The new turn-based strategy games of the past 12 months actually delivered for a change. That’s not sarcasm. The TBS genre has had enough early-access exits and abandoned roadmaps that “new release” stopped meaning much for a while. But Songs of Conquest hit v1.0 in a complete state. Menace launched and committed to its design. Wartales kept expanding with DLC that added real systems rather than cosmetics. Xenonauts 2 finally left early access in April 2026 as a finished game. This ranking covers what released or matured significantly over the past year, and it calls out what’s actually finished versus what still has some growing to do. Our broader turn-based strategy rankings cover the full genre including older titles; this list is strictly new releases.

The Ranked Picks

Songs of Conquest

Songs of Conquest occupies the Heroes of Might and Magic niche better than anything released since HoMM III. Lavapotion’s take adds spellcaster units called Wielders who amplify armies rather than leading them, procedural maps that vary meaningfully between runs, and a campaign that’s longer than most indie strategy games attempt. The full release tightened balance and added content that was noticeably absent in early access. Faction asymmetry is real: each of the four factions plays differently enough that a win with one doesn’t translate automatically to the next. For players who’ve been waiting for an heir to the classic HoMM formula, the wait is over.

Finished or early access: Fully released and content-complete.

Play this if you liked: Heroes of Might and Magic III, King’s Bounty.

Menace

Menace is Overhype Studios’ follow-up to Battle Brothers, and it inherits that game’s refusal to soften the edges. The setting shifts to science fiction: you command a squad of soldiers on planetary campaigns with a persistent mobile headquarters that carries consequences between missions. Fatigue, ammo, and squad leader progression all carry forward. Interconnected mission design means early mistakes can surface several operations later, which is either the best feature in the game or the most punishing one depending on how you feel about being held accountable for decisions made three hours ago. It’s a narrow game by design, but within that lane it commits completely. For fans of strategy RPGs with real tactical depth, it warrants a serious look.

Finished or early access: Released with post-launch patches ongoing.

Play this if you liked: Battle Brothers, XCOM 2, Jagged Alliance.

Wartales (Major Expansions)

Wartales left early access in 2023 in solid shape, and the expansion cadence since then has added content that integrates naturally into its existing systems. Pirates of Belerion added naval exploration and a complete coastal region. Skelmar Invasion introduced siege battles that change how you approach territorial control across the campaign map. The core combat is hex-based with an emphasis on emergent storytelling through squad composition, profession systems, and player decisions. If you want a strategy game where the narrative comes from what happens in play rather than scripted cutscenes, Wartales earns the time investment.

Finished or early access: Fully released with active DLC. Both major expansions are worth picking up alongside the base game.

Play this if you liked: Battle Brothers, Mount and Blade II: Bannerlord (strategic layer).

Xenonauts 2

Xenonauts 2 left early access in April 2026 as the most faithful heir to the 1994 X-COM: UFO Defense. Goldhawk Interactive built it as a deliberate counterpoint to the Firaxis XCOM series: longer campaigns, no cover-based combat, line-of-sight mechanics that reward careful positioning, and a strategic layer that models alien infiltration across multiple continents at once. It demands more than XCOM 2, but it also gives more to players willing to learn its systems. If you loved the original X-COM and found the Firaxis reboots too streamlined, this is the game built for you specifically. Our turn-based strategy guide covers the full genre context for where Xenonauts 2 fits in the broader landscape.

Finished or early access: Fully released from early access, April 2026.

Play this if you liked: X-COM: UFO Defense, Phoenix Point.

The One to Watch

Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era is the anticipated release that hasn’t fully arrived yet. Developed by Unfrozen and published by Ubisoft, early builds show the familiar HoMM formula intact with strong faction design. Whether it sticks the landing at full release is still an open question, but it’s the most-anticipated TBS release of 2026 for fans of the classic series. Keep an eye on it before assuming Songs of Conquest is the only option in this space.

What Separates the Good Releases from the Rest

The pattern across recent TBS releases is consistent: games that shipped with a complete design vision hold up, and games that relied on early access to finish that vision mostly didn’t. Menace knew what kind of game it wanted to be before launch. Songs of Conquest had a design document it executed on. Xenonauts 2 used its early access period to fix balance and polish rather than to build missing core systems. That discipline shows in how each plays now.

Strategygame.org covers new TBS releases as they land. The turn-based strategy guides section goes deeper on individual games and subgenres. If you want cross-genre coverage by platform, the best strategy games on Steam list covers the full picture for PC players.