Upcoming Strategy Games We’re Watching in 2026 (Ep.86)

Adam, Jack, and Drexy survey the strategy gaming landscape heading into a packed September, covering everything from Star Wars Zero Company’s XCOM-inspired tactics to two nearly identical space colonization games racing toward release, a divisive Company of Heroes remaster, and a historical successor gunning for Mount & Blade’s throne.

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This episode surveys the strategy gaming landscape for the remainder of 2026, with Adam, Jack, and Drexy each highlighting titles they’re most anticipating. The conversation covers Stronghold 4’s return to the franchise’s original scale after several disappointing sequels, Star Wars Zero Company as the genre’s first true XCOM-style tactics entry, and the vertically-oriented pirate city builder Corsair Cove from part of the Tropico development team. The hosts also examine Company of Heroes’ surprisingly modest 20th-anniversary remaster, two strikingly similar space 4X titles racing toward release in Fragile Existence and Beyond Astra, and Chronicles Medieval, a historically grounded newcomer aiming to outdo Mount & Blade’s core gameplay loop with significantly more advanced combat animation technology.

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Critical Moves Podcast – Episode 86 Show Notes

Episode Title: 2026 Strategy Gaming Preview
Hosts: Adam, Jack, Drexy
Episode Length: ~55 minutes

Episode Summary

This preview episode surveys strategy gaming’s remaining 2026 release calendar, with each host spotlighting titles they’re personally anticipating. The conversation ranges from Stronghold’s franchise reboot and Star Wars’ first XCOM-style tactics game to a pair of remarkably similar space 4X titles competing for the same niche, a modest Company of Heroes remaster, and a historically grounded Mount & Blade successor boasting significantly more advanced combat technology. Throughout, the hosts weigh developer pedigree, publisher backing, and genre innovation against a backdrop of what they characterize as a notably strong year for strategy gaming compared to 2025’s more subdued releases.

Assessing 2026 So Far

Drexy characterizes the year as a mixed bag with solid but unspectacular releases including Menace, Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus 2 (poorly received), and new Shadow Empire DLC. Jack offers a more optimistic read, noting that despite last year’s dominant narrative around strategy gaming’s decline, 2026 has proven genuinely exciting, with a particularly packed September on the horizon.

Stronghold 4: Returning to the Original Formula

Adam expresses strong enthusiasm for Stronghold 4, framing it as a deliberate return to the franchise’s beloved original scale after multiple sequels failed to recapture the magic of the first two games, including Stronghold 2’s notably smaller unit caps and mixed critical reception. He draws a parallel to Heroes of Might and Magic’s own recent return-to-roots approach, though notes Stronghold’s sequels scored considerably lower than that franchise’s more consistent quality. Jack raises the newly revealed Age of Respire as a likely Stronghold-inspired city builder, distinguished by its focus on base-building over pure army combat, a niche largely unaddressed since the original Stronghold series.

Star Wars Zero Company: An XCOM-Style Entry for a New Franchise

Drexy highlights Star Wars Zero Company as his top anticipated release, praising it as the franchise’s first genuine entry into XCOM-style tactical gameplay, set during the twilight of the Clone Wars with deep weapon customization options. The hosts note the game’s surprisingly demanding system requirements (32GB recommended RAM) and discuss its fair pricing at £40 standard and £50 deluxe. Jack raises early skepticism about developer Bit Reactor’s inexperience with strategy titles, though the studio’s website lists staff pedigree spanning XCOM, Civilization, Gears of War, and Elder Scrolls Online, suggesting experienced tactics developers are involved despite Respawn Entertainment’s more visible branding.

Corsair Cove: A Vertical Pirate City Builder

Jack spotlights Corsair Cove, a pirate-themed city builder distinguished by unusual verticality, featuring rope bridges, zip lines, and cliffside construction rather than traditional grid-based layouts. Adam reveals a personal connection, noting he knows someone who worked on the game’s trailer art and confirms it originates partly from the Tropico development team, drawing comparisons to a hybrid of Tropico and Anno. Jack initially raised concerns about the Steam page’s lack of an AI-usage disclaimer common among newer releases, though this concern was addressed once the Hooded Horse publishing connection and firsthand development knowledge were established.

