Unveiling the Future of Strategy: Top 25 Most Wishlisted Games on Steam
The realm of PC-based strategy gaming continues to innovate at a rapid pace, fueled by an energetic player base eagerly awaiting the next major release, and 2025 is no exception. Steam, as the primary digital marketplace for PC games, provides a valuable perspective on these expectations through its extensive wishlist function. Strategy enthusiasts are clamoring for diverse gaming experiences that test their mental acumen and strategic skills, ranging from intricate city builders, expansive historical simulations, real-time strategy (RTS), tactical combats, and epic space operas. This article delves into the top 25 most wished-for strategy games on Steam, providing a modest yet enlightening sneak peek into the most anticipated launches of 2025.
Just a friendly reminder, it’s you who have curated this list of games, not me. If there’s anything you feel is amiss, please don’t hesitate to make adjustments. After all, it’s your gaming preferences we’re catering to here!
25 – D.O.R.F. Real-Time Strategic Conflict
I’m thrilled that other real-time strategy (RTS) enthusiasts share the promise they see in D.ORF: Real-Time Strategic Conflict. This game immerses players in a warped, futuristic setting, delivering a classic RTS feel similar to ’90s favorites, like Red Alert 2 and early Fallout games, both in terms of gameplay mechanics and stunning visuals. Players will select from three distinct factions, each featuring unique units and technologies, to construct sprawling bases and secure crucial resources. Much like other traditional RTS games, D.ORF places a strong emphasis on base construction and resource management. Once set up, players can begin producing military units and participate in intricate land, air, and sea battles, commanding an array of formidable units, from colossal double-zeppelin bombers to heavily armed tanks. It seems that in the ’90s, if you wanted to make something look cool, you simply added more of it. And I must say, I’m a fan. If D.ORF gets everything right—and I have faith it will—RTS aficionados will find plenty to appreciate.
24 – Mars Tactics
The game Mars Tactics has piqued my interest in a way that leaves me certain I’ll either adore it or find it frustrating. After giving the demo a spin, I’m smitten with its intricate terrain dynamics and the innovative depth it promises for the turn-based strategy genre. However, to make gameplay more accessible, it needs to simplify decision-making processes significantly. The developers plan to offer an engaging mix of tactical turn-based combat and large-scale strategic operations against a Martian battlefield ravaged by war. I’m prepared to support this concept. Players will find themselves embroiled in a fierce struggle between two imbalanced factions: the resource-starved Labor revolutionaries and the wealthy Capital army. What distinguishes Mars Tactics from other turn-based strategies is its fully destructible environments, enabling unique tactical approaches such as creating new entry points by detonating areas or quickly constructing cover using explosives and bombs. If you’re a fan of games like XCOM or Xenonauts 2, then Mars Tactics could be just the game for you – one that’s already caught your attention.
23 – Ascent of Ashes
A post-apocalyptic colony simulation game titled Ascent of Ashes caught my attention, thanks to Joe, my amiable American co-host on the Critical Moves Podcast. The release date is set for July 2025. This game combines intricate simulation elements with intense real-time-with-pause tactical combat, inviting players to create and protect a resilient survivor colony similar to games like RimWorld and Dwarf Fortress. The core gameplay revolves around building your base, managing resources, and ensuring the survival of your people day by day. However, your challenges won’t just be resource management; raiders, aliens, and mysterious Remnant soldiers will also pose threats. A notable aspect is the focus on intricate tactical combat, where factors like hit simulation and suppression play significant roles in victory, along with modular unit damage, meaning that if a soldier sustains damage in one limb, for instance, he might not perish but become incapacitated and unable to continue fighting. It will be fascinating to observe how these combat mechanics intertwine with the management ones, and to explore their potential impacts. Perhaps you can devise combat strategies that aim to render enemies incapable instead of killing them, in an attempt to make them work for you. The game also guarantees a vast, procedurally generated world to traverse, filled with discoverable ruins and diverse landscapes, as well as the opportunity to reclaim and utilize various vehicles for travel and combat.
22 – Capital Command
You can try out Capital Command, a game developed by Hellride Games and Hooded Horse that combines sci-fi strategy with an engaging space simulation experience. It puts players in control of a powerful spaceship, featuring intense real-time combat in the vastness of space. The story is set at a remote space outpost where AI defense has malfunctioned, and it’s your job to bring order back.
Capital Command stands apart with its realistic space physics, providing six different directions for precise movement in space. This means that players must master intricate flight controls and weapon systems to succeed. As captain, you will manage a diverse crew, giving orders to navigators, gunners, repair teams, and engineers to handle your ship and its extensive arsenal.
Important aspects of the game include managing damage control, upgrading your vessel with salvaged materials, and even the chance to take over enemy capital ships.
21 – Metropolisim
Discovered Metropolisim while compiling this list, its stunning graphics captivated me right away. Still under development, Metropolisim promises to be an intricate and elaborate city-building simulation for strategy enthusiasts seeking intense management and intricate systemic interactions. This game is ambitious, aiming to allow players to construct and manage a modern metropolis with a population of up to 10 million people, each citizen individually simulated, complete with their own job, education, and daily life. I’m curious about how it will unfold, but one thing is clear: the game has generated significant interest, ranking as the 20th most wishlisted strategy game on Steam. Notable features include detailed zoning, establishment of essential city services, budget management, and the strategic planning of transit and traffic networks similar to Cities: Skylines. Metropolisim is bound to attract those who appreciate the intricacies of urban planning and resource allocation.
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2025-06-09 00:44