Total War: EMPIRE – Definitive Edition similar games & best alternatives

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Total War: EMPIRE – Definitive Edition

2009

Should you play it?

Command the seas, control the land, forge a new nation, and conquer the globe.

What works

  • Large and detailed world map
  • Deep strategic and tactical gameplay
  • Immersive naval and land battles
  • Extensive modding community
  • Long replayability and campaign depth

Things to keep in mind

  • Ai can be unintelligent or frustrating
  • Some bugs and technical issues
  • Limited faction variety without mods
  • Diplomacy system sometimes illogical
  • Steep learning curve for new players

What to play next

Top picks

Games that feels the closest overall

  • Medieval II: Total War™ Kingdoms

  • Age of Wonders III

  • The Stronghold Collection

  • Warhammer® 40,000: Dawn of War® - Dark Crusade

  • STAR WARS™ Empire at War - Gold Pack

  • The Pirate: Caribbean Hunt

Less dominating

Games that feels like Total War: EMPIRE – Definitive Edition but with less domination over others

  • IfSunSets

  • Ultimate Admiral: Age of Sail

  • The Pirate: Plague of the Dead

  • Total War: WARHAMMER

  • Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii

  • Total War: ROME II - Emperor Edition

Less fantastical

Games that feels like Total War: EMPIRE – Definitive Edition but with less imaginative fiction

  • Total War: SHOGUN 2

  • Total War: ATTILA

  • Total War: NAPOLEON – Definitive Edition

  • A Total War Saga: THRONES OF BRITANNIA

  • Oriental Empires

  • Act of War: High Treason

More intimate

Games that feels like Total War: EMPIRE – Definitive Edition but with more focus on close relationships

  • Holdfast: Nations At War

  • Conqueror's Blade

  • Warhammer® 40,000: Dawn of War® - Soulstorm

  • Total War: THREE KINGDOMS

  • Age of Empires® III (2007)

  • Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Definitive Edition

Choose your own criteria ->

Similarity map

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Each card is a nearby game on the similarity map, compared with Total War: EMPIRE – Definitive Edition. Swipe sideways to move between games. Titles already listed in What to play next are left out.

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  • Bars: the main motivational differences versus this game.
How to use the graph

Similarity map

Each dot is a game placed from its motivation profile relative to this page’s game. Direction shows which motivation differs most; distance along that axis shows how large the gap is.

  • Purple star: this page’s game at the centre — everything is relative to it.
  • Direction: each axis is a main motivational difference vs this game (e.g. more / less competitive).
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How to read the map This is a polar difference map: direction = which motivation differs, and distance = how much (same units as the sidebar deltas).

Swipe to compare nearby games with Total War: EMPIRE – Definitive Edition. These titles are not in What to play next.

Total War: EMPIRE – Definitive Edition: Broadly representative of its motivational profile, with a few distinct shifts. Motivations that often define this kind of title include Competition, Status, Fellowship, Domination. Here, the score leans higher than usual among comparable games on Story, Leadership. It leans lower than usual among comparable games on Intimacy.

Last update: 21/08/2026