Choose Royal Merchant
Choose Royal Merchant if you want a Sports and Strategy experience. On Steam, it's currently about 75% cheaper on the Steam Store. Royal Merchant launched in 2023.
Royal Merchant vs Smithy Wars
Royal Merchant and Smithy Wars both land in Indie, Adventure, Simulation 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 share Indie, Adventure, Simulation on Steam. Smithy Wars (2021) is 2 years older than Royal Merchant (2023). Smithy Wars scores higher on Steam reviews (69.2% positive) than Royal Merchant (64.3% 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 Smithy Wars
Choose Smithy Wars if you want a Massively Multiplayer experience. Smithy Wars launched in 2021.
Both Royal Merchant and Smithy Wars sit in Indie, Adventure, and Simulation on Steam and both list Multi-player, Online PvP, and PvP, 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
 Royal Merchant |  Smithy Wars | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2023 | 2021 |
| Genres | Sports, Strategy, Indie, Adventure, Simulation, RPG, Casual | Indie, Adventure, Simulation, Massively Multiplayer, RPG, Casual |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS | Windows, Linux |
| Steam Deck | Unrated | Deck Playable |
| Price | 0.99 USD | 3.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 64.3% positive (28 reviews) | 69.2% positive (13 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Multi-player, Cross-Platform Multiplayer | Multi-player, Cross-Platform Multiplayer |
| Developers | Badim | Bigboot Studios |
Side by side
- Both share Indie, Adventure, Simulation on Steam.
- Smithy Wars (2021) is 2 years older than Royal Merchant (2023).
- Smithy Wars scores higher on Steam reviews (69.2% positive) than Royal Merchant (64.3% positive).
- Royal Merchant is currently ~75% cheaper on Steam than Smithy Wars (0.99 USD vs. 3.99 USD).
- Smithy Wars is Deck Playable on Steam Deck; Royal Merchant has no Deck rating yet.
Royal Merchant vs Smithy Wars — FAQ
- Should I play Royal Merchant or Smithy Wars first?
- If you want chronology, Smithy Wars (2021) came out before Royal Merchant (2023). 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 Royal Merchant and Smithy Wars similar?
- They overlap on Indie, Adventure, Simulation 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.