20 Best Sci-Fi Strategy Games of All Time

Science fiction strategy games are endlessly engaging, letting you lead armies, build empires, and cleverly outmaneuver alien opponents. The genre offers something for everyone, from slower-paced, turn-based battles on smaller maps to huge, real-time conflicts across space. Plus, many of these games are expanded with mods and new content, keeping them exciting for years to come. Here are twenty of the best, covering everything from small-scale tactical combat to large-scale empire management and classic base building in space.

Stellaris

In Paradox’s sprawling strategy game, you lead a unique space civilization, defining its values, government, and species – all of which impact how you play. Each game features a newly generated galaxy full of discoveries, strange events, and galactic crises. You’ll advance technology in multiple areas, construct space stations to control key locations, and interact with other empires through diplomacy or warfare. Consistent updates and expansions add fresh content, including new origins, societal traits, and challenges to keep your campaigns engaging for the long haul.

XCOM 2

This game builds on the original with a focus on fast-paced, guerrilla-style combat. You’ll manage a mobile base and complete missions against the clock, keeping the tension high. Soldiers gain experience and become specialized in different roles, and the game’s randomly generated maps encourage strategic thinking, like using cover and ambushes. Beyond combat, you’ll also research new technologies, build relationships with resistance fighters, and race against a critical timer related to the ‘Avatar Project’. The game is highly customizable with mods from the Steam Workshop, and expansions like ‘War of the Chosen’ add even more enemies, character classes, and systems that reward smart, careful planning.

StarCraft II

Blizzard’s real-time strategy game features three very different factions, each with unique units and ways to advance. The single-player campaigns offer diverse missions with optional goals and upgrades that carry over between levels. Competitive multiplayer includes ranked play, a good matchmaking system, and custom games created by players. The game is easy to pick up thanks to clear unit designs and responsive controls, but still offers plenty of depth for experienced players to master.

Homeworld Remastered Collection

This collection revitalizes two classic space strategy games with updated graphics and modern gameplay. You can now move your fleets freely in three dimensions, allowing you to position them above or below your opponents, and use formations to control battles. Because your ships carry over between missions, it’s important to protect your most experienced vessels. The immersive presentation, complete with cinematic scenes and radio communication, really pulls you into the larger campaign.

Sins of a Solar Empire Rebellion

This game combines the grand strategy of empire building with exciting, real-time fleet combat across multiple star systems. You’ll grow your empire by developing planets, researching new technologies for both the economy and military, and building powerful capital ships that can be upgraded. The ‘Rebellion’ expansion introduces new ways to win, different types of factions, and massive ‘Titan’ ships that lead your fleets in the late game. It also supports large-scale multiplayer matches where players can share resources and launch coordinated attacks.

Supreme Commander Forged Alliance

Forged Alliance focuses on large-scale battles where you can zoom out to oversee everything happening on huge maps and manage your troops and supplies. As you advance through four technology levels, you’ll unlock powerful, experimental units and buildings that can turn the tide of battle – but you’ll need to defend them. The game’s economy revolves around efficiently producing resources and building structures near each other for bonuses. A strong community keeps the game fresh with ranked matches and new maps.

Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri

In this classic turn-based strategy game, you lead one of seven different societies to a dangerous alien planet. How you develop your society – your ideology – determines your power. The landscape, alien creatures, and weather all affect how you expand and fight. You’ll unlock advanced technologies to build facilities, pursue secret projects, and customize your units. Plus, managing your planetary council and experiencing a compelling story will shape your strategic decisions in this immersive sci-fi world.

Endless Space 2

Amplitude’s 4X game features unique civilizations like the Vodyani, who harvest populations, and the Riftborn, who manipulate time. Managing your population is key, with traits and beliefs shaping your laws and granting bonuses. Space combat involves designing ships and choosing tactics, and exploring the galaxy unlocks quests and opportunities to interact with smaller groups. The game is easy to learn thanks to a clear interface and helpful tooltips, but still offers a lot of strategic depth.

BattleTech

This tactical game, set in the MechWarrior universe, focuses on building and customizing your team of mechs. Strategic positioning and choosing the right targets are key, as you’ll need to manage heat, damage, and aim for vulnerable components. You’ll progress through a campaign with both story-driven missions and side contracts to earn money for repairs and upgrades. A separate career mode lets you manage your pilots, collect salvaged parts, and build a reputation with different groups.

