Great strategy games hero art showing Civilization VII, XCOM 2 and Frostpunk 2

Guides & Editorial

The best strategy games on PS4 and PS5

From building your own theme park to pulling off the perfect heist in America's old west, discover the best strategy-based games on PlayStation.

Nation building strategy games

What would the world be like with you in charge? Why not build your very own nation and find out if your choices lead to fabulous riches or open revolt.

Sid Meier's Civilization VII

The latest entry in the award-winning strategy series empowers you to build the greatest empire the world has ever known.

Rule as one of many legendary leaders from throughout history – such as Benjamin Franklin, Charlemagne and Catherine the Great – and make strategic decisions to shape the unique cultural lineage of your evolving empire.
Construct cities and architectural wonders, develop technology, and choose to cooperate with or conquer rival civilisations.
Follow a path rooted in real history or reimagine the past to chart a new way forward to create your own legacy.

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Launch trailer

Sid Meier’s Civilization VII - Gameplay Reveal Trailer | PS5 & PS4 Games

Gameplay trailer

Frostpunk 2

Set 30 years after the events of Frostpunk, this critically acclaimed sequel tasks players with building a city on an all-new scale, with districts dedicated to different purposes and several factions to manage.

With Earth still overwhelmed by never-ending ice, balance resources and manage conflicts as you make strategic decisions about your city’s future.
Construct the city like a giant machine with areas focused on specialist areas like industry and science, ensuring that everything fits together in an ever-growing metropolis.
Create and pass laws, manage crises and steer humanity towards a new destiny in a distinctive post-apocalyptic setting.

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Console date reveal trailer

Gameplay trailer

Against the Storm

Build a vast, prosperous network of settlements populated by diverse fantasy races in this roguelite city builder.

Reclaim the wilderness by developing new cities, using the experience of past expeditions to collect resources for the Smouldering City, the last bastion of civilisation.
Each race has its own specialisations and needs. See how foxes, beavers and lizards interact with humans and harpies in a struggle to survive, and decide whose demands to prioritise.
Against the Storm’s rougelite gameplay means you can build an endless number of cities across multiple biomes, and no expedition is ever the same twice.

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Launch trailer

Announcement trailer

Tropico 6

As El Presidente, cast yourself either as a feared dictator or a peace-loving statesman, building and maintaining your tropical republic.

Realise your autocratic ambitions on a sun-kissed stretch of tropical islands complete with pristine beaches and palm trees.
Build a society fit for the modern age with all the smart conveniences and political pugilism of the 21st Century.
Channel your passions, building cities, resorts and precarious industrial relations as only a dictator can.

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Launch trailer

Spitter DLC trailer

What is an 'RTS'?

RTS stands for 'real-time strategy' and refers to any kind of strategy game that unfolds in real-time. This means that players are free to respond and act as and when they chose, rather than having to wait for their turn as is common in more traditional strategy games.

Management strategy games

Launch your own fledgling enterprise, hiring, negotiating, building and investing your way to success.

Two Point Museum

Design and manage your dream museum in this light-hearted but detailed strategy experience from the makers of Two Point Campus and Two Point Hospital.

Build your museum around a theme, choosing from prehistory, outer space, science, an aquarium or the supernatural.
Discover over 200 unique exhibits and over 350 decorative items to make your museum your own.
Maintain your exhibits, arrange tours, lay on refreshments, keep the gift shop stocked and increase donations to keep your museum running smoothly.

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Launch trailer

Announcement trailer

Planet Coaster: Console Edition

Become the architect of the ultimate entertainment complex and create the most incredible theme park you can imagine, complete with hair-raising rollercoasters and colorful mascots. And get ready for Planet Coaster 2, coming soon to PS5.

Pick from a number of varied environmental settings in which to situate your dream park, including desert, tropical, alpine and more.
As administrator, take care of progressing your park form the first carousel rides and refreshment stands to the most unbelievable rollercoasters.
Hire staff, build death-defying rides, re-shape the landscape and ensure the safety and enjoyment of every guest.

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Launch trailer

Gameplay trailer

Arcade Paradise

This unique management sim sees the player looking after the business of the family laundromat – clean the toilets, pick up gum and litter, and wash those clothes – while also building a buzzing arcade out the back.

Run a successful laundromat and reinvest your profits into new arcade games for your growing collection of coin-ops. The more you install, the more players will spend.
Unlock over 35 fully playable arcade games and reap the rewards – but remember, the trash won’t take itself out while you’re trying to set a new high score.

