15 Awesome Space War Games That You Need To Check Out

space war games
Let the war begin.


Get Ready for Epic Space Battles in these Sci-fi War Games

Whether it is the stunning visuals, the in-depth story and lore, or the realistic physics engines, there is one thing that no other game type will capture as well as Sci-fi war games. That is the magnificiently massive space combat that allows for contol of hundreds of ships, beautiful ship UI, and huge explosions!

1. Battlefleet Gothic Armada

Get dropped right into the 12th Black Crusade and fight in the Gothic War as one of four mighty factions. Fight as the Imperial Navy and blast away your foes using the Nova Cannon and multiple torpedo strikes and take cover behind your void shields. Or use the ancient ship designs taken from the Imperial Navy as Chaos, and obliterate your targets before they even know what hit them. The Eldar race is almost extinct, use their silent and deadly attacks on any that stand in their way. As the Orks, push through your enemy with pure brute force.

A real-time strategy game based on the tabletop game, Battlefleet Gothic Armada gives you the opportunity to relive those epic space battles, but this time you are armed with a mouse and keyboard. As the first RTS game built in Unreal Engine 4, not only do you get the great gameplay, you great visuals too.

Even if you've never played the tabletop game, Battlefleet Gothic Armada is still worth checking out. This game features a full single player campaign that will throw you right into the Gothic War, as well as multiplayer modes in which four players may participate. Use your environment for cover, probes and jammers for hiding and seeking, and the front of your ship to smash into another!

 

"It is better to die for the emperor, than to live for yourself!"
  
There is the ship ramming!

2. Dreadnought

In a time of war, take control of massive ships and make a name for yourself in your galaxy. Join a private company and fight for what is yours. Build your reputation and take your bounty.

For crying out loud, this game's ships are so massive that one of the weapons you can use is a freaking nuke! Dreadnought is a combat flight simulator in which players try, well, destroy each other. If you like anything that involves massive spaceships and explosions, this game goes above and beyond for you. Use cloaks, huge missiles, and warp systems to out maneuver, outsmart, and overpower your opponent.  

Even though all of these ships are at least fairly large, you know what they say, the bigger they are, the harder they fall! You can use the smaller ships and still be fine, as you can cloak, warp up to any ship, and blow them up in a matter of moments with no warning.

If you want to play, there is a closed beta that you can sign-up for right now.

 
Size matters ;)

Forget what I just said, use what your momma gave you!

3. Eve Online

Mankind has made a daring decision to make their way through a wormhole. Not knowing where they ended up, they decided to explore and colonize all over as the wormhole collapsed and they had to fend for themselves. Only few survived, and from those few came the major factions in the new world of Eve, the Amarr Empire, the Gallente Federation, the Caldari State, the Minmatar Republic, and the Jovian Empire. The peace of these five factions lies on a very thin layer, ready to break at any moment.

The Space Flight MMORPG that really gets its players. This game is for the player who really wants to get involved with the community to participate in the largest wars in gaming history.  

Be whoever you want, whenever you want. If you want to be someone who goes on mining runs, you can be that player. Run mission after mission to take advantage of maximum rewards. Reap the rewards of dogfighting, EVA, random encounters, and bounties.

Recieve REC, the  Star Citizen in-game currency, for completing these missions. There are things to build, and places to go. If you so desire, you can kill, whether it be other players or NPCs.

This game may be a little old, but it is far from dead. In fact, it is just as alive as it was ten years ago. Sure, people come and go, but Eve Online is still thriving and being updated for the player, for you.


Wreck their dreams

Build your dreams

4. Elite Dangerous

It is an age of interstellar war and galactic powers, and you lie right in the middle of it all. Being two of the largest supwerpowers, the Imperialists and the Federalists are fighting for power. The Imperialists representing Communism and honor, and The Federalists representing Democracy and economy.

Explore, hunt, and...party! Elite Dangerous will have you gushing over the visuals for hours. Being VR capable, instead of looking at a screen from an arm's length, you can shove your eyes right into the screen and feel true immersion!

Explore 400 billion star systems with zero limitations. The galaxy that everyone plays in is a 1:1 scale of our own Milky Way galaxy! 

Hunt your prey as you get bounties, and make sure they don't get away, while you get paid for style points and completion. Take your rewards and uprade the ship you've had or save up for the ship of your dreams.

Events have been hosted by the community, and I heard that this game has some pretty cool parties. These parties have been known to hold races, scavenger hunts, and demolition derby!

