WW2 Strategy Games: The Best Historical Simulations and Tactics

World War 2 is one of the most popular historical settings in strategy games. The massive conflict allows for a huge variety of games tackling different theatres and perspectives, from the smallest skirmish to the political and diplomatic machinations of world powers. Such creative potential has resulted in superbly accurate historical simulations, action-oriented competitive tactics games, and everything in between. To help newcomers to the strategy genre and historical titles in general, here are the best WW2 strategy games with one entry per franchise.

From accurate simulation to pure action-packed fun, Blitzkrieg 2 is one of the older WW2 games on the list. Its age has done little to mask the fast-paced and explosive experience of a classic RTS, albeit without the base building.

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While not as complex as some of its genre competitors, like Starcraft or Age of Empires, Blitzkrieg 2 still captures the essence of those games in simple active unit control. Where else will you get the pleasure of running things over with treads and blowing stuff up in glorious fashion?

Battle Academy, though smaller in scale than Graviteam Tactics, still captures the complexities of combined arms warfare. Every engagement and specific situation will be a tough, but enjoyable puzzle to solve with the vast number of units available. Though not necessarily graphically gripping, Battle Academy has a simpler and easier to understand UI than some of the other simulation wargames on the list, making it more accessible, easier to understand, and one of the best tactical WW2 strategy games.

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Panzer Corps 2 follows in the footsteps of its spiritual predecessor, Panzer General. Panzer Corps is very much the same enticing snappy turn-based strategy game to its core, but with updated graphics and refined mechanics. The odd merging of abstracted tactical combat on an operational scale makes the game feel more chess-like than some of the other tactical games on the list.

Charging into the latter portion of the list with a big-budget bang is Company of Heroes 2. Though at launch CoH 2 had many issues that made it inferior to its highly successful and still respectable predecessor, over time Relic has molded it into one of the more intense and competitive games in recent memory. Tournaments are held regularly and the game still sees major updates and patches improving performance and addressing balance issues.

As one of the only real-time grand strategy games, such an exhaustive take and the effective meshing of political, diplomatic, and economic systems makes Hearts of Iron 4 a must own for history and strategy game fans.

Unity of Command 2 fulfills the easy-to-learn and hard-to-master dynamic of strategy games perfectly, while at the same time accurately incorporating historical elements of operational command, such as supply, lines of communication, and the prevalence of the influential Schwerpunkt doctrine (concentrated attack). Though the first Unity of Command is quite old now, it is also worth checking out as many same compelling systems can be found there.

WW2 strategy games provide some of the best experiences in the genre. They require you to think tactically as you lead your troops into battle and hopefully toward victory. And they all help immerse you in World War II.

From squad-based combat to continental-scale strategy, you can step into some of the most famous battles of all time to test your strategic mettle. In this article, we list the best WW2 strategy games, both old and new, that are worth playing.

Instead of controlling individual units, Hearts of Iron IV puts you in command of the highest-level strategy in the war. You develop technology, build and outfit armies, control forces on land, sea, and air, and launch invasions that will change the tide of the war.

Beyond combat, you also manage production, supply lines, weather, and fog of war effects. This is a complicated, challenging strategy game, but it's a deep one that you can sink hundreds of hours into.

If you're looking for a WW2 strategy game that has a lot to offer, you can't go wrong with Assault Squad 2. It's a top-down real-time strategy game that lets you control every unit in your squad. 200 soldiers with unique loadouts, 250 vehicles, and five different factions make for a huge amount of variety.

Beyond that, it has a lot of what you'd expect from typical WW2 RTS games: 100 units to command, zoned damage areas on tanks, building occupations, and so on. It's a great-looking game that lets you take on three campaigns from three different sides of the war.

If you only decide to buy one WW2 strategy game, make it Unity of Command II. It's a follow-up to the 2011 cult classic, putting you in command of the Western Allies as you manage their supply and logistics.

The Close Combat series began in 1996 and still exists to this day as a mixture of remakes and originals. It's a top-down strategy series that puts the focus on realism. Your troops have changing mental and physical conditions, you need to scavenge for ammunition, and a troop's experience on the battlefield impacts how they react to a situation.

