Choose Total War: EMPIRE – Definitive Edition
Choose Total War: EMPIRE – Definitive Edition if you want the LAN PvP, LAN Co-op, and Camera Comfort side of the pairing. 12,170 Steam reviews back the pick.
Total War: EMPIRE – Definitive Edition vs Tides of Empires
Total War: EMPIRE – Definitive Edition and Tides of Empires both land in Strategy on Steam, which is why they keep getting compared. The comparison below is built from each game's Steam metadata — release year, genres, categories, Steam Deck status, price, and review score — refreshed daily by imho.run's scraper. Headline differences: Both are Strategy games on Steam. Total War: EMPIRE – Definitive Edition (2009) is 17 years older than Tides of Empires (2026). Both support cooperative play. No login or purchase needed — scroll for the full table, the verdict FAQ, and links to ranked similar games for both titles.
Which should you pick?
Choose Tides of Empires
Choose Tides of Empires if you want an Indie experience. On Steam, it's the newer release (2026) and ships with the modern feature baseline. Tides of Empires launched in 2026.
Both Total War: EMPIRE – Definitive Edition and Tides of Empires sit in Strategy on Steam and both list Multi-player, Online PvP, and Online Co-op, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Use the side-by-side table for the feature view, or follow the "Games like" links below to see ranked alternatives for either title.
Side-by-side comparison
 Total War: EMPIRE – Definitive Edition |  Tides of Empires | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2009 | 2026 |
| Genres | Strategy | Strategy, Indie |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Playable | Unrated |
| Price | 24.99 USD | Price unknown |
| Steam reviews | 89.6% positive (12,170 reviews) | — |
| Multiplayer | Multi-player, Online Co-op, LAN Co-op | Multi-player, Online Co-op, Co-op |
| Developers | CREATIVE ASSEMBLY, Feral Interactive (Mac), Feral Interactive (Linux) | AtomicPixelGames |
Side by side
- Both are Strategy games on Steam.
- Total War: EMPIRE – Definitive Edition (2009) is 17 years older than Tides of Empires (2026).
- Both support cooperative play.
- Total War: EMPIRE – Definitive Edition is Deck Playable on Steam Deck; Tides of Empires has no Deck rating yet.
Total War: EMPIRE – Definitive Edition vs Tides of Empires — FAQ
- Should I play Total War: EMPIRE – Definitive Edition or Tides of Empires first?
- If you want chronology, Total War: EMPIRE – Definitive Edition (2009) came out before Tides of Empires (2026). If neither is a sequel to the other, order doesn't really matter — start with whichever fits your current mood, since both share enough on Steam to make either a reasonable opener.
- Are Total War: EMPIRE – Definitive Edition and Tides of Empires similar?
- They overlap on Strategy on Steam, so the catalogue groups them together — but "similar" depends on the specific mechanics. Use the genre + category rows above to decide whether the overlap matches what drew you to the one you've already played.
- Do both Total War: EMPIRE – Definitive Edition and Tides of Empires have co-op?
- Yes — both list a co-op category on Steam. Specifics differ: Total War: EMPIRE – Definitive Edition ships Online Co-op, LAN Co-op; Tides of Empires ships Online Co-op, Co-op.
- Does Total War: EMPIRE – Definitive Edition run on Steam Deck?
- Yes — Total War: EMPIRE – Definitive Edition is rated Deck Playable by Valve. Tides of Empires doesn't have a Deck rating yet, so its Deck behaviour is currently unverified.