'S**t's about to get real': The first Steam sale of 2025 is live, and it's all about strategy games

Shit is indeed about to get real, but separate from all that Valve has kicked off the first Steam sale of 2025 in the form of the Real-Time Strategy Fest, a week-long extravaganza of deals, demos, and free stuff in the Steam Points Shop, all of it geared at—you guessed it—real-time strategy games.

It's not all RTS games, to be clear. If grand strategy is your thing, Europa Universalis 4 is 90% off ($5/£4/€5) and Victoria 3 is half price ($25/£21/€25). If you enjoy misery and don't especially care for children, Frostpunk 2 is down to $35/£30/€35—that's 22% off the regular price—or you can do some medieval city building with Manor Lords, 30% for the duration of the RTS Fest ($28/£24.49/€28). There's 4X games (Stellaris at 75% off is a good choice), tower defense, at least one typing game—if there's some kind of strategy connection, then it's probably in this sale.

Naturally, there's plenty see in the way of conventional RTS games too:

• Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 2 Anniversary Edition - $10/£8/€p (80% off)
• Iron Harvest - $4.49/£4/€4.49 (85% off)
• Age of Empires 4 Anniversary Edition - $20/£15/€20 – (50% off)
• Homeworld Remastered Collection - $3.49/£2.69/€3.19 (90% off)
• Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak - $5/£3/€4.59 (also 90% off, might as well get 'em all)
• Battlefleet Gothic: Armada 2 - $4/£3.59/€4 (80% off)
• Company of Heroes 3 - $30/£24/€27.49 (50% off)

If you want to get in on the big sale action but aren't sure where to start, take a dive into our list of the best strategy games on PC. And if all you're really after is some free stuff, head over to the Steam Points Shop and claim a couple avatar frames and a nice "RTS Tank" animated avatar.

Steam's Real-Time Strategy Fest is live now and runs until 10 am PT/1 pm ET on January 27.