Best Historical Games on Steam
Games grounded in real periods, events, cultures, warfare, or historical settings.
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1Hearts of Iron IV - Victory is at your fingertips! Your ability to lead your nation is your supreme weapon, the strategy game Hearts of Iron IV lets you take command of any nation in World War II; the most engaging conflict in world history.
Jun 6, 2016
In this game, you can…
- stage a surprise airborne invasion that takes an enemy capital before your own sea landing even leaves port.
- start as tiny Bolivia and snowball from beating one neighbor into grinding down half a continent, then gearing up to fight Brazil.
- oust Stalin in a civil war, reunite China as a warlord, or put another Napoleon on France's throne in the same game.
- manually switch combat plans mid-battle multiple times to change how a fight plays out instead of just watching it resolve.
- drive a tank army straight through a country that has no anti-tank and rip the front so wide it looks like someone took a bite out of the map.
- race the clock in a WW1 mod: stabilize a collapsing front, rush 1918 fighters to wipe the enemy air force, then snake an armored car into Paris seconds before the USA joins.
- turn a small nation into an industrial powerhouse through years of buildup, then flip the switch into rapid conquest the moment you're ready.
2Sid Meier's Civilization® V - Create, discover, and download new player-created maps, scenarios, interfaces, and more!
Sep 21, 2010
In this game, you can…
- open your borders to Gandhi, then watch him pillage your land, annex cities, denounce you, and launch nukes anyway.
- send a nuclear fleet across the world, punch through a submarine blockade, fire the warheads, then drop XCOM squads to seize the top superpower's capital before the space race ends.
- absorb a nearby city-state instantly, then trigger a chain-reaction war where your allies help wipe out an empire.
- start in 4000 BC with one settler and build a world empire.
- win wars by pure positioning, using terrain choke points while cities shoot enemies from two tiles away.
- bribe leaders and city-states into alliances until a few denouncements turn into a globe-spanning world war.
- fight late-game resource wars where uranium decides everything, nuclear subs blockade coasts, cruisers break through, and XCOM drops capture capitals.
- race two victories at once, then lose one turn before winning because another nation hits a different win condition first.
- build famous wonders in completely wrong places, like the Great Pyramids in Honolulu or the Great Wall of Portugal.
3Kingdom Come: Deliverance II - A thrilling story-driven action RPG, with a rich open world, set in 15th century Medieval Europe. Experience the ultimate medieval adventure - through the eyes of young Henry - as you embark on a journey of epic proportions.
Feb 4, 2025
In this game, you can…
- get ambushed mid-wagon ride, fight beside guards, then keep chatting like nothing happened.
- have towns remember your thefts so people grow suspicious, change locks, and hire guards.
- win a tournament, then get spared by would-be attackers who recognize you later in the street.
- pick a lock in a sleeping house, loot the chest, slip through a garden, and vanish into the trees unseen.
- walk through a world where every NPC works, goes to the pub, then sleeps on a daily routine.
- travel while conversations keep happening in motion, with jokes and gossip continuing through the journey.
- bathe, eat, and wear clean clothes because shopkeepers and strangers treat you differently when you look filthy.
- bring a dog companion that can track, help in fights, and still needs feeding and petting like a real animal.
4Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition - 42 Civilizations, 229 Campaign Missions, Singleplayer, Co-Op, Multiplayer, In-Game Editor, Mods, Cross-play...It is good to be the king.
Nov 14, 2019
In this game, you can…
- watch a monk convert your knights mid-fight, and they instantly switch sides.
- tell AI teammates what units to train, where to build, and what target to attack.
- play voice-acted historical campaigns like Saladin or Joan of Arc, and even run some of those missions in co-op.
- auto-explore the map with your scout.
- collapse buildings into rubble when they're destroyed, instead of just disappearing.
- queue unit production and technologies at the same time, so upgrades don't pause your momentum.
- skip the early setup and jump straight into fighting with a mode that starts after the opening minutes.
- race a campaign mission timer by destroying every castle in a city in under 30 minutes.
5Mount & Blade: Warband - In a land torn asunder by incessant warfare, it is time to assemble your own band of hardened warriors and enter the fray. Lead your men into battle, expand your realm, and claim the ultimate prize: the throne of Calradia!
Mar 31, 2010
In this game, you can…
- start as a nobody, win favor in a kingdom, get snubbed, then rebel and found your own realm with lords who immediately defect to you.
- fight massive battles like 150-versus-150 armies colliding at once, with entire formations getting wiped out in the same melee.
- scheme your way to ruining a noble's life, capture them in battle, and keep them imprisoned in a castle you own.
- bet on yourself in a tournament, win the whole bracket, and walk out with around 4,000 denars in one day.
- lead a cavalry charge and physically ride down an entire line of infantry while your army collapses in behind you.
- climb a siege ladder under arrow fire, break onto the wall, and personally hold the choke point while wave after wave tries to shove past.
- recruit peasants, sell loot, trade between towns, swear fealty, get granted land, marry into nobility, then declare independence and appoint your own vassals.
