The Best World War II Games on PC

Best World War II games at a glance

How these World War II games were selected

The ranking considers:

• How clearly the World War II setting shapes play
• Tactical and strategic depth
• Quality of solo, cooperative or competitive modes
• Variety of fronts and military roles
• Accessibility for different experience levels
• Historical framing and clarity about fictional elements
• Distinct value within shooters, strategy and simulation

These games are entertainment, not historical records. Even simulation-focused titles simplify equipment, command and human experience. Wolfenstein: The New Order is explicitly alternate history, while Battlefield V and Call of Duty: World at War prioritize dramatic action. Players using games to learn about the conflict should verify events through reputable historical sources.

1. Hell Let Loose

Best World War II multiplayer game

Hell Let Loose organizes large battles around infantry squads, armor, artillery, commanders and a shifting front line.

Individual shooting skill helps, but teams win by creating useful spawn points, maintaining supply, communicating between leadership roles and controlling territory. A squad that ignores the wider plan can earn eliminations while contributing little to the objective.

The first-person perspective keeps players close to the battlefield, while the resource layer gives officers and commanders strategic responsibilities. This connection between individual movement and team logistics is the game’s defining strength.

Combat is lethal and routes can remain dangerous even when no opponent is visible. Voice communication significantly improves the experience because squads need to report threats and coordinate movement.

The game supports competitive online multiplayer rather than a conventional single-player campaign.

Choose Hell Let Loose if: you want organized multiplayer where communication and logistics matter more than individual score.

2. Company of Heroes

Best World War II real-time strategy game

Company of Heroes builds real-time strategy around infantry squads, cover, suppression, vehicles and territory control.

Units interact closely with the environment. Buildings and walls provide protection, machine guns control exposed approaches and artillery can damage both troops and defensive positions.

Territory supplies resources, so the player must contest the map instead of remaining behind a static base. Flanking and combined arms are usually more effective than sending every unit directly into one defended position.

The campaign follows Allied operations in Europe, beginning with the Normandy landings and moving through later battles. Multiplayer extends the same cover and territory systems into matches against other players.

Its presentation reflects an older PC strategy game, but the core relationship between terrain, squads and map control remains easy to understand.

Choose Company of Heroes if: you want tactical RTS battles without managing an entire national economy.

3. Hearts of Iron IV

Best World War II grand strategy game

Hearts of Iron IV gives the player control of a nation before and during World War II.

Industry, research, diplomacy, military doctrine, trade and logistics all affect the forces available on the map. An army cannot operate effectively when equipment shortages, fuel problems or weak supply routes undermine it.

Battle plans allow entire fronts to be organized, but national preparation begins long before an offensive. Factory allocation and production priorities can determine whether divisions receive the weapons they need years later.

Historical settings can guide nations toward familiar alliances and conflicts, while alternate paths allow campaigns to develop differently. These outcomes are strategic scenarios rather than historical claims.

The number of systems creates a substantial learning curve. New players should begin by understanding production, division organization and supply before attempting complicated naval invasions or global plans.

Choose Hearts of Iron IV if: you want to direct economics, diplomacy and military planning at national scale.

4. Sniper Elite: Resistance

Best World War II stealth game

Sniper Elite: Resistance moves the series into occupied France and follows operations connected to local resistance activity.

Large missions offer several routes to objectives. Players can observe patrols, sabotage equipment, place traps and use environmental noise to reduce the chance that a rifle shot reveals a position.

Long-range ballistics and weapon customization support deliberate sniping, while secondary weapons and close combat provide options when infiltration fails. The campaign can also be played cooperatively.

Invasion mode allows another player to enter a campaign as an enemy sniper, changing a familiar mission into an unpredictable hunt.

The signature kill camera displays detailed internal damage. Players sensitive to graphic presentation should review the available settings before playing.

Choose Sniper Elite: Resistance if: you want open missions that combine sniping, stealth, sabotage and co-op.

5. IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad

Best World War II flight simulator

IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad focuses on air combat over the Eastern Front.

Aircraft behavior, engine management, damage and visibility require more attention than in an arcade flying game. Position, altitude and energy influence whether a pilot can attack, escape or recover from a mistake.

The cockpit perspective and optional VR support make spatial awareness particularly important. Identifying another aircraft, tracking it through a turn and managing the plane at the same time create the challenge.