Age of Wonders Planetfall

This installment moves the series into a science fiction universe, introducing races like the Vanguard and the Kir’Ko, an insect-like species. Players will build empires by developing different sectors and engage in tactical battles that emphasize using cover, attacking from the sides, and staggering enemies. Strategic advantages come from choosing doctrines and executing operations, which also provide support on the battlefield. The game offers both a structured campaign and randomly generated maps, ensuring plenty of replay value for both solo and multiplayer experiences.

Dune Spice Wars

This fast-paced strategy game centers around controlling the planet Arrakis by collecting spice, expanding your territory, and navigating political challenges. Each faction – including the Atreides, Harkonnen, Fremen, and smugglers – offers a unique playstyle with specialized councils and agents. Traveling and fighting in the desert is dangerous due to sandworms, storms, and limited supplies, so careful planning is essential. You’ll also need to manage economic and diplomatic pressures from organizations like the Landsraad and CHOAM while making military decisions.

Phoenix Point

Okay, so this new tactics game is made by the same person who did XCOM, which immediately got my attention. What’s really cool is you have total freedom when aiming and shooting, and hitting enemies in different spots actually matters. Plus, they don’t just stay the same – they adapt to how you fight, changing up their weaknesses and strengths. There’s a whole world map with different human groups you can team up with for tech or, if you’re feeling risky, just raid. Between missions, I’m researching alien stuff and building up these safe havens, which feels like a really cool puzzle trying to balance everything and stay ahead.

Warhammer 40,000 Dawn of War II

This real-time strategy game focuses on carefully maneuvering small groups of units and using cover, instead of building a large base. Characters and squads improve with new equipment and skills, letting them fill different roles throughout the game. Players can team up to coordinate attacks and help each other out when things get difficult. Plus, ‘The Last Stand’ mode offers a survival challenge where you fight off waves of enemies and make lasting progress.

Terra Invicta

In this strategy game, you lead a secret organization as humanity makes first contact with aliens. You’ll navigate Earth’s political landscape by swaying countries, managing finances, and overseeing space exploration. As you expand into orbit and beyond, you’ll construct space stations and ships, then fight battles using realistic physics. With several different factions all vying for victory in unique ways, each campaign will unfold with unexpected alliances and conflicts.

Master of Orion II Battle at Antares

This well-established strategy game lets you heavily customize your civilization by choosing a specific race and focusing on building colonies and designing spaceships. Combat is turn-based and tactical, giving you control over weapon positioning, special abilities, and even boarding enemy ships. The game is further enriched by unpredictable events, espionage activities, and powerful leaders who impact your empire. It’s easy to pick up, even if you’re new to older strategy games, thanks to its simple economy and clear path for technological advancements.

Halo Wars 2

This real-time strategy game is designed for consoles with streamlined controls and a complete campaign set within the Halo universe. Powerful leaders offer special abilities and combine units in interesting ways, changing how you play both against the AI and other players. Building your base is simplified with a clear node system, keeping the focus on action and resource management. For quick games, try Blitz mode, which lets you build a deck of cards and jump into fast-paced matches.

Into the Breach

Subset Games offers intense, strategic battles on compact maps where knowing all the information is key to success. Each team of mechs has unique abilities, like manipulating time or focusing on long-range attacks. Missions often emphasize protecting people and buildings instead of simply destroying enemies, pushing players to find clever ways to control the battlefield. The game is designed for quick, replayable runs, with new squads to unlock as you play.

Planetary Annihilation Titans

This real-time strategy game features massive battles across spherical planets and multiple worlds, complete with orbital layers. Building a strong economy relies on constant production, making it crucial to expand and optimize your factories. Powerful Titans act as game-changing super units when utilized effectively. The game offers diverse scenarios thanks to its map generator and customizable skirmish modes, allowing for challenging matches against both AI and online players.

Homeworld Deserts of Kharak

This real-time strategy game is a prequel set on the ground, before the events of the space series. It focuses on strategic gameplay using terrain height, sensor technology, and visibility. Players build and upgrade from a central, mobile base, and missions are structured around protecting resource convoys as they travel through a dangerous desert. The campaign combines challenging tactical battles with a compelling story that connects to the original game’s narrative.

Civilization Beyond Earth

This strategy game lets you lead human groups to new alien planets. Relationships with different cultures and the types of units you build are affected by how well you connect with each world. Early on, you’ll make choices based on missions and dangers on each planet, with support coming from ships in orbit and satellites. Research isn’t limited to a single path; you can choose how to develop your technology. Ultimately, you can win the game by pursuing one of three different futures for humanity: focusing on preserving a ‘pure’ human identity, achieving balance and cooperation, or establishing dominance.

Let us know your top sci-fi strategy games in the comments, and suggest any others you think we should check out!

2025-11-04 00:51