6Totally Accurate Battle Simulator - Be the leader of wobblers from ancient lands, spooky places, and fantasy worlds. Watch them fight in simulations made with the wobbliest physics system ever created, make your own wobblers in the unit creator and send your army off to fight your friends in multiplayer.
Apr 1, 2021
In this game, you can…
- build and play with around 200 custom units you design yourself.
- set an "unkillable" custom hero against 200 peasants and still lose because they fall into the water.
- directly control a unit mid-battle and steer one wobbling fighter through the chaos up close.
- make a custom unit like Santa who dual-wields fish, throws magic spears, and summons boulders onto enemies.
- hit start and watch one dragon wipe out an entire army in about four seconds.
- hunt for secret units hidden around maps like a scavenger hunt, then add them to your battles.
- treat the campaign like a coin-budget puzzle where you keep swapping between swarms and a few expensive heroes until something works.
- spawn random armies, then add one extra unit after each fight to see how a single change flips the outcome.
7Crusader Kings III - Love, fight, scheme, and claim greatness. Determine your noble house’s legacy in the sprawling grand strategy of Crusader Kings III. Death is only the beginning as you guide your dynasty’s bloodline in the rich and larger-than-life simulation of the Middle Ages.
Sep 1, 2020
In this game, you can…
- make the pope your vassal, imprison him over a feast insult, seize Rome, force-convert him, and banish him.
- create a custom religion with rules like forced nudity or ritual cannibalism, then use conversion to control and humiliate rivals.
- start as a two-year-old empress, face near-total revolt, then grow into a famous conqueror and reformer.
- play a dynasty where you die, then keep ruling as your heir.
- lose your wife to concubinage, rescue her decades later, then adopt a feral "wolf-boy" and raise him into a kingdom-building heir.
- turn a rumor into a chain of spying, blackmail, secret murders, and a land-claim war that drags the whole realm into marching armies.
- breed a "perfect heir" through dynasty genetics until your family tree becomes strategically useful and completely tangled.
- revoke an empire's election laws with a single decision, then deal with powerful nobles resisting the change and testing your rule.
8Age of Empires II (Retired) - Age of Empires II has been re-imagined in high definition. With the release of Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition, this product will not be updated further.
Apr 9, 2013
In this game, you can…
- convert enemy soldiers so they instantly switch sides mid-battle.
- raise the population cap to 500 and flood the map with armies big enough to change your entire battle plan.
- win without conquering everyone by guarding a king, collecting relics, or building and defending a wonder.
- mass monks behind walls, upgrade them into tanky converters, then march out stealing whole armies while they chant.
- watch monks on both sides convert the same troops back and forth until someone breaks the stalemate with a surprise demolition squad.
- set up two markets far apart and generate more gold from trade just because the route is longer.
- fire a mangonel shot into a clump of archers and flatten them all at once.
- play campaigns as famous historical leaders like Genghis Khan, Attila the Hun, or Joan of Arc.
9Ghost of Tsushima DIRECTOR'S CUT - A storm is coming. Venture into the complete Ghost of Tsushima DIRECTOR’S CUT on PC; forge your own path through this open-world action adventure and uncover its hidden wonders. Brought to you by Sucker Punch Productions, Nixxes Software and PlayStation Studios.
May 16, 2024
In this game, you can…
- follow the wind to your objective instead of staring at a minimap.
- write a haiku at scenic spots, picking lines until your poem is complete.
- turn on a black-and-white samurai-film mode with Japanese voice acting and matching lip sync.
- challenge a group to a standoff, wait for the exact moment, then cut down enemies with a single perfect draw.
- chase foxes to hidden shrines, collect the reward, then pet the fox that led you there.
- unlock slow-motion bow aim, snap off multiple headshots, drop a smoke bomb, then assassinate enemies before anyone can react.
- shift from rooftop stealth kills to open swordplay mid-encounter, then ride out without the game splitting it into separate modes.
- jump into a full co-op mode with builds, survival waves, story missions, and multi-chapter raids with friends.
10Crusader Kings II - Explore one of the defining periods in world history in an experience crafted by the masters of Grand Strategy.
Feb 14, 2012
In this game, you can…
- use intrigue to install your brother as an anti-pope, go to war with the pope, and make your brother the official pope for Catholics
- seduce queens and empresses across multiple realms, then spread bastards so widely that another player can end up as your kid
- build a secret Odin cult, drag your spouse into it, get in a tavern brawl while disguised, then die crusading for Christianity while secretly pagan
- start as a powerful emperor or a lowly count in 1066–1453, and if you die without a viable heir, your run just ends
- lose one throne in a succession war, then inherit a completely different kingdom through your family line
- marry into a rival dynasty, line up your heir to inherit, and watch two kingdoms unify automatically when the right person dies
- plot a duke's murder with help from his spouse, spark the civil war you wanted, and steer the chaos toward your firstborn inheriting
- murder the king of France, marry his widow, and have a son with her who gains the claim you need to take the throne
- raid across Europe from a tiny island ruler, kill hundreds of thousands, hoard mercenaries and gold, then trigger a coalition dogpile that wipes your empire in two years
