4X gameplay
Every paid Steam game tagged 4X, ranked by our estimated lifetime revenue. 894 games in the catalog, 547 with a sales estimate.
Games
894
Active paid titles tagged
Total Gross
$4.1B
Sum of estimated lifetime revenue
Median
$45.6K
Half earn less, half more
Hit Rate
39.7%
217 games earned $100K+
Revenue share - top 5 vs rest
- Sid Meier’s Civilization® VI 15.4%
- Stellaris 11.4%
- Europa Universalis IV 11.2%
- Crusader Kings III 5.5%
- Total War: WARHAMMER II 5.4%
- Other (542 games) 51.2%
Top 25 earners
The highest-earning 4X games by our estimator.
| # | Game | Released | Reviews | Peak CCU | Est. Units | Est. Gross |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Sid Meier’s Civilization® VI Firaxis Games, Aspyr (Mac), Aspyr (Linux) | 2016-10-20 | 380,963 | 162,314 | 10,476,483 | $627,541,332 |
| 2 |  Stellaris Paradox Development Studio | 2016-05-09 | 197,422 | 68,517 | 9,291,866 | $464,500,381 |
| 3 |  Europa Universalis IV Paradox Development Studio, Paradox Tinto | 2013-08-13 | 135,165 | 47,844 | 9,161,713 | $457,994,033 |
| 4 |  Crusader Kings III Paradox Development Studio | 2020-09-01 | 143,243 | 98,474 | 4,469,693 | $223,439,953 |
| 5 |  Total War: WARHAMMER II CREATIVE ASSEMBLY, Feral Interactive (Mac), Feral Interactive (Linux) | 2017-09-28 | 121,510 | 84,254 | 3,645,300 | $218,681,547 |
| 6 |  Sid Meier's Civilization VII Firaxis Games | 2025-02-10 | 63,081 | 84,558 | 3,007,087 | $210,435,948 |
| 7 |  Manor Lords Slavic Magic | 2024-04-26 | 93,307 | 170,000 | 5,100,000 | $203,921,538 |
| 8 |  Sid Meier's Civilization® V Firaxis Games, Aspyr (Mac), Aspyr (Linux) | 2010-09-23 | 211,242 | 91,020 | 6,337,260 | $189,864,310 |
| 9 |  Imperator: Rome Paradox Development Studio | 2019-04-25 | 26,942 | 13,616 | 3,152,214 | $126,057,038 |
| 10 |  Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition World's Edge, Relic Entertainment, Forgotten Empires, Climax Studios | 2021-10-28 | 96,680 | 64,911 | 2,126,960 | $85,057,130 |
| 11 |  Total War: WARHAMMER CREATIVE ASSEMBLY, Feral Interactive (Linux), Feral Interactive (Mac) | 2016-05-24 | 52,390 | 111,909 | 1,292,958 | $77,564,550 |
| 12 |  Europa Universalis V Paradox Tinto | 2025-11-04 | 31,194 | 77,260 | 1,186,142 | $71,156,659 |
| 13 |  Against the Storm Eremite Games | 2023-12-08 | 37,911 | 12,832 | 2,064,043 | $61,900,650 |
| 14 |  ENDLESS Spaceâ„¢ 2 AMPLITUDE Studios | 2017-05-18 | 23,159 | 53,435 | 1,221,399 | $48,843,746 |
| 15 |  Frostpunk 2 11 bit studios | 2024-09-20 | 27,512 | 35,533 | 1,065,990 | $47,958,890 |
| 16 |  Workers & Resources: Soviet Republic 3Division | 2024-06-20 | 27,829 | 8,221 | 1,168,818 | $46,741,032 |
| 17 |  Northgard: Definitive Edition Shiro Games | 2018-03-07 | 68,939 | 20,083 | 1,185,512 | $41,450,580 |
| 18 |  X4: Foundations Egosoft | 2018-11-30 | 30,568 | 15,074 | 747,218 | $37,353,428 |
| 19 |  HUMANKINDâ„¢ AMPLITUDE Studios | 2021-08-17 | 28,937 | 55,232 | 636,614 | $31,824,334 |
| 20 |  Farthest Frontier Crate Entertainment | 2025-10-23 | 25,774 | 24,874 | 898,008 | $31,415,313 |
| 21 |  Total War: MEDIEVAL II – Definitive Edition CREATIVE ASSEMBLY, Feral Interactive (Mac), Feral Interactive (Linux) | 2006-11-15 | 36,733 | 8,419 | 1,542,786 | $30,840,292 |
| 22 |  Sid Meier's Civilization®: Beyond Earth™ Firaxis Games, Aspyr (Mac), Aspyr (Linux) | 2014-10-23 | 23,192 | 86,747 | 693,976 | $27,731,281 |
| 23 |  Kingdoms and Castles Lion Shield, LLC | 2017-07-20 | 31,531 | 4,836 | 1,324,302 | $26,472,797 |
| 24 |  Total War: PHARAOH DYNASTIES CREATIVE ASSEMBLY | 2024-07-25 | 6,872 | 6,305 | 659,712 | $26,362,092 |
| 25 |  Empires of the Undergrowth Slug Disco | 2024-06-07 | 19,490 | 6,356 | 878,844 | $26,356,532 |
Releases per year
Is 4X trending up or fading? Bars show new paid Steam releases with this tag each year. Green flecks are hits (≥$100K est. lifetime).
9
2010
5
2011
7
2012
8
2013
17
2014
24
2015
19
2016
22
2017
18
2018
27
2019
28
2020
44
2021
45
2022
63
2023
73
2024
82
2025
100
2026
Top upcoming
Highest-wishlist unreleased 4X games.
| # | Game | WL Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Falling Frontier Stutter Fox Studios | 35 |
| 2 |  Fragile Existence Fragile Continuum | 192 |
| 3 |  Afterworld Paradox Development Studio | 235 |
| 4 |  Capital Command Hellride Games | 279 |
| 5 |  Ashes of the Singularity II Oxide Games | 309 |
| 6 |  Gilded Destiny Aquila Interactive | 440 |
| 7 |  Beyond Astra Nebule Games | 486 |
| 8 |  HUMANKINDâ„¢ 2 AMPLITUDE Studios | 508 |
| 9 |  Alliance of the Sacred Suns KatHawk Studios | 569 |
| 10 |  Twilight Imperium Digital Red Square Games | 623 |
Top recent (12 months)
Highest-earning 4X games released in the past year.
| # | Game | Est. Gross |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | $20,166,436 |
| 2 |  | $16,373,906 |
| 3 |  | $15,210,996 |
| 4 |  | $11,788,252 |
| 5 |  | $7,620,494 |
| 6 |  | $7,120,176 |
| 7 |  | $5,133,595 |
| 8 |  | $3,078,264 |
| 9 |  | $2,783,686 |
| 10 |  | $2,203,619 |