Fight in epic space battles, which also double as a laser show!

Discover things that no one has ever seen before

5. Star Citizen

It's the 30th century and we've already found alien lifeforms and terraformed planets and had massive space wars. You try to rise through the ranks to earn your UEE Citizenship. To do this, you decide to join Squadron 42 assigned to UEES Paul Steed of the 2nd Fleet of the United Empire  of Earth Navy.

Star Citizen has been one of the most ambitious space sims to date. You will find friends, enemies, new planets, stars, and the even the wrecked debris of a fallen player. You will feel fully immersed in this game with the realistic physics engine. You could go on a journey all by yourself of course, but you could also go on that same journey in the game's multi crew and capital ships! Man the turret, pilot the ship, and do many more, the choice is yours.

You can be a fighter pilot, a merchant, or a pirate, or anything else. There is a community controlled economy, an endless universe to explore, and a life to live. 


Warp travel!

Hunt or be hunted.

6. Rebel Galaxy

Command your star destroyer, make friends and enemies, explore the galaxy, and discover lost artifacts. Choose your path to become what you want in the galaxy of infinite possibilities. Buy powerful ships using the credits you have earned or stolen...whichever you prefer.

A completely randomly generated universe. You will never see two of the same thing, but you will see asteroid belts, ice fields, nebulae, and even junkyards.

This is the game that will allow you to choose who you want to be. You may be a trader, a mercenary, or a pirate! There are people that need your help, and those who think you'll need help in their presence.

Play this action packed space combat simulation game now!


Explore the unknown through the randomly generated universe. 

 
Meet aliens and decide whether to waste them or befriend them. 

7. Stellaris

The grand strategy that puts all others to rest! Explore a procedurally generated galaxy, and make the story yours. Become the richest, most powerful, and the smartest empire in the entire galaxy!

Customize your own species. You are completely in control of your traits, ethics, and appearance. Play with 32 or more players in your own real-time strategy game that can be paused. Do your research with your scientists and explore blackholes and the debris of your enemy's ships to find new technologies. Will you dominate all other signs of life or lead the most powerful alliance in the galaxy to rule over all else?

Design your ship, but keep the price in mind.

Fight in wars with hundreds of ships.

8. Sins of a Solar Empire

With differing policies and opinions on what should be done, the Trader Emergency Coalition, the Advent Unity, and the Vasari Empire have split up across the galaxy to prove just how right they are. The Trader Emergency Coalition try to avoid the upcoming war by living in isolation, and all the rebels decide that the only path to peace is to put down anyone that is in their way. The Advent Unity decides that it is time to put down the Trader Emergency Coaltion solely for revenge, and the rebels in the Unity see them going down a path of peace.

The Vasari Empire is also divided in two, but the rebels want to work with all of the other factions for the best chance of survival. An older real-time strategy game, Sins of a Solar Empire will let you seamlessly change your role between the emperor and a fleet commander. It's one of the best features I've seen in a game. Go from controlling one fighter to your entire empire in one swift movement.

The combat will consist hundreds of ships with minefields and starbases. Hire pirates to take down your enemies before they knew what hit them. Play with up to 10 players in the online mode Ironclad online. Explore, exploit, exterminate, and expand your economy and empire as the galaxy's most impressive leader yet.
 
Lead an entire fleet

Take control of any ship, it might just win you the battle.

9. Endless Space 2

Many civilizations are starting to rise, and the only thing that came before was the Endless. Although, not much is known about the endless, it isn't the most pressing question in our minds. If the Endless aren't as old as the universe, what came before them? As we might never know, we look to the future instead and what it will have in store for each and every civilization that looks up to the stars.

You start out as a civilization going into the colonization age. It's up to you what becomes of your civilization, whether it be a scientific, domination, or exploration based empire.

Experience cinematic space battles in this upcoming 4X strategy game. In this game, you will need to balance your population, manage your decisions wisely, and lead your faction to victory!

You will be able to play a faction like the Sophons who strive for technological advancement or a faction such as The Cravers who are bloodthirsty and will stop at nothing to destroy everything in their path.


The Sophons, the know-it-alls of the galaxy.
 
The Cravers, the bloodthirsty don't-say-no-to-them type

10. Galactic Civilization III

The Drengin Empire is what stands in your way, as they have conquered or enslaved every civilization that they have come into contact with. A true competition between the Humans and aliens to see who will dominate the galaxy in the 23rd century.

