There's been a long history of war titles in the world of videogames, and whether you're fighting in WW2 or you've taken to a future battlefield, one truth remains: war never changes. From boots on the ground shooters to serious strategy games that cover some of history's most serious conflicts, if you're looking for war games, you've come to the right place.
Conflict is a huge part of war games, and there are as many ways of exploring it as there are games in the genre. From the bombastic to the thought-provoking, our list of the best war games features a little of everything.
The best war games right now are:
1. This War of Mine
In war, not everyone is a soldier. That is the tagline of This War of Mine- a game based loosely on the experiences of the citizens of Sarajevo, who lived under siege for 1,425 days during the Bosnian War.
Practically speaking, that means you're presented with a cross-section of charcoal-colored buildings and an unflinching view of the people making an existence within. Sampling elements of survival games, you manage their lives, directing them to craft and trade during the day, and then, once the snipers are gone, sending them out to scavenge for food and medicine at night. Think of it as the war games equivalent of Fallout Shelter, but with less busy work and much more to say - as we found in our This War of Mine review.
There is no way for you to win this war or even contribute toward it. Your role is to keep going and somehow reconcile your needs with your conscience. This War of Mine isn't fun, per se, but its uneasy brilliance makes it one of the most important videogames to confront war and has paved the way for Call of Duty: WW2 and Battlefield 1's more thoughtful breed of war games in the process.
2. Tempest Rising
It's not easy being an RTS fan these days, it's fair to say the genre has fallen off since the glory days of the '90s. Slipgate Ironworks, the developers behind Tempest Rising, has been heavily inspired by the RTS golden age, bringing back the fast-paced base building and strategic action of old.
Set in a war-torn version of Earth, your role as the commander is to lead two distinct factions in separate campaigns, where you'll uncover the mystery behind the threat pulling the strings in the shadows. If you're into alternate history, our Tempest Rising review explains what makes the campaign (and the gameplay!) so good.
3. Hell Let Loose
Favoring realism over all else lends itself very well to war games, especially those depicting the chaos of WW2. Hell Let Loose is a squad-based multiplayer FPS game that promotes teamwork via proximity chat. It borders on role-playing at times, but if you give in to the occasion and don't mind barking the odd 'Sir, yes, sir!' then you'll get on very well with it.
The quiet moments before a battle are strangely what Hell Let Loose does best; stalking through a snow-covered forest, you almost give into that sense of safety before a sniper's shot cracks through the air, taking your commanding officer out in an instant. It plays slightly slower than the likes of Battlefield, but can be more rewarding because of it - check out our Hell Let Loose review if you want to know more.
4. Delta Force - Black Hawk Down
You might know of this famous operation from the hit movie, or maybe if you're old, like us, you played the original Delta Force Black Hawk Down many moons ago. Either way, it's back, and it looks absolutely fantastic.
A remake of the capture op gone wrong, Black Hawk Down puts you (and a friend, if you like, with it being co-op and all) on the ground in an incredibly hostile Mogadishu. You're attempting to rescue a fellow ranger who is way behind the ever-increasing enemy line. An FPS that promises realistic, gorgeous visuals and a difficulty curve that is almost vertical.
5. Panzer Corps 2
Panzer Corps 2 is the long-awaited sequel to the classic war game Panzer Corps. After nine years in development, this new burst through our defenses and overwhelmed us with over 1,000 unit types, 61 single-player scenarios, and a random map generator for solo and online play.
If that's not enough, there is also 4K support, custom camouflages and insignia for units, and dozens of map skins for various locations, seasons, and weather. It's already getting a healthy injection of DLC expansions as well, covering each year of WW2 in granular detail and offering scenarios that aren't always covered in other games set during this period.
6. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Readily considered the best game in the CoD series, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare marks the start of the somewhat complicated Modern Warfare series, and was the dawn of a new era for the game series. Before Modern Warfare, Call of Duty games were set in WWII, with Call of Duty 4 breaking away from the trend with a modern setting. As such, Modern Warfare launched CoD as we know it today with an explosive, expansive story; now-beloved characters; and an incredible range of weapons otherwise impossible to incorporate into the games.