Single-player, cooperative and competitive modes are listed. The game rewards specialized control hardware, but the most important requirement is willingness to learn aircraft systems and flight behavior.

Choose IL-2 if: you want simulation-focused air combat and do not mind a demanding learning curve.

6. Wolfenstein: The New Order

Best alternate-history World War II game

Wolfenstein: The New Order imagines a fictional world shaped by an Axis victory and advanced technology.

Its single-player campaign combines heavy first-person gunplay, stealth opportunities and a resistance story. Weapons can be dual-wielded, while commanders create incentives to remove selected enemies quietly before a firefight expands.

The alternate timeline lets the game explore occupation and resistance through exaggerated science fiction rather than historical simulation. It should therefore be approached as speculative action, not as a reconstruction of real events.

Character scenes give the campaign more narrative weight than a sequence of disconnected battles, while large action sections preserve the series’ aggressive pace.

Choose Wolfenstein if: you want a story-led FPS that uses World War II as the origin of a fictional dystopia.

7. Battlefield V

Best for accessible large-scale battles

Battlefield V combines infantry, vehicles, aircraft and destructible environments in large multiplayer maps.

Its movement and gunplay are faster than tactical shooters such as Hell Let Loose or Red Orchestra 2. Class roles and squad revives encourage cooperation, but players can contribute without following a detailed command hierarchy.

Destruction can remove cover and change sightlines during a match. Fortification systems also allow selected defensive positions to be rebuilt or reinforced.

War Stories provide separate single-player episodes, while multiplayer is the main attraction. The game is designed for spectacle and accessibility rather than strict battlefield simulation.

Choose Battlefield V if: you want vehicles, destruction and large matches with a lower coordination barrier than a mil-sim.

8. Commandos: Origins

Best World War II stealth tactics game

Commandos: Origins returns to the formation of a specialist unit and builds missions around observation, vision cones and coordinated abilities.

Each commando fills a distinct role. Progress depends on combining skills, distracting guards and choosing the correct sequence of actions rather than overwhelming a base through direct combat.

The isometric view presents patrols and routes clearly, turning guarded areas into tactical puzzles. A failed approach can be studied and revised until every action fits together.

The game supports solo, online co-op, LAN co-op and split-screen co-op. Cooperative play allows two players to divide control of the commandos and coordinate plans.

Choose Commandos: Origins if: you want deliberate stealth puzzles and specialist teamwork instead of continuous shooting.

9. Call of Duty: World at War

Best classic World War II co-op shooter

Call of Duty: World at War presents campaigns across the Pacific and Eastern Front through a directed first-person shooter structure.

Missions emphasize close combat, rapid objective changes and dramatic battlefield sequences. The campaign’s tone is harsher than a heroic adventure and includes graphic violence.

Co-op allows players to experience campaign missions together, while multiplayer provides traditional competitive modes. The game also introduced the wave-based Zombies mode that became a major part of later entries in the series.

Its age is visible in interface, online infrastructure and technical presentation. Check current compatibility and community conditions before choosing it primarily for online play.

Choose World at War if: you want a classic campaign with co-op and a historically inspired setting presented through cinematic action.

10. Panzer Corps 2

Best turn-based World War II strategy game

Panzer Corps 2 uses hex-based maps to model operational battles through infantry, armor, artillery, aircraft and support units.

Terrain, supply, encirclement and unit matchups determine whether an attack succeeds. Artillery can weaken a position before armor advances, while exposed units can be surrounded and forced into an increasingly difficult situation.

A persistent core army carries experience and selected advantages between campaign missions. Preserving veteran units becomes a long-term concern rather than a score within one scenario.

The game supports single-player, competitive multiplayer and cooperative modes, including split-screen co-op.

Choose Panzer Corps 2 if: you prefer methodical turns, hex maps and campaigns built around preserving an experienced force.

11. Men of War

Best for detailed real-time battlefield control

Men of War combines real-time tactics with direct control over individual soldiers and vehicles.

Units carry specific equipment and ammunition, while vehicles can suffer localized damage. Players may salvage weapons, repair machinery and manually control a unit when precision matters.

Campaigns cover operations involving Soviet, Allied and German forces across Europe and North Africa. The emphasis remains on small-scale battlefield decisions rather than building a large economy.

