Best Value 4X Games

The 4X games that stretch a budget furthest: median reviewer playtime divided by current price. Pick your currency in the top bar to rank against your local prices.

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By price

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Median reviewer playtime divided by price. Reviewers tend to sink more hours in than the average owner, so treat this as an optimistic estimate. Free games are excluded because there's no price to divide by.
  1. 1Sid Meier's Civilization III Complete12 h/$
  2. 2Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword9.9 h/$
  3. 3Stellaris6.9 h/$
  4. 4ENDLESS Space 26.4 h/$
  5. 5Terra Invicta5.7 h/$
  6. 6Europa Universalis IV5.5 h/$
  7. 7Total War: MEDIEVAL II – Definitive Edition5.1 h/$
  8. 8Sid Meier's Civilization V4.5 h/$
  9. 9Dominions 6 - Rise of the Pantokrator4.5 h/$
  10. 10Crusader Kings III4.0 h/$
  11. 11HUMANKIND4.0 h/$
  12. 12The Battle of Polytopia3.6 h/$
  13. 13Fantasy General II3.3 h/$
  14. 14ENDLESS Legend3.3 h/$
  15. 15STAR WARS Empire at War - Gold Pack3.0 h/$
  16. 16Age of Wonders 42.8 h/$
  17. 17Galactic Civilizations IV2.7 h/$
  18. 18Microcivilization2.6 h/$
  19. 19Workers & Resources: Soviet Republic2.4 h/$
  20. 20NEBULOUS: Fleet Command2.3 h/$
  21. 21Master of Orion2.1 h/$
  22. 22Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth2.1 h/$
  23. 23Northgard: Definitive Edition1.9 h/$
  24. 24Sid Meier’s Civilization VI1.8 h/$
  25. 25Hero's Hour1.8 h/$
  26. 26Shadow Empire1.8 h/$
  27. 27Total War: ROME REMASTERED1.8 h/$
  28. 28Farthest Frontier1.7 h/$
  29. 29Conquest of Elysium 51.6 h/$
  30. 30Songs of Conquest1.6 h/$
  31. 31Heart of the Machine1.5 h/$
  32. 32Ara History Untold: Anniversary Edition 1.4 h/$
  33. 33Breachway1.4 h/$
  34. 34Old World1.3 h/$
  35. 35Airships: Conquer the Skies1.3 h/$
  36. 36Empires of the Undergrowth1.2 h/$
  37. 37Xenonauts 21.1 h/$
  38. 38Knights of Honor II: Sovereign1.1 h/$
  39. 39Sins of a Solar Empire II1.0 h/$
  40. 40Manor Lords0.9 h/$
  41. 41Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics of War0.8 h/$
  42. 42Cataclismo0.8 h/$
  43. 43Sid Meier's Civilization VII0.8 h/$
  44. 44Anno 22050.7 h/$
  45. 45ZEPHON0.7 h/$
  46. 46A Total War Saga: TROY0.7 h/$
  47. 47Hexarchy0.6 h/$
  48. 48Homeworld Remastered Collection0.6 h/$
  49. 49Dune: Spice Wars0.6 h/$
  50. 50Songs of Silence0.4 h/$

How the math works: we sample each game’s Steam reviewers, take the median of their total recorded playtime (lifetime hours, not hours at the time of review), and divide it by the game’s current price in your selected currency. Reviewers usually sink more hours in than the average owner, so the numbers run generous. Free games aren’t listed because there’s no price to divide by, and a game needs playtime data from at least 20 reviewers before it qualifies. All prices are Steam’s own regional prices, never exchange-rate conversions.