If you're new to the series or are looking to tread back over the older games, Modern Warfare (2007) is a great place to start, before working your way through MW2 (2009) and MW3 (2011). That said, you might want to go for the remastered version, released in 2016. These aren't to be confused with the more recent Modern Warfare (2019), MW2 (2022), and MW3 (2023), which aren't direct remakes as such but follow a similar timeline and the same characters in a mostly new plot.
7. Hearts of Iron IV
Whereas Panzer Corps 2 offers a lot of depth and detail, focusing on individual battles and theaters, Paradox Interactive's WW2 grand strategy game Hearts of Iron IV provides more of a sandbox approach. It provides you with the tools, the actors, and a breadth of potential options. Our Hearts of Iron IV review goes into detail on just how good this strategy game really is.
You won't be fighting the Second World War, but you will be fighting a Second World War, the nature of which changes with each playthrough. The game is over five years old at this point, and it's been supported by a division's worth of DLC expansions, plenty of amazing Hearts of Iron 4 mods, and is still working towards new content as we speak.
People who want something with more historical accuracy may want to look elsewhere, but if you're looking for a massive toy box to throw armies around in, there are few better. On top of that, you don't have to worry too much about the minutiae if you don't want to.
8. Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30
Authenticity is a questionable ask for all the best war games - how can any immaculately recreated battlefield capture the experience of living through its horrors? The first Brothers in Arms made a great go of it, telling the true story of a parachute infantry regiment in the United States 101st Airborne Division dropped behind enemy lines on D-Day.
Levels were designed around historical reconnaissance photographs taken in '40s Normandy, and research included both interviews with veterans and classroom lessons on combat tactics. The result remains the closest thing we have to an interactive Band of Brothers, and that is the rarest of things - a respectful shooter and one of the best WW2 games.
9. Valiant Hearts: The Great War
By the time a game gives you a gun and sends you on your way, you've already started pondering the ethicality of war. Valiant Hearts is different from most war games: a procession of gentle puzzles and occasional rhythm action that has you witness the Great War as it ravages France.
It is to Rayman's Ubisoft Montpellier's credit that Valiant Hearts doesn't try to capture the reality of combat - instead opting for cartoon abstraction. But don't think it holds back on the harrowing detail due to its art style, as its environments are filled with snippets of shiver-inducing real-world history.
The principal characters in this sometimes heartbreaking adventure game are, without exception, just trying to find their way back to each other. Torn apart by the most widespread war ever fought, borders and battle lines are irrelevant to these soldiers and civvies, yet they shake them to a distressing degree.
10. Unity of Command 2
Unity of Command 2 is a turn-based war game set primarily on the western front of World War II, although a recent expansion has offered a new campaign that focuses on the eastern front, which was the setting of the first game. It's one of the brightest lights in the genre's recent renaissance, and while the original game was good, this surpasses it in almost every way, adding a new campaign layer with off-map support options.
Unity of Command 2 is one of the best war games thanks to its merciless focus on your ability to manage supplies across distance, as well as deploying the forces available to you in the best possible fashion. Winning is about reading the map and planning bold, decisive campaigns that will keep your army rolling, despite perilously long supply lines and the constant threat of being cut off.
It's a great introduction to the sub-genre of operational war games and a welcome change of perspective for those of us wondering what makes a war run. If they can't be fed or equipped, it doesn't matter how well a soldier is shooting. Check out Wargamer's Unity of Command 2 review for more details.
11. Company of Heroes 2: Ardennes Assault
This one features on both our best RTS games list and our overall best strategy games list, simply for being the best up-to-date Company of Heroes experience available right now. Sure, the original Company of Heroes will forever remain in the hall of fame, but it's getting on a bit now, and we prefer to keep things fresh.
Ardennes Assault is an expansion to Company of Heroes 2 and builds upon all of the improvements thrown at the base game (which had a bit of a rocky start), offering a new campaign that not only brought back fan-favorite American forces but also a dynamic campaign layer that gave it a very replayable feel. You are in charge of three companies during the 1944 Ardennes campaign and must hold back the German counter-offensive, capturing and holding key towns and regions.
