IMHO.

Total War: EMPIRE – Definitive Edition vs Ultimate General: Civil War

Total War: EMPIRE – Definitive Edition and Ultimate General: Civil War 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 8 years older than Ultimate General: Civil War (2017). Total War: EMPIRE – Definitive Edition scores higher on Steam reviews (89.6% positive) than Ultimate General: Civil War (88.6% positive). 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 Total War: EMPIRE – Definitive Edition

Choose Total War: EMPIRE – Definitive Edition if you want the Multi-player, Online PvP, and Online Co-op side of the pairing. On Steam, it has co-op, so you can bring a friend. 12,170 Steam reviews back the pick.

Choose Ultimate General: Civil War

Choose Ultimate General: Civil War if you want an Indie and Simulation experience. On Steam, it's the newer release (2017) and ships with the modern feature baseline. 5,516 Steam reviews back the pick.

Both Total War: EMPIRE – Definitive Edition and Ultimate General: Civil War sit in Strategy on Steam, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Steam reviews are nearly tied (89.6% vs 88.6% positive), so genre fit is the cleanest tiebreaker — scroll the table for the feature-by-feature view.

Side-by-side comparison

Total War: EMPIRE – Definitive Edition vs Ultimate General: Civil War — Steam metadata comparison
Total War: EMPIRE – Definitive Edition — Steam game coverTotal War: EMPIRE – Definitive EditionUltimate General: Civil War — Steam game coverUltimate General: Civil War
Released20092017
GenresStrategyStrategy, Indie, Simulation
PlatformsWindows, macOS, LinuxWindows, macOS
Steam DeckDeck PlayableDeck Unsupported
Price24.99 USD29.99 USD
Steam reviews89.6% positive (12,170 reviews)88.6% positive (5,516 reviews)
MultiplayerMulti-player, Online Co-op, LAN Co-opSingle-player only
DevelopersCREATIVE ASSEMBLY, Feral Interactive (Mac), Feral Interactive (Linux)Game-Labs

Side by side

Total War: EMPIRE – Definitive Edition vs Ultimate General: Civil War — FAQ

Which is better, Total War: EMPIRE – Definitive Edition or Ultimate General: Civil War?
On Steam reviews the two are nearly tied: Total War: EMPIRE – Definitive Edition sits at 89.6% positive (12,170 reviews), Ultimate General: Civil War at 88.6% (5,516). The choice usually comes down to genre fit and the platform features each one supports — see the comparison table above.
Should I play Total War: EMPIRE – Definitive Edition or Ultimate General: Civil War first?
If you want chronology, Total War: EMPIRE – Definitive Edition (2009) came out before Ultimate General: Civil War (2017). 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 Ultimate General: Civil War 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.
Does Ultimate General: Civil War have multiplayer like Total War: EMPIRE – Definitive Edition?
No. Total War: EMPIRE – Definitive Edition supports multiplayer on Steam (Multi-player, Online Co-op, LAN Co-op), while Ultimate General: Civil War is listed as single-player only.