Company of Heroes Anniversary Edition: Underwhelming Effort?

Adam expresses disappointment with the newly revealed Company of Heroes Anniversary/Definitive Edition, characterizing it as primarily a texture and resolution upgrade lacking the substantial content additions seen in comparable remasters like Stronghold’s, which included new campaigns and DLC factions. Drexy and Jack note this appears consistent with Relic Entertainment’s prior Dawn of War Definitive Edition, which received similarly modest treatment, suggesting this may simply be the studio’s standard approach to legacy remasters rather than a specific slight against Company of Heroes. The hosts speculate the modest effort reflects Relic’s primary focus remaining on ongoing Company of Heroes 3 support following that game’s rocky launch.

Fragile Existence vs. Beyond Astra: Competing Space 4X Titles

Drexy highlights two strikingly similar space 4X/RTS hybrids releasing around the same timeframe: Hooded Horse-published Fragile Existence, a long-awaited solo-developer project Drexy has followed since 2021, and the self-published Beyond Astra. Both games feature seamless transitions between space and planetary combat without loading screens, a novel mechanic the hosts note as genuinely innovative within an otherwise stagnant 4X genre. Jack expresses preference for Beyond Astra’s aesthetic and colony-management focus, while noting Fragile Existence appears built around a survival-driven “expand rapidly against overwhelming threats” premise reminiscent of early Civilization-style expansion pressure. Adam humorously compares both games’ visual presentation to Spore’s galaxy view.

Chronicles Medieval: A More Technically Advanced Mount & Blade Alternative

Jack introduces Chronicles Medieval, an early-access-bound historical medieval combat game set during the Hundred Years’ War, praising its significantly more dynamic combat animations compared to Mount & Blade II, including detailed beheadings and physicalized melee interactions absent from Bannerlord’s more arcade-style combat resolution. Both Adam and Drexy note the game’s impressive Unreal Engine 5-caliber visuals for a seemingly new studio’s first release. Jack frames the game as a welcome first real competitor to Mount & Blade’s core gameplay loop, addressing frustrations with Bannerlord’s prolonged, uneven development cycle, while acknowledging Mount & Blade II’s own recent innovations like naval combat DLC give it continued relevance.

Historical Wargames: Carthage Bellum Punicum, Grand Tacticians: Napoleonic Wars, and Total Victory

Drexy previews three more niche historical strategy titles: Carthage Bellum Punicum, a large-scale ancient warfare game blending hex-and-counter strategic movement with Total War-style tactical battles; Grand Tacticians: Napoleonic Wars, a sequel to the well-regarded Civil War-themed predecessor; and Total Victory: World in Conflict 1939-1945, a hex-and-counter WWII wargame from the developers behind the War Plan series. Adam draws a comparison between Carthage Bellum Punicum and Ultimate General: Gettysburg, a game he enjoyed roughly a decade prior.

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Episode Verdict

This preview episode benefits from genuine enthusiasm balanced against informed skepticism, particularly in the extended back-and-forth comparing Fragile Existence and Beyond Astra, where the hosts resist simply declaring a winner and instead engage with each game’s distinct design philosophy and publishing circumstances. Adam’s firsthand industry connection to Corsair Cove adds unexpected credibility to an otherwise routine trailer breakdown, while the Company of Heroes segment offers a fair, evidence-based critique rather than reflexive negativity. The historical wargame segment toward the episode’s close, while acknowledged by the hosts themselves as niche, rounds out the preview with genuine variety rather than concentrating entirely on higher-profile releases. Overall, the episode succeeds as a genuinely useful roadmap for listeners planning their 2026 strategy gaming purchases, grounded in specific mechanical details rather than surface-level hype.