The only thing that could have toppled this incredibly satisfying strategy war game was Company of Heroes 3. However, after a middling reception, it looks like Ardennes Assault is still the go-to for the best experience. Check out our Company of Heroes 3 review to see why it currently doesn't measure up.
12. Command and Conquer Remastered
Both of the classic RTS games in the Command and Conquer Remastered Collection are about fictional wars: Command and Conquer has serious overtones with two sides fighting polar opposite ideals thanks to the sudden appearance of Tiberium - a space-born energy resource.
However, the slightly goofier spinoff, Red Alert, is the superior game here. Red Alert is set during a fictional World War 2 after a time-traveling Albert Einstein assassinated Hitler before the outbreak, causing the Soviet Union to become the de facto baddies. Both are different from most in this list, with strategy gameplay in which you must build a base, gather resources, and build your army to conquer an enemy base.
No matter which campaign or side you choose in the Command and Conquer Remastered Collection, missions task you with building your forces with the accumulated Tiberium (or ore in Red Alert), and watch on as they tear through the enemy's base. Some missions give you limited resources and ask you to sneak by without getting caught, drastically increasing the tension. As it's fully remastered, you can access multiplayer skirmishes where you and your opponents duke it in fast-paced battles. The Remastered Collection modernizes these classic PC games wonderfully, including all expansions - it really is the complete package. Go see our 9/10 Command & Conquer Remastered Collection review.
13. Arma 3
This isn't your run-and-gun shooter, nor is it the flashy, dramatic skirmishes of Battlefield - it's a serious simulation of modern military conflict and tries to instill a sense of hyper-realism you won't find in many shooters. Sometimes the most sobering thing you can do to drive home the vulnerability of battle in war games is to strip away everything we're used to in a shooter - regenerating armor, piles of hit points, copious cover - and show how quickly we'd last under fire.
Arma 3 has been out a long time by this point and has a wealth of DLC options for you to explore, from new vehicles, locations, and even a single-player scenario DLC featuring… aliens. If you're looking to challenge yourself, Arma is a great place to do it.
14. Age of Empires 2 Definitive Edition
Command and Conquer isn't the only classic RTS title on our list, and we'd be remiss to not include arguably the most iconic strategy game of all time - Age of Empires 2. AoE 2 sports multiple historically-inspired campaigns, charting the lives of key historical figures like Joan of Arc, William Wallace, and Genghis Khan. Since the Definitive Edition of the game launched in 2019, many more have been added, letting you get inolved with Attila the Hun and even Dracula - that's Vlad the Impaler, not the vampire.
The Definitive Edition remains the best way to play, with developers World's Edge and Forgotten Empires still providing support to this day. Since launch, we've seen new civs introduced, and regular balance patches sprinkled in to keep things ticking over. AoE 2's esports scene is the most active it's ever been, too, so if you're looking for tips on how to elevate your game then look to the masters of the game like 'Hera,' 'Liereyy,' and 'TheViper.' Go see our Age of Empires 2 Definitive Edition review.
If you ever fancy shaking things up a little in-game, then be sure to check out our list of all the Age of Empires 2 cheats you can deploy - you can blow your opponents to smithereens in style.
15. Sniper Elite 5
If you fancy yourself the next Simo Häyhä, then the Sniper Elite series offers the perfect way to replicate the Finnish finisher's accolades. One of the series' more recent installments, Sniper Elite 5, is arguably the best to date, offering up a litany of ways to dispatch the Nazis as you make your way across developer Rebellion's recreation of 1944 Brittany.
While you're getting a similar experience to its predecessors, Sniper Elite 5's showstopping addition is its Invasion mode. Similarly to the invasion systems present in some of the best soulslike games, Invasion lets you dip into someone else's campaign to hunt them. On the flip side, you can also utilize it to call in assistance if you're having a tough time finding your mark. Take a look at our best sniper games guide to find more sniping experiences like this one.
At ease, soldier, we've reached the end of our best war games list. For more games in a similar mold, our list of the best tank games should have some good recommendations. And if you're looking to take on some calmer experiences, check out our best PC games picks to break away from the cycle of endless warfare.