Steam Spring Sale 2024: best strategy games to grab at a discount (2024)

• 40% off.
• Find Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord on Steam.

Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord combines the personal and strategic layers into something truly unique. You control a single character, steering their fortune from the first or third person in a fictionalized world modeled on the time after the fall of Rome – it’s a world full of violence and opportunity. Remnants of the empire seek a chance to rise from the ashes, while new realms seek to reforge the old power in their image. Clever politicking and skill in battle will see you get your own shot at power, building your own realm or rising through the ranks to take the throne of an existing faction. You’ll command armies, improve cities, and make alliances in no time.

• 33% off.
• Find Age of Empires 4 on Steam.

Age of Empires 4 has become a worthy heir to the iconic real-time strategy franchise, although with Age of Empires 2 still receiving brand-new content to this day it hardly needs a successor. Since release, key features and two free civilizations were added to the title, and in 2023 its first full expansion, The Sultans Ascend, was launched, increasing the amount of content in the title even more.

• 50% off.
• Find Jagged Alliance 3 on Steam.

If you find the real-time battles of Mount & Blade 2 a little too stressful, perhaps the turn-based skirmishes of Jagged Alliance 3 will be more up your palate. Hire a band of mercenaries and get stuck in the brutality and dirty politics of a lawless island nation. Similar to Mount & Blade 2, you maneuver your main group on a strategic map, securing valuable locations and resources. Any encounters with enemies result in turn-based tactical combats ala XCOM, giving you time to think through your moves – but beware, for chance can ruin the best plans.

• 90% off.
• Anthology Bundle 88% off.
• Platinum Edition 91% off.
• Find Civilization 6 on Steam.

What do you want me to say about this classic? Civilization 7 may be far away yet, but as of now its immediate predecessor is complete – as far as we know, there won’t be any additional DLC. If you’ve failed to pick up Civilization 6 so far or wanted to hold off until you could get the full thing at once, your time has come. The Anthology Bundle will all expansions and content packs is an especially great offer.

• 75% off.
• Find Anno 1800 on Steam.

For city-builder fans with a hand for logistics, Anno 1800 is still the go-to address. Ubisoft Mainz has done some very intriguing things with the series in this one, especially when it comes to long-term content production – and sometimes those developments can get a bit wild, catching players off-guard and giving them something never seen before in the franchise. This is a great example of a developer adapting to the changing tides and bringing a series into a new age without losing its soul along the way.

• 35% off.
• Find Against the Storm on Steam.

Created by Eremite Games and published by Hooded Horse, Against the Storm fuses satisfying city-builder gameplay with roguelike elements to bring you a truly unique experience that has won the hearts and minds of strategy game fans everywhere. Clad in a creative fantasy aesthetic the developers call “rainpunk” and focusing on what’s usually the most interesting and dynamic phase of any city-building game – the foundation period – Against the Storm never overstays its welcome, allowing players to easily “finish” a city in one sitting. Skilfully woven into the core city-building experience, the roguelike meta-progression still gives the game an overarching long-term goal to work towards. Masterful.

• 70% off.
• Find Cities: Skylines on Steam.

Its successor may have had a disastrous launch, but that shouldn’t stop you from picking up the original Cities: Skylines for cheap and enjoying it. Its foundations are still solid and years of mods have refined and expanded the experience in ways you’d never see coming. Cities: Skylines 2 is still struggling to find its feet, but the predecessor stands tall as the best realistic city-builder you can play.

• 20% off.
• Find RimWorld on Steam.

If you always loved the concept of Dwarf Fortress, but the game seemed a little too archaic for you, then you should give the Steam edition of the game a try – or dip your toes into RimWorld, which is basically a spiritual successor to the iconic colony sim. Rooted in a sci-fi setting, this management game will help you experience stories and moments you’ve never even thought about before. Plus, tons of mods can adjust the gameplay to your liking. The best time to get into RimWorld was yesterday. With the wild Anomaly DLC coming up, the second-best time to get into RimWorld is now.

• 15% off.
• Find Pioneers of Pagonia on Steam.

Do you miss the relaxed city-building style of the original The Settlers games? Then this indie title created by the originator of The Settlers, Volker Wertich, teleports you back through time. Pioneers of Pagonia is all about peaceful city-building (though you can activate threats, if you want some more challenge) and watching the hustle and bustle of your growing town as you master logistics and help it expand over an entire island. This one is still in Early Access and recently got its first big content update, adding new buildings and resources.

• 75% off.
• Find Two Point Campus on Steam.

If you want to build the university campus of your dreams or nightmares, then Two Point Campus is your charming and not always totally realistic solution. Ensure that your students are satisfied, well-fed, and get good grades to grab more of that juicy public funding and expand your institution – after all, you’ll need big dollars to offer absolutely necessary courses like jousting. And, honestly, who’d ever visit a university that doesn’t let you throw other people off of horses with a lance? I’ve watched Walkure Romanze, so I know what I’m talking about.

• 60% off.
• Find Tropico 6 on Steam.

El Presidente has returned – bigger, better, and more ruthless than ever. Tropico 6 casts you in the role of a dictator in control of a banana republic that has to play both sides of the Cold War in order for their country to survive. And when I say that the country has to survive, then I mean you, because – let’s be honest here – the state is simply your personal piggy bank and playground. All that really matters is you. Control the masses through the media, delay the elections, and let your opponents vanish into a penal colony overnight – and it’s best to do so quietly, so as to not upset the Western tourists using your little paradise as a vacation spot. Unless they’d be useful as a bargaining chip for aid from a powerful country…

• 80% off.
• Find Frostpunk on Steam.

Frostpunk 2 is due to come out later this year, so it’s high time for you to experience the original masterpiece. Frostpunk is more than just a city-builder. It’s a survival game full of gut-wrenching decisions to make. All options are terrible, but you need to do what needs to be done so that your small band of survivors can withstand the eternal cold and live to experience a better life in the sequel.