Explore news worlds and establish new colonies while trying to fend of the other empires at the same time.

Carefully design your ships for the perfect balanced between defense and offence to show your enemies you know what you're doing. Galactic Civilization III offers an open map with strategic zoom, smart diplomacy and the ability for AI to "think", and a freeform ship designer.

Explore the galaxy, research technology, and delve into diplomacy in multiplayer, a single player campaign, and a sandbox mode.


Delve into diplomacy and decide who will be the galactic emperor

Decide what you would do in this colonizing event. 

11. The Last Federation

As the last remaining Hydral, rise from the ashes of your own race to take down what started it all. Start from the ground up as your sassy AI helps you along the way. The Hydrals brought their own destruction upon themselves by trying killing all of the other civilizations they could find.

This didn't make anyone happy, so empires killed off the race and it is up to you to start your race from scratch without making everyone angry in the process.  

Your goal is to make the first unified federation and to put an end to the wars. Included is a player friendly difficulty curve that can be turned off for you professionals out there. All eight unique races even have their own political system.

The difficulties are widely ranged for people from casual to the most hardcore veterans. Play in ironmode if you dare.


A civilization that only responds to war and bribes. 

Be the loner you've always been or the leader you were always meant to be as the new federation forms. 

12. Supreme Commander 2

The defeat of Seraphim brought an age of peace to all of the factions. It was ruled by peace instead of fear for twenty-five years, but that all changed with the assassination of the president of CDC. No faction would come forwazrd to admit it was them, so their friendships slowly diminished.  

Play for the campaign, stay for the multiplayer. Supreme Commander 2 is all about building robots and destroying anything else that moves. You can do this by building a navy, air force, or build your entire army on land.

If you really want to get fancy, throw a couple nukes at them. New technologies have been used to render beautiful visuals. The game features new experimental units and an engaging story that will have you on the edge of your seat.


Here is an explosion of one of the new experimental units.

Use air units, navy units, and ground troops in massive battles. 

13. Ashes of the Singularity

After the singularity, people started to essentially upload themselves to something called "the cloud". After this started happening, there became three types of humans. Natural humans make up ninety-nine percent of the population and are the "basic" human, Trans-humans are  humans that have been heavily modified to push the limits of normal human capabilities, and Post-humans live in a virtual world called the Metaverse and the only time they appear in a physical form is when they communicate with a "lesser" human.

Build a single troop and you have a unit, and now if you build an entire army, you get a Meta unit. You can either win by collecting enough Turinium, the most scarce resource in the game. Or you can destroy every last civilization until yours is the only one that remains.

You have the option, but  I know what I'll be doing. The combat is dependent on dreadnoughts, your armies and orbitals. Dreadnoughts are your experienced units that you really want to take care of. Your armies will the bulk of your brute force. Orbitals will help with combat if you can spare enough resources to build them. 
 


Manage wars against your enemies on multiple fronts! 

Enjoy the campaign and all it has to offer.

14. Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak

The Hiigarans have lived on this planet for three thousand years, but have recently abandoned it. Find out what lies in the Deserts of Kharak and destroy any danger that gets in your way.

The prequel to the original Homeworld. With fun troop management, smooth combat, and a fun campaign, this game might just be worthy of holding its title. Tactical combat makes for more detailed strategy capabilities. Your survival will greatly depend on your technology research, resource management, and what you choose to put in your fleets. The massive environments make for a good solo play, but even better competitive multiplayer.

The planet is dying, and only you can save it.

Discover the remains of ships that have crashed.

Get ready for the combat

15. Dawn of War 3

An ultimate weapon  has been found on Acheron, and three major forces decide to go to this planet in hopes of getting to it first. The three forces trying to get this weapon are the Eldar, the Space marines, and an Ork horde. The result of the war may be determined solely on whomever gets to it first.

Dawn of War 3 takes the war between the three factions to a whole new level. Besides the improvements from the other two games, two things that have become much more important in this installment of the series is super units and factions.

Super units are what makes elite units small. Your entire game could depend on whether or not you choose to use a super unit to your advantage. Your factions abilities and units will factor into your strategies more than ever in this game.

Will you be the hand that takes the weapon on Acheron or the hand that stops that hand?

 
Look at the size comparison!
 

Space marines

Now you know what the sci-fi worlds have to offer. Every game is completely unique, but still holds close what we all love about the genre.

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Gamer Since: 1998
Favorite Genre: RPG
Currently Playing: The Deus Ex series
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