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Launch trailer

Arcade Paradise - Rags to Riches (Gameplay Reveal) | PS5, PS4

Gameplay trailer

Railway Empire 2

Board the express train to riches and fame in this sequel that sees you taking control of a small railway company in the 1800s and growing it into a continent-spanning success. Play across detailed and lively maps as one of six characters to lead your company.

Choose from 60 historic locomotives that can be customized to fit your company’s designs and let them loose over huge landscapes covering the USA and Europe as well as regional maps with over 300 towns.
Take easy-to-use tools into a five-chapter campaign mode, settle down for free-play mode or the relaxed construction mode, or enjoy co-op multiplayer with up to three other friends controlling the same railway company.

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Launch trailer

What does 'point-and-click' mean?

'Point and click' refers to any game where the movement and placement of objects and characters in the game world relies on moving a cursor to that point and issuing an instruction. Some modern strategy games have opted for real-time controls, but many still use a point-and-click approach - console games meanwhile often use a hybrid of the two.

Card strategy games

Build an army by building your deck in a selection of card-collecting strategy games inspired by real-world table-top RPGs.

Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars

From the director of NieR Replicant and NieR: Automata, experience a traditional table-top RPG adventure told entirely through narration and card-play.

Lose yourself in a unique fantasy setting shrouded in mystery and built entirely from cards.
Follow a self-proclaimed hero as they set off on a bold journey to slay an ancient dragon recently roused from slumber.
Explore new locations, battle monsters and unfurl a high-concept fantasy story all through card-based interactions.

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Announce trailer

Launch trailer

Balatro

Play illegal poker hands, discover game-changing jokers and trigger outrageous combos in this roguelike deckbuilding strategy experience.

Combine valid hands with unique jokers to create wild builds that can earn you chips and uncover hidden bonuses.
Immerse yourself in a distinctively psychedelic world set to a synthwave soundtrack, chasing cards until you find your flow state.

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Launch trailer

Release date trailer

What is a 'CCG'?

CCG stands for 'card-collecting game' - they're also referred to as 'deckbuilders'. Taking cues from traditional collectible card games, CCGs encourage the player to progress through the game not only by mastering the cards they have but by finding scores of additional cards from which to build the ultimate player deck.

Action strategy games

Embark on adventure, intrigue and assassination in story-driven strategy games that blend traditional action and RPG elements with tactical and turn-based mechanics.

Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew

This stealth-based strategy game is set in an alternate history of the Golden Age of Piracy, and sees you journey alongside the cursed pirate Afia to revive your own crew, each of whom becomes a playable character.

The Inquisition is sweeping through the Lost Caribbean, hunting down cursed pirates like you. Your mission is to fight back by salvaging a mysterious treasure of otherworldly power to defy them.
Sneak behind enemy lines and combine the magical skills of your allies to take out enemies with carefully considered tactics. And then hang out with your shipmates on The Red Marley, a ghost ship with a living soul.

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Launch trailer

Cinematic reveal trailer

Marvel's Midnight Suns

This tactical RPG is set in the darker side of the Marvel universe where a team of heroes operating under the banner of the Midnight Suns battles the forces of Lilith, Mother of Demons.

Play as the Hunter, the first customizable original hero in the Marvel Universe, and create a party that can include members of The Avengers, X-Men, Runaways and more.
Adapt your party’s abilities to best suit your style of play, thinking tactically and using attacks at the right moments. When you’re not fighting, develop bonds between characters at the Midnight Suns’ hidden base.

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Gameplay trailer

Announcement trailer

Desperados III

In a long-awaited prequel to the beloved classic Desperados: Wanted Dead or Alive, returning character John Cooper will join forces with a new band of mercenaries in all-new Western adventure.

Explore the ramshackle prospecting towns and pioneering railroads of Colorado and Louisiana in the last decades of the 19th Century.
Gather together an unlikely band of heroes as you set out on a quest of vengeance and retribution.
Employ a strategic mix of firearms, traps and decoys to carve your path to victory, assassinating targets and vanishing without a trace.

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Launch trailer

John Cooper trailer

XCOM 2

As the commander of XCOM, you're the last line of defence against an invading alien force that has colonised the planet and driven humanity to the brink.

Deploy your units in a ravaged near-future Earth, overrun by conquering alien hordes.
From the safety of your underground base work to unite the faltering nations of Earth and reclaim the planet for mankind.
Assemble a resistance force, expanding your homebase with expertise and technology gathered from mankind's last survivors.

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