Top rated competitive city builders
Settlements here double as battlegrounds where you grow and then defend what you built. These top rated competitive city builders include Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition, Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition and Kingdoms Reborn, where you lay out housing, farms and defenses while stocking supplies, then test that economy against real opponents in sieges, skirmishes and rival expansion.
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Stronghold Crusader HD (2012)
A castle sim where the town exists to feed the war. You raise walls in the desert, chain farms to bakeries to troops, then point catapults at someone else's walls. Four Crusades campaigns and over 100 skirmishes give city builder fans plenty of building with a sharp, combative edge.
97% of 17,648 Steam reviews are positivePlayers online now: 833$9.99Age of Empires II (Retired)
This retired HD re-imagining of Age of Empires II gives city builder fans a medieval base to raise through the ages: gather resources, raise buildings, and grow one of 18 civilizations before sending it to war. It is old, sturdy, and still satisfying to build up from a few villagers to a walled power.
95% of 84,959 Steam reviews are positivePlayers online now: 3,316$19.99Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition
A real-time strategy classic rebuilt in 4K with remastered music, where you raise a medieval town from a few villagers into a walled base, gather food, wood and stone, and lead one of dozens of civilizations through 229 campaign missions, co-op, or online play.
94% of 160,417 Steam reviews are positivePlayers online now: 14,541Stronghold HD (2012)
Build a medieval castle from muddy ground up, keep its people fed and taxed just enough to stay, then ring it with walls, towers and traps. Stronghold HD mixes town management with siege warfare, so city builder fans get the ledgers and the battlements in one package.
95% of 8,699 Steam reviews are positivePlayers online now: 163$5.99TOHOTOPIA
A bite-size 4X where you grow a small empire in about 30 minutes: explore fog, settle and upgrade cities, and send heroes and armies to take villages and rivals. Four Touhou-led factions each bring their own heroes, tech tree and units, so city builder fans get light building with a lot of conquest attached.
96% of 817 Steam reviews are positivePlayers online now: 22$3.99Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition
Build a desert citadel from sand and sweat, then watch it hold. Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition pairs a full castle economy with siege warfare, so city builder fans get streets, stockpiles and walls that all have to work together.
92% of 10,908 Steam reviews are positivePlayers online now: 2,538$19.99Kingdoms Reborn
Grow a tiny medieval hamlet into an industrial empire in Kingdoms Reborn, a city builder with simulated citizens on a procedurally generated world. Research eras, manage food and resources, draw cards for buildings and policies, and shape land across forests, deserts and tundra. Play solo or build and trade with friends in co-op and competitive multiplayer.
90% of 8,893 Steam reviews are positivePlayers online now: 184$19.99Planet S
Planet S is a real-time strategy city builder spread across a solar system of up to 24 procedurally generated planets. You found cities, supply residents with the goods they need, and link planets into one economy as production chains grow more tangled.
91% of 2,908 Steam reviews are positivePlayers online now: 5FreeBloons Monkey City
Pop bloons to claim land, then spend it on a monkey metropolis. Bloons Monkey City ties every tower-defense win to a new tile for farms, banks, power plants, and monkey towers, so city builder fans get steady expansion with a colorful, low-pressure building side.
90% of 6,858 Steam reviews are positivePlayers online now: 217FreeSid Meier’s Civilization® VI
Civilization VI turns city building into empire building. You found cities that sprawl across the map with districts, wonders and improvements on their own tiles, then guide them from ancient settlements to spaceports. Good for city builder fans who like planning placement for the long term.
86% of 277,568 Steam reviews are positivePlayers online now: 27,061$59.99SkyShard: City Battler
City Building Auto Battler! Build your kingdom with powerful weapons, walls, houses, and endless synergies, then battle other players in asynchronous multiplayer, or overcome various solo challenges.
96% of 110 Steam reviews are positive$14.99Stronghold 2: Steam Edition
Rule a medieval castle where the economy never sits still. You place farms, workshops and homes, keep bread, ale and faith flowing, and deal with rats, thieves and grumbling peasants through taxes, trials or gibbets. Earn honour with banquets and jousts, then hold the walls when Lord Barclay comes calling.
88% of 4,945 Steam reviews are positivePlayers online now: 266$14.99
