A new year, a new list. I always like to be the last in making these lists. No, I’m last mostly because I’m busy with work, life, family, and playing with my kitten. But, since I’m the Strategy and Simulation person for Wccftech and I’m practically the only one who’ll play most of these games and love them, it’s down to me to make a list.
You can also read my list of the best Strategy & Simulation Games from 2022 if you want some great games to play. You can also check out Wccftech’s other most anticipated games of 2023: Fighting, RPG, Multiplayer, Action, Adventure, Horror, and Indie.
Only games that will get full releases (no early access) will be on this list, and no remakes, remasters, re-imaginings, or rebrands are allowed.
Company of Heroes 3 (February 23rd)
Genre: Strategy (Real-Time Strategy). Platform: PC.
Let’s get the big guns out of the way first. Company of Heroes is part of one of the most celebrated strategy series in the world. Developed by Relic, one of the best strategy developers in the world, and published by SEGA, arguably the best strategy game publisher, it’s impossible not to want this.
I should say, Company of Heroes did feature in last year’s most anticipated Strategy & Simulation list, but delays happened, so it gets another feature. SEGA will release Company of Heroes 3 next month, so we know it’s coming. I’ve already had hands-on with the game, which turned out to be a great experience; the strategy feels as great as previous Company of Heroes titles, with an added layer of grand strategy on top.
Stranded: Alien Dawn (TBA 2023)
Genre: Simulation (City Builder / Survival). Platform: PC.
Earlier this year, I got hands-on with Stranded: Alien Dawn, and I have to say, I enjoyed it. Yes, it’s out in Early Access, so quite a few people have had hands-on, but I was able to check out upcoming content, things current players can look forward to as the game comes close to its full release. But that’s all irrelevant; you want to know why this is one of the year’s most anticipated strategy or simulation games.
Stranded: Alien Dawn brings the survival city-builder game style onto an alien planet. You’ll lead the survivors of your crash against hostile alien creatures, diseases, and even the weather. Add random events, new biomes, technological challenges and advances, and you will find yourself with an exciting and intriguing game. One that I’m looking forward to playing as soon as I can.
Homeworld 3 (First Half of 2023)
Genre: Strategy (Real-Time Strategy). Platform: PC.
Homeworld 3 is another game with the number “3” and a large gap between this and the previous release. Unlike Company of Heroes and its ten-year gap, Homeworld doubles that (though we did have a spin-off in Deserts of Kharak). Homeworld 3 also looks to follow the series’ history of being near-revolutionary, and my initial impressions were more than positive.
There aren’t many games I come out of a preview thinking that the finished result could be one of the best games of the year, but Homeworld 3 and Blackbird Interactive have certainly done this. With a story that will take you on a quest to find out the source of “the anomaly”, darkness swallowing gates, outposts, planets and more, threatening the galaxy. I’m looking forward to discovering this and experiencing the more extensive, more intense missions to be found within the game when it launches within the first half of next year.
Park Beyond (TBA 2023)
Genre: Simulation (Management). Platform: PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S/X.
If I were to describe Park Beyond in an oversimplistic way, I’d say it’s “Theme Park World on magic mushrooms”. My hands-on with the game at Gamescom last year was entertaining, if a little different. Park Beyond is about taking things to the extreme, to the next level.
Your rollercoasters will fire those riding it out of a cannon. Other rides may have a giant monkey smashing the ever-loving hell out of the customers, and even the shops can’t do things the usual way. This “impossification”, as the game calls it, looks to help set Park Beyond, ironically, beyond the rest of the competition.
Everything mentioned makes Park Beyond an interesting title, one I genuinely had no clue about going into Gamescom, but one I’m intrigued about now. A game that looks to make the impossible a reality in a genre such as this is unusual. It wants to offer unlimited potential, the limits being your imagination. Hopefully, it will meet that goal when it releases for the PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S/X sometime next year.
The Great War: Western Front (TBA 2023)
Genre: Strategy (Real-Time Strategy). Platform: PC.
World War One is the world war regularly left out regarding video games. Not that you usually would call any war this, but World War One is the ugly sister compared to the “sexy” World War Two. The reason could generally be down to the slower pace of the war. Trench Warfare didn’t come across as the most action-packed or strategic; at least, that’s what people thought. The Great War: Western Front looks to change this perception.
Developed by Petroglyph, headed up by veterans of the Command & Conquer series, there’s a lot of calibre behind the game. It bodes well, supported by my first hands-on impressions of the game.
I’ve watched and read a lot about World War One, so there’s no denying just how bloody and brutal the whole conflict was. Showing this in a strategy game was never going to be easy, but there’s something to be said about The Great War: Western Front. Petroglyph has worked on it, captured (to a large extent) what I imagine it was like, and kept it fun enough for a game. While this was just one battle, it bodes well for the future. The Great War: Western front is set to release next year.
Honourable Mentions
One of the very first games on this list was Football Manager 2023, even though it hasn’t been announced. We know it’s coming; it always comes, but look out for it on the Sports and Racing list. The reality is that there’s a wealth of choices for Strategy and Simulation. Even the honourable mentions and the games I’ve delved into don’t cover everything I had in mind.
Strategy:
- The Settlers: New Allies
- Minecraft Legends
- Stargate: Timekeepers
- Dungeons 4
- Men of War II
- Terminator: Dark Fate – Defiance
- Jagged Alliance 3
- Warno
Simulation:
- War Hospital
- Industries of Titan
- Kerbal Space Program 2
- Gord
- Frostpunk 2
While Strategy and Simulation games have had a few slow years, they seem to be moving from strength to strength in the long run, and 2023 is looking like it will be a good year. A few of the above are available to buy in early access with full releases planned and many games coming forward this year. Not only that, we’re still yet to hear what the next Total War will be.
