Best strategy games at Summer Game Fest 2024 to keep an eye on

Mine some resources and queue up these games in your wishlist

Toukana Interactive / Kurzgesagt

While strategy games are not exactly mainstream and thus often lack the spotlight more flashy genres get during showcase season, Summer Game Fest 2024 and its partner events had the necessary juice in store to keep even us thirsty armchair generals, statesmen, and city planners hydrated.

Table of Contents

1. Civilization 7
2. Star Birds
3. Hotel Galactic
4. Age of Mythology Retold
5. Mars Tactics
6. Generation Exile
7. Stormgate
8. Cataclismo
9. Battle Aces
10. Anno 117: Pax Romana

Take-Two and Microsoft are bringing back some of the most legendary strategy series of all time, while the world of indie games has plenty of intriguing titles in production that will keep you busy and deeply engaged for many hours – to keep things short: Here are the best strategy games from Summer Game Fest 2024 to keep an eye on in no particular order.

Civilization 7

Granted, we haven’t actually seen any gameplay or even a single screenshot from Civilization 7 yet, but let’s be honest – what’s the last Civilization game you didn’t pour an ungodly amount of hours into? Exactly. Civilization 7 will likely feel a little barren compared to its predecessors and their years of DLC support, but Firaxis always comes up with something fresh that keeps things interesting. You play on and on and all of a sudden there are two expansions for the new game out that beef its content up so much that you never want to go back to an older game again. It’s the circle of life, baby.

More information on Civilization 7 is expected to be revealed in August 2024. You can put in your Steam Wishlist right now.

Star Birds

This was a surprise to be sure, but a welcome one. German YouTube channel Kurzgesagt is known for breaking down complex social or scientific issues into videos that are easy to digest and sports an incredibly recognizable art style – and they’re a bunch of nerds, who never miss opportunities to put video game references into their videos. This has frequently led to viewers commenting that they should just make a strategy game with the art style of their videos and it looks like the suggestion stuck. 

Kurzgesagt teamed up with the creators of Dorfromantik to make Star Birds, an economic and resource-focused strategy game about expanding into space. You settle on asteroids, build a variety of production facilities to fulfill the needs of your bird populace, and slowly increase your reach, feeding more resources into your growing and ever more complex economy.

Star Birds is coming to PC in 2025 and you can put it on your Steam Wishlist right now.

Hotel Galactic

Inspired by the visuals of Studio Ghibli, this adorable management sim puts you in control of the titular Hotel Galactic, a rundown intergalactic accommodation for weary travelers. Your job? Get it off the ground again and develop it into an intergalactic tourist magnet. Using the resources of the floating island the hotel is built on, you’re free to choose the building’s layout, decoration, and more. Hiring additional staff and best using their talents to craft and research will be key in the intergalactic race to be a trendsetter and attract as many customers as possible.

Hotel Galactic can be put on your Steam Wishlist right now.

Age of Mythology Retold

Prostagma! Built on the same engine as Age of Empires 3: Definitive Edition, this remake of Age of Mythology is one fans of the series have been desiring for a long time now. Players will once more get to embark on the epic single-player campaign, skirmish with the AI, or clash with other users in multiplayer, unleashing divine powers and mythological monsters alongside their human troops. With two expansions already appearing on the roadmap, fans can expect even more content down the line.

Age of Mythology Retold is coming in 2024 and can be pre-purchased on Steam.

Mars Tactics

Mars isn’t called the red planet for nothing, so get your copy of Das Kapital and prepare to eat the rich. Or let money do the talking and defend the filthy corporations exploiting their workers – your call. In Mars Tactics, you take command of corporate mercenary forces or the workers yearning for freedom, leading them into battle in turn-based tactical combat with some great physics and environmental destruction. A cool aspect about Mars Tactics, however, is its strategic layer: You need to produce all the equipment used by your forces and can kit out each soldier individually. Planning your strikes on the strategic map, you can focus on crushing the enemy army or wage a guerilla war, going after weak spots and production facilities.

Mars Tactics is coming in 2024 and you can put it on your Steam Wishlist right now.

Generation Exile

Infusing classic city-building with a heavy dose of narrative storytelling is Generation Exile. Set on an aging generation ship carrying the last survivors of a destroyed Earth, this game has you lead them into a sustainable future. Unlike other city-builders, which power expansion with ever more resources, Generation Exile confronts you with the reality as we know (and ignore) it: Resources are finite. Recycling old structures, increasing the efficiency of everything you’re doing, and setting the right priorities will be key in your survival. In addition, all of your decisions will be reflected in the dynamic narrative events the game throws at you, making each run different and a bit more personal than city-builders usually are.

Generation Exile is coming in 2025 and you can put it on your Steam Wishlist right now.

Stormgate

The Celestials have officially been revealed as the third playable faction in Stormgate and while they may look like a Protoss knock-off, they are the most innovative one in the game yet – they’ll be heavily based on buildings, which one can already foresee becoming a balance nightmare. Having a faction of tower rushers sounds like a challenge, but the developers are experienced enough to know what they’re doing. Stormgate’s graphics may not be appealing to everyone, but with seriously impressive tech under the hood and many cool ideas for approachability, this RTS is definitely one everyone should try – which is going to be easy, since it’s a free-to-play title.

Stormgate is coming out for free on August 13, 2024, via Steam, though purchasing a support pack grants early access to the game starting on July 30, 2024.

Cataclismo

Minecraft as an RTS always sounded amazing, but Minecraft Legends failed to make full use of the formula. Cataclismo on the other hand hits the mark a lot better – it’s a RTS with heavy tower defense influences and allows you to build sprawling bastions that stand against hordes of foul enemies. The best and most Minecraft-like part of this? The completely free, sandbox-like nature of building these fortresses. It’s all brick-based, very easy to understand, and rewards creativity, making it a far more interesting spin of the formula. It’s a bit like Minecraft meeting Stronghold.

Cataclismo is coming out on July 16, 2024, and you can currently put it on your Steam Wishlist as well as play a free demo.

Battle Aces

Another RTS offering by a team whose core members consist of former Blizzard employees, Battle Aces is a completely different take on the genre – where Stormgate sticks to the formula of Blizzard RTS, Battle Aces throws it out of the window. Matches are limited to ten minutes and there is zero build-up time, with players being able to summon units, tech, or expand right at the start of the game. Everyone can build a deck of units to bring to the battlefield and with intel on the enemy being visible at all times, users essentially play with open cards. It’s basically RTS, the TikTok Edition, bringing players action at all times – which doesn’t really vibe with me, but I can see why people would be excited about it.

Battle Aces can be put on your Steam Wishlist right now.

Anno 117: Pax Romana

Ubisoft came out swinging with a very nice surprise during its own showcase: Anno 117 is a true Roman city-builder for true Romans and has me giddy with excitement. Anno 1800 has been the best entry into the iconic series so far with the developers really hitting their stride, so pairing this momentum with the allure of Ancient Rome is very promising. 117 is the year the Roman Empire reached its largest extent, so aside from the year’s numbers adding up to 9 – the key pattern for Anno’s settings – this date makes a ton of sense for the game.

Anno 117: Pax Romana is coming in 2025.