Strategy games are everywhere, basically unavoidable on PC especially. Strategy games have always been known for intensive UI and a deep need to micromanage the smallest details to ensure success. They're spread across plenty of settings and subgenres, though space is a particularly beloved one.
Sci-fi is defined by its love of the sleek and intensive, computer screens - and the technology of the stars that just fits strategy games so well. And there's a whole bunch out there, both set in space and on fictitious planets of their own. From RTS to turn-based, there's a whole galaxy to choose from.
10 Emperor: Battle For Dune
Dune has been having a pretty major revival lately with the newest film, though it would be unfair to say it was ever unpopular. Ever since its initial release, it's been covered by an infamous film, merchandise, a lengthy book series, and of course, more games than you might have been aware of.
Though Dune: Spice Wars might be making the rounds now, Westwood Studios was originally the premier Dune strategy dev, and Emperor was one of their best. You could choose from three houses, each with unique units. There were sub-factions too that could help or hinder your progress, with your ultimate goal being the control of the spice trade.
9 Warhammer 40K: Dawn Of War 2
The Warhammer series is rather prolific and at this point, it might be hard to reasonably keep track of what entry is what. Warhammer 40k is the much more sci-fi-oriented subseries, though Dawn of War and its sequel are remarkably different games.
While the original focused on base-building to cover your advance, Dawn of War 2 focuses instead on combat, making the AI a more active participant and tactics much more essential. In fact, every battle you choose and where you choose to fight is essential. It even has a number of role-playing elements.
8 Star Wars: Empire At War
In recent years, memorable Star Wars games have been in short supply, with Respawn's Jedi: Fallen Order being the rare one to break the mold. During the golden age of Stars Wars games, amidst the many Battlefront games, was Star Wars: Empire At War.
Playing like a massively expanded version of the Galactic Conquest mode of Star Wars Battlefront 2 (the original), it had you playing as either the Rebels or the Empire and seeking to control as much of the galactic map as possible. You would engage in traditional RTS skirmish battles whenever you meet.
7 Master Of Orion 2
In the modern-day, it's hard not to see grand strategy games and think of Paradox. It controls a massive portion of that specific market through its most popular sci-fi strategy game, Stellaris. Stellaris is massively inspired by Master of Orion by the devs' own admission, often seen as the grandmaster of grand strategy games.
Master of Orion 2 was a major sequel, massively deepening existing mechanics, while adding in plenty of its own. There were plenty of races and government types to choose from, or to create. Battles took place in real-time, across ships and boarding, and whole planets could even be destroyed. It holds a major player base to this day.
6 FTL: Faster Than Light
FTL somewhat stands out in this list. It is a sci-fi strategy game through-and-through, though it is also a rogue-like, designed for shorter bursts as opposed to long-form sessions. The ultimate goal of reaching the Federation is a difficult one that will always be met with resistance.
The game encourages constant experimentation since almost everything resets on failure. Try different ship layouts, recruit various crew members that respond differently to various scenarios, plot your course, and hope for the best. It's a stellar game with RTS elements that always keep you on your toes.
5 Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri
Sid Meier's name is attached to a great many works, with Civilization seen by many as his crowning achievements. But there's also Alpha Centauri, a game many view as the spiritual successor to the original Civilization and what Beyond Earth was trying to live up to.
Employing many of the same base mechanics as Civilization, Alpha Centauri has you building bases on tiles and developing your army and population alongside other factions. Alien races feature their own unique aspects too, with humans and lines having differing victory goals too. It's some of the best the 4X genre has to offer.
4 Battletech
Originally beginning as a board game, Battletech found new life as a strategy game by Harebrained Schemes, designed by the creator of the original game too. Like many other sci-fi strategy games, Battletech's combat is turn-based, though there's plenty more to it than just combat.
Rather than tile-based maps, Battletech have you fighting across large 3D areas moving your mechs into ideal positions to attack. Those mechs are massively customizable too - to an almost dizzying degree. You're just a mercenary though, and what you ultimately fight for is up to you.
3 XCOM 2
The XCOM series started as a very different beast to what it is today. Originally being a game with two distinct phases of scanning the earth and being in actual combat in various locations. The modern games carry over very little of this, except maybe the brutal difficulty.
XCOM: Enemy Unknown and its sequel are turn-based, with positioning and load-outs essential to survival. But sometimes that isn't enough, and a single unlucky shot could ruin an entire mission. And when a unit is gone, it's gone forever. And with the War of the Chosen expansion, those deaths start to resonate into your other units too.
2 Into The Breach
Another game from the creators of FTL, Into The Breach is a dramatically different, despite distinctly still being a sci-fi strategy game. It's a turn-based game set on a beautiful pixel art diorama where every move could mean victory or death.
Taking some of the roguelike elements of FTL, your chosen character is the only thing you can bring back with you onto subsequent runs. Each mech has unique functions, and you'll need to expertly use all of them to defend Earth's last remaining facilities from alien invasion.
1 Stellaris
It took a while, but Stellaris is a shining light in Paradox's library. A wonderful transition for many of its economic and diplomatic mechanics of Europa Universalis executed in a sci-fi setting.
Taking massively from the Master Of Orion setting, Stellaris has a randomly generated galaxy and races, all with their own form of government. Individuals aren't as big a focus here, but rather what the major figures contribute. There are plenty of avenues to avoid war, be it through trade or federations, though it's always a safe bet to have some ships in reserve.