I’m here to start the campaign to replace the term “4X” with “4E”. Call me a pedant, but if you look very carefully the words “Explore,” “Expand,” “Exploit” and “Exterminate” all begin with an E. I’ll compromise on “4Ex” games–I’m nothing if not magnanimous. So, the good news is, Steam is having a big sale on 4Ex games this week! We’ve gone through and picked out some highlights from the world/space-conquering genre.
4X (I relented already) is a genre that covers an awful lot of territory. Pun grimly intended. It stretches from Earth to all of space, from Civilization to Stellaris, via the historical strategy of Hearts of Iron to the magical fantasy of Age of Wonders. All of which, happily are in this extraordinarily comprehensive sale.
It’s worth noting that Steam’s “Fest” collections pull together every example of the genre, but not all are on sale. For some bizarre reason, none of the Total War games are discounted, for example. Despite this, just the added attention has pulled Total War: Warhammer III into the top selling list at its full price of $60. However, other big-name franchises are showing some enormous price drops, as high as 90 percent. Here’s a selection from the many games available, picking out some all-time classics and perhaps a couple you’ve not heard of before. And just in case you thought my headline was exaggerating, yes, Masters of Orion 1 and 2 are in there for just over $2. You can browse all 356 games here.
Sid Meier’s Civilization VII
Perhaps the headline discount is Civilization VII, the latest entry in the 34-year-long franchise. It’s still sitting on “Mixed” for its Steam reviews, after a very rocky launch in February this year, and a long, slow attempt to recover, but given it’s reached from an astonishing 45,000 reviews, it’s not for want of sales. Perhaps a 30 percent discount to $49 can help to bring in new players now so much of the game has been patched? Still, if you want a Civ that’s tried and tested, you could always pick up Civ 6 for $6, or Civ 5 for $7.50, maybe Civ 4 at $6 (or just £3 in the UK for some reason), or even Civ III with all the trimmings for just 99c.
Galactic Civilizations IV
At the other end of the universe, you’ve got the GalCiv series from Stardock. These space-conquering epics have been appearing for 13 years, and all four of them are on sale. GalCiv 3 is 67 percent off, now $10, while 2023’s most recent, GalCiv 4, is half off at $20. (Disclosure: I did a lot of script editing on the text in GalCiv 4. Still couldn’t actually figure out how to play the game.)
Stellaris
Paradox’s Stellaris made such a massive splash when it came out in 2016. It breathed life back into the 4X genre, with a bunch of bold new approaches to taking over the galaxy, as well as more tool tips than a Home Depot catalog. With its mix of playable alien races and huge regions of space to explore, it’s one of those games that became legendary for generating original and fascinating stories. But despite being almost ten years old, it’s still receiving regular free patches and both free and paid updates, most recently patching the Wilderness Open Beta last week. This week you can grab the base game for a quarter of its usual price at $10, or pick up every last bit of content for the game for 45 percent less than usual, at $140.
Europa Universalis IV
Despite being 12 years old, Europa Universalis IV remains so popular that it’s shot straight into the top 10 most popular games in this 4X Fest. That the epic and historically accurate sim is 90 percent off so just $5 definitely helps. The pitch is that you can pick any nation in the world, then be in charge of it across four hundred years, from the end of the middle ages to the beginning of the Napoleonic era. There’s also a Starter Edition that adds in three expansions, 80 percent off at $12, and an Ultimate Bundle which compiles 12 years of updates and expansions for 40 percent off at $105.
Victoria 3
To complete a trio of Paradox games (certainly one of the biggest players in the 4X field), 2022’s Victoria 3 has a tidy 70 percent drop making it just $15 during the Fest, along with around 50 percent off the more expensive bundles of DLC. Far more focused than the enormous nature of most 4X grand strategy games, Victoria 3 zooms in on, as you might have guessed, the 19th century. It’s about controlling a society more than an army, although given you can play as dozens of nations in the era, expansion was something of an issue at the time.
Sins of a Solar Empire II
Another Stardock entry, Sins of a Solar Empire II–the follow-up to the 2008 original–comes from the original development team, Ironclad Games. Most think of it as a 2024 game, given that’s when it released on Steam, along with a wealth of DLC and extra content. However, it originally appeared on the Epic Games Store in 2022 as an early access release, presumably as one of the lucrative deals Epic was handing out at the time. It’s Steam release coincided with the game having as much content as the original game’s peak. You can get the base game for a 30 percent discount this week, making it $35, or for $70 you can pick up the Premium Edition that contains the base game, this year’s Paths To Power expansion, plus three as-yet unreleased expansions, also 30 percent down.
Dune: Spice Wars
Before Dune: Awakening, in 2023 Funcom published a game by Shiro Games called Dune: Spice Wars, a 4X RTS by the same team who made Northgard (84 percent off at under $5). It’s all about taking control of Arrakis with one of a number of factions, along with all the spice trading you could wish for. It’s 60 percent off, $14. You can also pick up the Ixian Edition which includes DLC House Vernius of Ix for 55 percent less, $20.
Zephon
Let’s get a bit more niche. Zephon comes from indie team Proxy Studios, who previously created 4X title Warhammer 40,000: Gladius – Relics of War (90 percent off, $4), then came back with their own property. This time you’re turn-based 4Xing in a post-apocalypse which features both eldritch monsters and cyberpunk horrors. The game only came out late last year, and has already received a DLC expansion. You can get the base game this week for a 25 percent discount at $30, or pick it up with the DLC and various support bumph for $60.
Heart of the Machine
Getting right up to date, Heart of the Machine by Arcen is so new it’s still in Early Access. Released at the beginning of this year, the RPG/RTS hybrid has proven very popular with players. You play as the first sentient AI, waking up in a city and trying to take control, but with an enormous amount of freedom about how you go about this. There’s still another six months of Early Access intended, the game patching and changing in response to player feedback, but it’s already fully playable. And right now it’s included in both the Isometric Sale, and the 4X Fest, knocking 35 percent off the price to just under $20.
