•Filip Premuš• 12 min read
Games
Best 9 Games Like Age of Empires (2026)
Few real-time strategy series balance economic growth, technological advancement, historical warfare, and competitive multiplayer as effectively as Age of Empires IV. Developed by Relic Entertainment in partnership with World’s Edge, it modernizes the classic formula without abandoning the resource gathering, age progression, and civilization differences that define the series.
Age of Empires begins most matches with a small settlement and a handful of villagers. Over time, that settlement becomes a fortified economy capable of producing siege engines, cavalry, warships, and enormous armies. The best alternatives preserve that sense of expansion, even when they replace historical civilizations with mythological gods, Viking clans, fantasy armies, or modern military forces.
Here are the best games like Age of Empires to play in 2026:
# | Game | Best For |
|---|---|---|
1 | The closest overall experience | |
2 | Advancing through history | |
3 | Castle building and sieges | |
4 | Slower Viking expansion | |
5 | Economic production chains |
1. Age of Mythology: Retold
Age of Mythology: Retold is the closest alternative because it was built from the same foundations as Age of Empires. Villagers gather food, wood, and gold, settlements advance through different ages, and military buildings produce armies that counter one another through familiar strengths and weaknesses.
The main difference is its mythological setting. Greek, Egyptian, Norse, Atlantean, Chinese, and Japanese cultures fight with conventional soldiers alongside heroes and myth units. Depending on your civilization, an army may include centaurs, giants, dragons, valkyries, or other creatures drawn from mythology.
Choosing major and minor gods shapes the bonuses, technologies, myth units, and divine powers available during a match. God powers can summon destructive storms, strengthen an economy, transport armies, or completely disrupt an opponent’s defenses. These abilities make battles less predictable without replacing the underlying RTS mechanics.
Why It’s Similar:
Created from the Age of Empires formula
Villagers and resource gathering
Multiple ages and technology upgrades
Distinct civilizations
Land and naval warfare
Campaigns, skirmishes, and online multiplayer
Available on: PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S
My Verdict: Age of Mythology: Retold is the easiest recommendation for anyone wanting more Age of Empires. Its economy and military structure feel immediately familiar, while myth units and god powers give every civilization a more dramatic identity.
Buy Age of Mythology: Retold on GameBoost
2. Rise of Nations: Extended Edition
Rise of Nations: Extended Edition combines the immediate action of a real-time strategy game with ideas normally associated with Civilization. A single match can begin in the Ancient Age and continue through gunpowder, industrialization, modern warfare, and the Information Age.
Cities establish national borders that expand as your population and territory grow. Resources inside those borders can be developed by workers, while additional cities, forts, and technologies increase your influence. Expanding too aggressively creates economic and military risks, especially if new settlements cannot be defended.
Its large technology tree covers military strength, scientific progress, economic development, and civic expansion. Battles eventually grow from infantry clashes into conflicts involving tanks, aircraft, missiles, and nuclear weapons. The Extended Edition includes the Thrones & Patriots expansion alongside updated visuals and multiplayer support.
Why It’s Similar:
Real-time resource gathering
Progression through historical ages
Multiple nations with unique bonuses
Large technology tree
Land, naval, and air units
Campaign, skirmish, and multiplayer modes
Available on: PC
My Verdict: Rise of Nations is the best alternative for players who enjoy advancing through ages more than mastering a single historical period. Its matches cover a much larger section of history without becoming a fully turn-based strategy game.
Buy Rise of Nations: Extended Edition on GameBoost
3. Stronghold: Definitive Edition
Buy Stronghold: Definitive Edition if building walls, towers, and defensive positions is your favorite part of Age of Empires. Rather than managing an entire civilization across several ages, Stronghold focuses on constructing and maintaining a functioning medieval castle.
Your population needs housing, food, employment, and protection. Farms, bakeries, mines, workshops, weapon production, and taxation all affect the castle’s economy. Raising taxes without supplying enough food damages popularity, while generous rations and public services can attract additional workers.
Military campaigns involve defending fortifications, attacking enemy castles, and adapting to increasingly elaborate siege layouts. Archers can fire from walls, engineers operate siege equipment, and attackers must break through gates, towers, traps, and layers of defensive structures. The Definitive Edition adds updated visuals, modernized controls, Steam multiplayer, and new campaign content.
Why It’s Similar:
Medieval real-time strategy
Resource gathering and production
Workers and population management
Military recruitment
Fortifications and siege weapons
Campaigns and multiplayer battles
Available on: PC
My Verdict: Stronghold: Definitive Edition narrows the Age of Empires formula around castle management and siege warfare. Its economic systems are more personal because every bakery, workshop, and missing food shipment directly affects the population living behind your walls.