Its detailed control can create a steep learning curve because the player manages both a wider tactical plan and the condition of individual units. Co-op, LAN co-op, PvP and single-player are listed.

Choose Men of War if: you want granular real-time tactics with manual control, equipment management and destructible battlefields.

12. Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway

Best squad-led World War II campaign

Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway follows a squad during Operation Market Garden and combines first-person shooting with command over supporting teams.

Suppression and flanking form the main combat loop. One team can hold an enemy position while another moves toward a better angle. Charging directly into defended fire is usually less effective than coordinating the squad.

The story places greater emphasis on the unit and its members than many mission-based shooters. That gives battlefield decisions a personal context, although the presentation remains dramatized.

The game currently lists single-player rather than multiplayer.

Choose Hell’s Highway if: you want a story-driven campaign where issuing squad orders matters alongside personal aim.

13. Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad with Rising Storm

Best classic tactical World War II multiplayer shooter

Red Orchestra 2 focuses on lethal infantry and armor combat with limited user-interface assistance.

Players need to use weapon sights, control movement and respect suppression. Open ground is dangerous, and automatic fire can disrupt aim even when bullets do not hit directly.

The Heroes of Stalingrad content emphasizes the Eastern Front, while the included Rising Storm content expands the package into the Pacific War. The result covers two distinct combat environments inside one multiplayer-focused release.

The game supports competitive online multiplayer rather than a single-player campaign. Because it is an older online title, check current server availability in your region before buying it primarily for active matches.

Choose Red Orchestra 2 if: you want a classic tactical shooter with lethal combat, suppression and minimal arcade assistance.

Which World War II game should you play first?

Match the game to the role you want:

• Front-line multiplayer soldier: Hell Let Loose or Battlefield V
• Tactical infantry shooter: Red Orchestra 2
• Stealth operative: Sniper Elite: Resistance
• Combat pilot: IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad
• Squad commander in real time: Company of Heroes or Men of War
• Stealth team planner: Commandos: Origins
• National leader: Hearts of Iron IV
• Turn-based commander: Panzer Corps 2
• Story-led shooter: Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway
• Alternate-history action: Wolfenstein: The New Order
• Classic co-op campaign: Call of Duty: World at War

Sniper Elite: Resistance is the most flexible introduction because it works alone or cooperatively and supports stealth or direct combat. Company of Heroes is the better starting point for strategy players, while Battlefield V has the lowest coordination barrier among the large multiplayer shooters in this list.

World War II shooters versus strategy games

Shooters place the player inside one soldier’s immediate situation. Information is limited to what can be seen, heard or communicated by teammates. Hell Let Loose and Red Orchestra 2 use that limitation to make movement and communication important.

Strategy games provide broader information and responsibility. Company of Heroes asks the player to coordinate several squads and vehicles, while Hearts of Iron IV expands control to industry, diplomacy and entire fronts.

Men of War sits between these levels by allowing tactical command and direct control of individual units. Panzer Corps 2 removes reaction speed and lets players study each operational decision through turns.

Neither approach is inherently more authentic. Each simplifies different parts of the conflict to create a playable system.

Historical settings and alternate history

A historical setting does not guarantee complete historical accuracy. Maps, weapons, timelines and unit behavior may be adjusted for pacing or balance.

Hell Let Loose, IL-2 and Red Orchestra 2 aim for realism-inspired combat within their chosen systems. Call of Duty: World at War and Battlefield V use historical settings for more directed or accessible action.

Wolfenstein: The New Order is deliberately fictional. Its technology, timeline and political world belong to alternate history, so it should not be used as a representation of real events.

Players interested in narrative-focused games beyond military history can explore the best interactive story games.

Final recommendations

Hell Let Loose is the best overall World War II multiplayer game on this list because squad communication, logistics and territory control are closely connected.

Choose Company of Heroes for real-time strategy, Hearts of Iron IV for national leadership, Sniper Elite: Resistance for stealth or IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad for flight simulation.

Choose Commandos: Origins for specialist stealth tactics, Panzer Corps 2 for turn-based warfare or Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway for a squad-led single-player story.

The strongest World War II game is the one that matches the level at which you want to participate: individual soldier, squad leader, operational commander or national strategist.