These aren't the only World War II strategy games out there, but they are some of the best. Whether you're looking for tactical, operational, or grand scale battles, you'll find what you're looking for in the WW2 strategy games above.

That or end the Second World War early with strategies that are only available in hindsight, or even stop Hitler, Mussolini, and Imperial Japan before they can even get going. When it comes to letting players get in touch with their inner Patton, Montgomery, or de Gaulle, these are the best grand strategy games set during World War 2.

If players liked Hearts of Iron 4 but found it a little simplified, its predecessor Hearts of Iron 2 may be more up their alley. It was considered such an improvement over the original game that it went from languishing critically to getting a nomination for Best RTS of 2005 from PC Gamer magazine. The game offers the same mix of military organization with political plays and diplomacy that the later games would work from.

Most of these games either focus on the Western campaigns or Pacific conflicts from WW2, with the occasional battle from the Eastern front. 2by3 Games' entry goes one further by focusing entirely on the conflict between the Nazis and the Soviet Union from 1941 to 1945. It has big conflicts like the start of Operation Barbarossa, the Battle of Stalingrad, and the push to Berlin.

The original Unity of Command was considered one of the best strategy games ever made. It was hard to imagine how a sequel could top it. Yet Unity of Command 2 somehow managed it, gaining critical acclaim from PC Gamer, Rock Paper Shotgun, Strategy Gamer, and more. All thanks to a few nifty new features and improvements.

Originally made in Java in 2001 by Sean Bridges & co, the game has received multiple updates over the past two decades, with the latest stable one dated November 2020. As simple as it looks (only 60 MB in size bar expansions), its gameplay is more intricate and ambitious than it looks. Particularly when players can tailor the rules for specific games, like limiting dice rolls to make players focus on strategy than luck. There's a lot packed into its megabytes.

David Heath is a List Writer specialising in video games, movies, TV shows, and the occasional anime. They have written for CrypticRock.com under the name Day Heath for 5 years, and like to play fighting games and draw pictures in their spare time.

Combat Mission offers an immersive military experience, with a fully 3D engine and a turn-based/WEGO strategy layer that then plays out in real-time. Units are represented down to individual squads and tanks, however players can play anything from a Company-sized force, to a reinforced Battalion.

Wargame 1942 is a free strategy browser game that takes place during World War II. As commander in chief, you lead your own nation in Wargame1942. Push your army through the borders of the continent and conquer nations.

Overcome your enemies with your army and seize their resources. Isn't that enough? Make powerful allies and join in an alliance to utterly destroy your enemies. The best strategist knows how to deal with others. Trade, conquer and rise your empire. The game is yours: develop your own strategy and compete with thousands of players in this captivating military RPG! Wargame1942 offers multiple challenges and only the best strategy master will survive in the end.

Random objectives and events can crop up in battles and on the campaign map itself, so no campaign is alike. You might be tasked with assassinating an officer during a mission or ambushing a convoy on the campaign map, and failure or victory will have a tangible impact on the rest of the war. It is a persistent, savage war, where failure is always nipping at the heels of the increasingly desperate US forces. With details like that, no wonder it is one of the best WW2 games on PC.

You have a spy who can steal clothes and disguise himself as the enemy, a secret agent who can distract and drug Nazis, and a battle-hardened Green Beret who likes to get a bit of blood on his hands. You even have a dog, Whisky, and he is both delightful and good at drawing the attention of enemies. Each mission gives you a specific group to use, and then it is up to you how you want to go about completing the main, secondary, and bonus objectives. It is this kind of freedom that makes Commandos 2 not just one of the best WW2 games on PC, but one of the best PC games of all time, period.

As much as games like Brothers in Arms and World of Tanks aim for historical accuracy in their weapons, machinery, and locations, they still offer a Hollywood-tinted depiction of the action. Red Orchestra 2 removes the filters and offers an unflinchingly difficult simulator shooter. Heroes of Stalingrad recreates battles from the Eastern Front in a Battlefield-like combined arms settings with soldier classes and vehicles. Throwing pray-and-spray, gung-ho attitudes to the wind, Red Orchestra demands strict teamwork, caution, and a considered tactical approach to objectives.