Buy Stronghold: Definitive Edition on GameBoost
4. Northgard
Northgard places a Viking clan on an unexplored continent divided into individual territories. Instead of freely expanding across an open map, you must scout each region and spend resources to claim it before constructing buildings or exploiting its resources.
Villagers can be assigned as farmers, warriors, healers, sailors, merchants, and other specialists. Food, wood, happiness, population space, and the approaching winter must all be considered. A strong military will not save a clan that has run out of firewood or allowed its food production to collapse during the coldest months.
Each clan favors a different strategy. Some excel at trade or exploration, while others rely on military pressure, animals, defense, or unusual resource systems. Matches can be won through domination, trade, fame, knowledge, and other victory conditions, giving economic players alternatives to destroying every opponent.
Why It’s Similar:
Real-time resource management
Workers assigned to different jobs
Distinct clans with unique mechanics
Territory expansion
Military units and defensive structures
Multiple victory conditions
Available on: PC, macOS, Linux, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android
My Verdict: Northgard is slower and more survival-focused than Age of Empires. Its territory system and seasonal economy reward careful expansion, making it a strong choice for players who prefer planning over constant military aggression.
5. The Settlers: New Allies
Get The Settlers: New Allies for a real-time strategy game in which roads, logistics, and production chains matter as much as the size of your army. You begin with a small settlement and gradually turn raw materials into tools, weapons, food, and construction resources.
Workers transport materials between buildings, making settlement layout important. A poorly organized road network can delay construction or prevent military equipment from reaching the buildings that need it. Engineers expand territory, claim resources, and prepare locations for further development.
The game includes three factions with different appearances and tactical advantages. Its campaign introduces the economic and combat systems gradually, while skirmish and multiplayer modes support larger conflicts against AI or human opponents. Battles are simpler than those in Age of Empires, but the economic foundation remains familiar.
Why It’s Similar:
Real-time base building
Resource gathering
Workers and transportation networks
Military production
Multiple factions
Campaign and multiplayer modes
Available on: PC, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S
My Verdict: The Settlers: New Allies is best for Age of Empires players who spend more time organizing their economy than rushing opponents. It places greater emphasis on moving goods through a functioning settlement, although its combat offers less tactical depth.
Buy The Settlers: New Allies on GameBoost
6. Manor Lords
Buy Manor Lords if you want a slower and more detailed interpretation of medieval settlement building. Rather than placing structures on a fixed grid, roads and homes can be arranged organically around the landscape, allowing villages to develop in a more natural way.
Families must be assigned to farms, workshops, markets, storehouses, and other jobs. Food variety, seasonal farming, trade, approval, housing, and production chains determine whether the settlement can grow. Every military force is supported by the same population that runs the economy, so recruiting troops can reduce the number of available workers.
Combat uses formations, morale, equipment, terrain, and flanking rather than Age of Empires-style unit production. Militias must be equipped with weapons and armor produced or imported by the settlement. Losing soldiers therefore affects both military strength and the economy that must recover afterward.
Why It’s Similar:
Medieval settlement construction
Resource gathering and production chains
Population and worker management
Territorial expansion
Real-time tactical battles
Economy directly supporting the army
Available on: PC
My Verdict: Manor Lords is the strongest choice for players who want deeper medieval city building. Its combat is less frequent than in Age of Empires, but preparing an economy capable of supporting an army makes every battle feel meaningful.
7. Anno 1800
Anno 1800 moves the empire-building formula into the Industrial Revolution. Military conquest remains possible, but most of the challenge comes from constructing cities, satisfying different population classes, managing trade routes, and maintaining increasingly complicated production chains.
Farmers eventually develop into workers, artisans, engineers, and investors. Each population tier requires additional goods and services, forcing you to expand production across several islands. Raw materials may need to be harvested in one region, processed in another, and transported by ship to the city where they are consumed.
Naval forces protect trade routes, escort cargo, and attack rival islands. Diplomacy and trade provide alternatives to direct warfare, while expeditions and additional regions broaden the scope of the campaign. The game lacks Age of Empires’ land battles, but its economic development is considerably more detailed.
Why It’s Similar:
Historical empire building
Large population-driven economy
Resource gathering and production
Technological development
Naval warfare
Trade, diplomacy, and territorial expansion
Available on: PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S
My Verdict: Anno 1800 is the best recommendation for players who enjoy Age of Empires primarily as an economic game. Its supply chains and growing population needs are far more demanding, although anyone looking for large land battles may find it too peaceful.
8. SpellForce 3 Reforced
Get SpellForce 3 Reforced for an unusual combination of real-time strategy and party-based RPG systems. You control individual heroes with equipment and skill trees while also establishing bases, gathering resources, recruiting workers, and producing conventional armies.
