If the start of 2026 feels like a strategy buffet, that’s because it kind of is. In the space of a few days we got a wide-ranging interview about Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 4, an indie tactics surprise hitting Early Access, and a new god game from a familiar — and controversial — designer. Add DLCs, wishlists and a few seismic platform tweaks, and you have a picture of a genre that’s restless, ambitious and oddly democratic.
Jan Theysen on Dawn of War 4: not a sequel by accident
IGN’s sit-down with Dawn of War 4 creative director Jan Theysen digs into how the team leaned on lessons from Iron Harvest and the original Dawn of War entries while trying to forge its own path. Theysen framed DoW4 as a title born from experience rather than nostalgia: the aim, he said, was to preserve the series’ tactical grit while modernizing unit behavior and battlefield flow. That mix—old-school focus on tactics, new-school engineering for clarity—helps explain why Dawn of War 4 is one of the strategy titles drawing heavy interest on Steam wishlists.
It’s a neat reminder that the biggest names aren’t resting on IP alone; design decisions about pacing, UI and unit identity still sway long-time fans.
Strategos: a one-dev Total War‑ish experiment
Not every headline this week came from big budgets. Strategos, a Total War–inspired tactics game set in Antiquity, launched into Early Access on January 20. Built largely by one developer, the game zeroes in on authentic, complex battles—think careful formations, morale, and the messy realities of ancient warfare. Early impressions from demos suggest a strong tactical core that will appeal to players tired of over-simplified battle systems.
Indie projects like this are part of why the PC strategy scene feels so broad: AAA spectacle sits beside niche sims. If you’re following how older games add new modes, consider that Pillars of Eternity’s turn‑based mode just moved into open beta, another example of established franchises experimenting with structure and pace Pillars of Eternity’s turn‑based beta.
Peter Molyneux returns with Masters of Albion
April 22, 2026 will bring Peter Molyneux’s Masters of Albion, a god game that looks to let players inhabit and influence a world in third person. The trailer teases the ability to control any creature, modular building tools, and a combat spin involving zombies and god powers. Molyneux’s track record—brilliant ideas sometimes mismatched with delivery—means reactions will be cautious optimism rather than unalloyed hype. Still, the idea of a living world you can physically step into remains alluring.
DLCs, overhauls and the small things that matter
Not everything new is a full game. Slitherine’s Field of Glory: Kingdoms is getting the Burghers and Bombards DLC, which overhauls late‑game economics and adds gunpowder-era tools like handgunners, bombards and artillery-equipped fortresses. Expect new mechanics for inflation, guilds and a Burgher class that changes city economies. These kinds of systems work quietly but reshape how campaigns play out.
Meanwhile Wargame Design Studio is spotlighting Minsk ’44 Gold with deep scenario content for fans of Eastern Front operations—evidence that niche historical sims continue to find an audience.
Wishlists, Steam and how players signal excitement
Steam wishlists were central to a recent “most wishlisted strategy games” roundup, which highlighted a range of projects from big-licensed efforts to comeback sequels. A few standouts:
- Star Wars Zero Company — made by XCOM veterans, set during the end of the Clone Wars and promising operatives‑focused missions; slated for late 2026.
- Transport Fever 3 — the next transport tycoon, billed as “bigger, deeper, and more dynamic.”
- Prison Architect 2 — a quiet but steady development under Paradox, with dev-branch updates suggesting it hasn’t died on the vine.
Wishlists are a noisy metric—lots of players add titles impulsively—but they do serve as a low-effort voting system for curiosity and potential sales. And with Steam’s ecosystem continually tuned for handhelds and convenience—features such as the Steam Deck’s new display-off low-power download mode make hunting and managing wishlists on the go more pleasant—those signals may keep getting louder Steam Deck low-power download mode.
Why this week matters
Taken together, these updates show a healthy strat-genre: big franchises iterating, indies taking tactical risks, classic designers trying new angles, and DLCs that nudge systems in fresh directions. For players, that means more choices and, likely, more debate about what “strategy” should feel like.
If you’re planning a backlog cull or a wishlist sweep, there’s something for almost every taste—tight tactical sims, grand strategic overhauls, and a handful of ambitious experiments that could surprise us all.