Domination

Risk: Global Domination is a strategy game with a lighter and more cartoonish theme, modeled after a board game made by Hasbro. It's essentially a digital board game version of WW1 where players must fight the Axis Powers and eventually, zombies and other sci-fi and fantasy enemies.

Like in most other strategy games, players need to raise their own army, utilize diplomacy, and strategize to lead their forces to victory with or without the help of allies, though the game is definitely more fun with others and is designed with multiplayer in mind.

13 Minion Masters

Minion Masters is a good blend of MOBA and soccer with a sprinkle of CCG deck-building. This mix of genres sees players clashing in 1v1 or 2v2 battles to destroy the other guys' base. There's a total of nine factions with their own numerous units and playstyles.

This increases the game's replay value and opportunities for customization. This game is a bit heavy on multiplayer though, as expected for strategy games with a CCG element but the friendly atmosphere and the existence of player-run guilds make the experience less intimidating.

12 Galaxy Life

Galaxy Life takes a different hybrid approach since apart from the strategy dip, it also dabbles in city building. At its core, it's a space colony-building game with plenty of strategic layers to keep players' minds busy with management and contingencies.

Once players have their space colony and civilization established, they can then set their sights on other civilizations for alliances, trade, or conquest. Therein lies the multiplayer component of the game in this persistent galaxy war and city-building game.

11 Conflict of Nations: World War 3

Conflict of Nations: World War 3 is a grand strategy title set in a modern world where all-out war is as easy as bombing colored territory. It plays out similarly to games like Civilization or the campaign mode in Total War. It also helps players familiarize themselves with geography since the game takes place on a fictional modern version of Earth.

That means that players who want to take control of a certain country to wage a war over something could fulfill their war nerd fantasies. Those who get tired of playing with the AI can also opt for multiplayer where they can duke it out mentally with other human players.

10 Crusader Kings 2

Crusader Kings 2 is one of the most solid and most intricate grand strategy games out there. As the title implies, it's a medieval history and war simulation set in the European theater. Players can pick their European countries and manage them through wide variations of victory from diplomacy to war.

One of the most celebrated aspects of Crusader Kings 2 is its deep and thoughtful political systems, where the AI feels more organic and humanlike compared to other grand strategy games. Moreover, players can micromanage every aspect of their kingdom down to chromosome sharing in the family tree.

9 Fallout Shelter

Fallout Shelter is a cute little spinoff game from the Fallout franchise and unlike the main games, it's less dark as the animation and the art style appear to be the third and fourth game's propaganda visuals. There's also a huge difference in gameplay as Fallout Shelter is a management sim that doubles as a strategy game.

Players take control of underground vaults or apocalyptic shelters while their inhabitants wait out the nuclear war on the surface. They will have to conserve resources while expanding the underground partitions of the vaults and also controlling some surface explorers.

8 Firestone Idle RPG

Firestone Idle RPG might have a different genre tag in its name, but it's a turn-based RPG where the game takes pride in its chill gameplay. The "idle" in its title means players can sit back after assembling their teams, as combat is mostly automated and all they have to do is plan out abilities and consider synergies.

If anything, that sounds more like a strategy game than an RPG, since most of the gameplay lies in preparation for battles or "strategizing." The game also offers seasonal events and a fairly fast opportunity for players to progress without spending real money.

7 Shadowverse CCG

A big chunk of the most popular strategy games today consist of collectible card games. They're quite the rage, thanks to the manageable learning curve and high skill ceiling. Shadowverse CCG is one of those and it shares a common trait with most CCGs: easy to learn, hard to master.

Shadowverse boasts a status as Japan's number one collectible card game. Players get to pick leader classes that dictate the flavor of their deck of cards. Each of the classes has its own strengths, weaknesses, and synergies, making for a deeper level of customization and gameplay.

6 GWENT: The Witcher Card Game

Who could have thought that a card game made to replace a simple dice gambling mini-game for a AAA title would be one of the most competitive CCGs on the market right now? GWENT: The Witcher Card Game has definitely gone above and beyond expectations.

It's pretty much a simplified simulation of a medieval fantasy battle, translated into a card game. Players then try to whittle down their opponent's life counter by removing the opposing army. It just so happens that the Witcher lore is brimming with spin-off opportunities that GWENT has taken advantage of in creative ways.

5 Lords Mobile

Lords Mobile was made in the same vein as breakout titles of the past such as Clash of Clans and the like. These games presumably took inspiration from Civilization titles, making the gameplay familiar to the same fans. Lords Mobile thus lets players build their own kingdom and battle it out in a turn-based skirmish for territory and supremacy.

It's simple but deep, as players can opt to customize their troop formations and optimize their societies so they can produce better armies and a stronger economy. Like War Planet Online, there's also an MMO component here, which is enough incentive to make a good kingdom.

4 Idle Champions Of The Forgotten Realms

Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms is Wizards of the Coast's attempt at making a viable, decent video game about their franchise's characters. It's safe to say that based on the reception, it panned out well, unlike most of their Dungeons and Dragons games.

Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms puts a party of the Forgotten Realms' most popular heroes as they take on the equivalently notorious monsters of their world. To that end, it's a hero management game with friendly visuals and accessible gameplay.

3 EVE Online

Speaking of accessible gameplay, that's what EVE Online has been trying to achieve ever since it went free-to-play. The space simulator/management strategy title is inching ever closer to that goal. For the most part, though, EVE remains one of the most difficult and complex games out there.

It's a huge, open-space sandbox game where the universe is the player's oyster. There are plenty of opportunities in all directions and dimensions, be it a space admiral career, pirate, or merchant. All of those endeavors, however, require management tools just short of an Excel spreadsheet in order to be efficient or effective.

2 Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Links

Currently, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Links remains one of the most popular CCGs on Steam and even outside of it in the paper format. This is factoring in the advent of newer titles such as GWENT or Slay the Spire. What makes it strong is the rather versatile theme and easy rules.

In Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Links, players get to summon their monsters from a pool of different themes from mechas to ancient Egyptian fantasy gods. This wild crossover of different media genres is governed by the deceptively simple gameplay, where the monster's summoners must duel each other in a bid to whittle down their opponent's life counter.

1 DOTA 2

One of the last few games that developer Valve created before they started losing interest in game development, DOTA 2 has withstood the test of time and now remains one of the strongest esports titles. This MOBA is the official sequel to the Warcraft mod that transformed the real-time strategy genre into a more action-packed tower-defense game.

It's still strategy in its very essence, as players need to carefully plan out their attacks and coordinate with one another while being competent with their chosen heroes. The end result is a more intense and visceral game of hero micro-management that traditional RTS games can't match.

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