Territories must be captured and connected before they can contribute resources to your faction. This creates a natural front line as both sides fight over sectors, outposts, and important resource locations. Losing an exposed region can interrupt production and reduce the army you can support.
The campaign includes dialogue, quests, companions, and character progression alongside traditional RTS battles. Human, Orc, and Elf factions field different units and structures, while heroes provide powerful abilities capable of changing the outcome of a fight. The campaign can also be completed cooperatively.
Why It’s Similar:
Real-time base building
Resource gathering
Workers and military production
Multiple playable factions
Territory control
Campaign, co-op, and multiplayer modes
Available on: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S
My Verdict: SpellForce 3 Reforced is the best fantasy alternative for players who want recognizable heroes leading conventional RTS armies. Its RPG systems make the campaign more personal, although controlling heroes and a full economy simultaneously requires additional attention.
Buy SpellForce 3 Reforced on GameBoost
9. Command & Conquer Remastered Collection
Command & Conquer Remastered Collection removes historical ages and complex economic development to focus on fast base construction and aggressive warfare. The collection includes remastered versions of Tiberian Dawn, Red Alert, and their three expansion packs.
Instead of assigning villagers to several resources, most income comes from harvesting Tiberium or ore. Refineries convert these materials into credits used to construct buildings, train infantry, and produce vehicles. Protecting harvesters and denying the enemy access to valuable fields becomes a central part of every battle.
Different factions use recognizable infantry, armor, aircraft, defensive structures, and superweapons. Matches develop much faster than Age of Empires, with early attacks capable of deciding the outcome before either player has completed a large base. Updated graphics, remastered music, modern controls, bonus material, and multiplayer make the collection easier to play on current PCs.
Why It’s Similar:
Classic real-time strategy
Base construction
Resource harvesting
Distinct factions
Large armies and defensive structures
Campaign and online multiplayer
Available on: PC
My Verdict: Command & Conquer is best for players who want the military side of Age of Empires without managing several resources or advancing through historical ages. It is faster, more direct, and built around maintaining constant pressure.
Buy Command & Conquer Remastered Collection on GameBoost
Best Games Like Age of Empires on Each Platform
Best Games Like Age of Empires on PC
Every game included in this list is available on PC. Age of Mythology: Retold and Rise of Nations are the closest overall alternatives, while Stronghold: Definitive Edition emphasizes castle construction and Manor Lords provides more detailed medieval settlement management.
Players looking for additional historical strategy games can browse PC game keys for other real-time strategy, city-building, and grand-strategy releases.
Best Games Like Age of Empires on PS5
Age of Mythology: Retold, Anno 1800 Console Edition, and SpellForce 3 Reforced are available on PS5. The Settlers: New Allies and Northgard can also be played through their PlayStation versions and backward compatibility where applicable.
Age of Mythology: Retold provides the closest traditional Age of Empires experience, while Anno 1800 is better for economic management. Other console strategy titles can be explored through PlayStation game keys.
Best Games Like Age of Empires on Xbox
Xbox players can access Age of Mythology: Retold, Northgard, The Settlers: New Allies, Anno 1800 Console Edition, and SpellForce 3 Reforced.
Age of Mythology: Retold is the best option for traditional base building and army management. The Settlers focuses more heavily on production chains, while SpellForce 3 adds heroes and RPG progression. More options are available through Xbox game keys.
Best Games Like Age of Empires on Nintendo Switch
Northgard and The Settlers: New Allies are the two Nintendo Switch games included in this list. Northgard works particularly well for shorter strategic matches, with territory expansion and resource management adapted around individual regions.
The Settlers: New Allies provides a more traditional settlement economy with production chains and real-time battles. Players can browse Nintendo Switch game keys for other portable strategy games.
FAQs About Games Like Age of Empires
Final Words
Age of Mythology: Retold is the closest direct alternative to Age of Empires, while Rise of Nations expands the same basic formula across a much larger period of history. Stronghold: Definitive Edition is the better choice for castle enthusiasts, and Northgard provides a slower experience shaped by territory and survival.
Manor Lords and Anno 1800 place greater emphasis on economic development, while SpellForce 3 Reforced adds heroes and RPG progression. The Settlers focuses on logistics, and Command & Conquer strips the genre down to rapid base construction and military pressure.
None of these games recreates every part of Age of Empires, but each develops one of its core ideas in a different direction. Whether you prefer building a stable economy, defending a castle, advancing through history, or overwhelming an opponent with a carefully assembled army, there is another empire waiting to be built.
GameBoost Products
“ Filip Premuš is a seasoned gaming content writer specializing in titles like Steal a Brainrot, Old School RuneScape, and other popular online games. With a sharp focus on accuracy, updates, and in-game strategy, he creates comprehensive guides that help players stay ahead of the meta and make informed decisions.”
