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.
All Indie Action Adventure Simulation RPG Strategy Co-op Open World Story Rich Casual Funny Survival Difficult Pixel Graphics PvP Horror Anime Puzzle Rogue-like Relaxing Turn-Based Strategy Local Co-Op Psychological Horror Hack and Slash Platformer MMO RTS Immersive Sim Post-apocalyptic Action Roguelike City Builder Life Sim Zombies Sports Racing Survival Horror Stealth Bullet Hell Dungeon Crawler Visual Novel JRPG Deckbuilding Grand Strategy Cyberpunk Tower Defense Clicker Fighting Open World Survival Craft Boomer Shooter Colony Sim Farming Sim Cozy Auto Battler Cooking Twin Stick Shooter Metroidvania 4X Souls-like Dating Sim MMORPG
By price
Price divided by median reviewer playtime — how much you pay per hour of gameplay. Lower is better. 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.
- 1Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword$0.03/1hr185h88.63%96.22%
- 2Sid Meier's Civilization V$0.03/1hr224h95.14%95.60%
- 3Sid Meier’s Civilization VI$0.06/1hr95h86.13%86.15%
- 4Sid Meier's Civilization III Complete$0.09/1hr43h87.19%89.48%
- 5Galactic Civilizations IV$0.11/1hr122h82.70%72.26%
- 6Europa Universalis IV$0.14/1hr356h87.53%87.68%
- 7Stellaris$0.16/1hr321h85.74%85.76%
- 8Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth$0.17/1hr60h68.06%60.60%
- 9Total War: MEDIEVAL II – Definitive Edition$0.24/1hr82h93.42%95.64%
- 10Crusader Kings III$0.26/1hr189h90.12%90.45%
- 11Sid Meier's Civilization IV$0.27/1hr15h86.82%92.39%
- 12Airships: Conquer the Skies$0.27/1hr69h89.20%95.88%
- 13Songs of Conquest$0.30/1hr25h85.27%85.64%
- 14Dominions 6 - Rise of the Pantokrator$0.30/1hr148h85.69%90.85%
- 15STAR WARS Empire at War - Gold Pack$0.30/1hr66h95.40%97.73%
- 16Terra Invicta$0.38/1hr106h82.54%80.28%
- 17Age of Wonders 4$0.44/1hr114h82.56%81.32%
- 18Sins of a Solar Empire II$0.46/1hr55h84.67%83.71%
- 19Heart of the Machine$0.48/1hr22h86.47%91.47%
- 20Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion$0.55/1hr37h90.23%93.18%
- 21Conquest of Elysium 5$0.55/1hr54h85.64%89.99%
- 22Workers & Resources: Soviet Republic$0.58/1hr69h89.62%91.19%
- 23Hero's Hour$0.61/1hr29h82.83%79.44%
- 24Old World$0.62/1hr64h84.22%82.50%
- 25A Total War Saga: TROY$0.65/1hr31h81.13%71.60%
- 26Farthest Frontier$0.66/1hr53h85.86%86.03%
- 27ENDLESS Legend$0.67/1hr45h83.93%83.49%
- 28ENDLESS Space 2$0.72/1hr55h83.93%83.31%
- 29Northgard: Definitive Edition$0.75/1hr46h85.26%85.25%
- 30The Battle of Polytopia$0.82/1hr18h88.22%93.97%
- 31NEBULOUS: Fleet Command$0.85/1hr35h84.08%81.09%
- 32Hexarchy$0.85/1hr24h84.92%81.92%
- 33Cataclismo$0.86/1hr35h86.42%88.74%
- 34Total War: ROME REMASTERED$0.92/1hr33h80.60%77.10%
- 35Empires of the Undergrowth$0.92/1hr33h91.26%94.36%
- 36Dune: Spice Wars$0.92/1hr38h81.79%79.12%
- 37Manor Lords$0.97/1hr41h84.24%84.12%
- 38Knights of Honor II: Sovereign$1.04/1hr43h82.11%77.19%
- 39ZEPHON$1.05/1hr38h84.52%83.18%
- 40Xenonauts 2$1.06/1hr38h83.93%81.38%
- 41Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics of War$1.06/1hr38h82.78%81.71%
- 42HUMANKIND$1.18/1hr42h73.30%69.13%
- 43Age of Wonders III$1.56/1hr19h82.45%80.14%
- 44Breachway$1.67/1hr12h83.58%75.66%
- 45Homeworld Remastered Collection$2.30/1hr15h86.87%87.90%
- 46Songs of Silence$2.58/1hr12h83.89%80.69%
- 47Sid Meier's Civilization VII$2.62/1hr13h52.60%47.30%
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.