Single-player games like DEFCON
Below are 20 single-player Steam games similar to DEFCON, ranked by player overlap. Every pick carries Steam's Single-player category, so multiplayer-only titles or always-online games don't sneak in. imho.run pulls the category data from Steam directly — Single-player here matches what the store labels.
Want the full alternatives list (paid + free + Steam Deck + cheaper picks)? See the parent games like DEFCON page.
Ranked picks
- 1
Wargame: Airland Battle
Single-player alternative to DEFCON — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Strategy and Indie with DEFCON.
2 SIDES, 12 NATIONS, 750 UNITS: THE STRATEGY GAME REFERENCE IS BACK! Richer, more beautiful and more accessible, Wargame AirLand Battle is the sequel to the explosive real-time strategy game Wargame European Escalation! 1985.
- 2
Veil of Ashes
Single-player alternative to DEFCON — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Strategy and Indie with DEFCON.
Veil of Ashes is a real-time strategy game set in a dark universe with steam-powered war machines. Command infantry, tanks, and colossal behemoths across destructible battlefields. Build your army from a variety of units, and experience immersive single-player and multiplayer battles.
- 3
Last Front
Single-player alternative to DEFCON — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Strategy with DEFCON.
Modern armies, unique commanders, tactical battles. In Last Front, each faction offers its own style of war and exclusive units. Build your base, lead your army, and prove your superiority on the battlefield.
- 4
MAD: Mutually Assured Destruction
Single-player alternative to DEFCON — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Strategy and Indie with DEFCON.
Read the wind, dial in your shot, and hit back harder. Battle friends or AI in 8-player matches. Random terrain and wind make every battle different. Earn cash to buy weapons from mortars to nukes, or defenses that keep you alive. Play flat or in VR, online or on one couch, with full crossplay.
- 5
Helion Conflict
Single-player alternative to DEFCON — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Strategy and Indie with DEFCON.
Real-time strategy stripped to the decision. Every factory you hold builds without pause - you choose where those ships go, and can turn them in mid-flight. Commander mode adds the war economy: iron and gold networks, turrets, satellites, orbital strikes. Up to eight online.
- 6
A Total War Saga: FALL OF THE SAMURAI
Single-player alternative to DEFCON — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Strategy with DEFCON.
Experience the dramatic conflict of samurai culture and modern weaponry between the Imperial throne and the last Shogunate in 19th century Japan.
- 7
RUNNING WITH RIFLES
Single-player alternative to DEFCON — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Indie with DEFCON.
RUNNING WITH RIFLES is a top-down tactical shooter with open world RPG elements. In RWR, you join the ranks of an army as a common soldier, just like the thousands around you.
- 8
First Strike
Single-player alternative to DEFCON — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Strategy and Indie with DEFCON.
FIRST STRIKE is a fast paced real time strategy game where you play one of the twelve biggest nuclear superpowers of the world – from known superpowers like the USA to an upstart hellraiser like North Korea – and try to be the last one remaining when the whole world blows to smithereens.
- 9
ICBM
Single-player alternative to DEFCON — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Strategy with DEFCON.
ICBM is a real-time strategy game of nuclear destruction. Research new technologies, build up your nuclear stockpile and use a combination of ships, planes and missiles to strike at the heart of your opponents’ cities while keeping your population safe from harm.
- 10
ICBM: Escalation
Single-player alternative to DEFCON — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Strategy with DEFCON.
ICBM: Escalation is a grand RTS where you command armies, develop cutting-edge tech, and wield devastating weapons. Conquer enemies with conventional forces or nuclear firepower. With new modes like Standoff and Conquest, the game offers deep strategic layers in a global warfare setting.
- 11
Interplanetary
Single-player alternative to DEFCON — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Strategy and Indie with DEFCON.
In this turn-based strategy game, players wage interplanetary wars by developing their home planets and firing massive artilleries through the unpredictable gravity fields of the planetary system.
- 12
HighFleet
Single-player alternative to DEFCON — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Strategy and Indie with DEFCON.
Battle for survival in the skies of a mysterious future Earth in this unique action-strategy game mixing arcade combat, exploration, management and diplomacy. As giant flying ships wage spectacular aerial warfare, a prophecy tells of one who will save the world – could it be you?
- 13
Prison Architect
Single-player alternative to DEFCON — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Strategy and Indie with DEFCON.
Only the world’s most ruthless Warden can contain the world’s most ruthless inmates. Design and develop your personalized penitentiary in Prison Architect.
- 14
Scanner Sombre
Single-player alternative to DEFCON — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Indie with DEFCON.
Scanner Sombre is a 3d horror cave exploration game where darkness is your greatest foe. Illuminate the unseen with your LIDAR scanner, revealing the eerie beauty and peril of the abyss. From the creators of Prison Architect, this immersive adventure uses light and shadow for a haunting experience.
- 15
Uplink
Single-player alternative to DEFCON — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Strategy and Indie with DEFCON.
Uplink lets you play as a freelance hacker tackling risky contracts for corporations. Break into systems, steal data, sabotage rivals, and upgrade your gear. Support factions or go rogue in this immersive, strategy-driven hacking simulation game where your choices shape the outcome.
- 16
The Last Starship
Single-player alternative to DEFCON — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Strategy and Indie with DEFCON.
The Last Starship is a 2D space construction game where you design and upgrade your starship. Choose your path: pirate hunter, miner, engineer, spacebus driver, and more, whilst exploring vibrant star systems. Enjoy a growing sandbox world, with regular free updates. Your cosmic adventure awaits!
- 17
Darwinia
Single-player alternative to DEFCON — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Strategy and Indie with DEFCON.
Darwinia blends real-time strategy, action, and puzzles with a unique gesture-based control system. Save the Darwinians, battle viruses, and restore order in a retro-inspired digital world. Winner of multiple prestigious awards, including the Seumas McNally Grand Prize at IGF 2006.
- 18
Multiwinia
Single-player alternative to DEFCON — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Indie with DEFCON.
Multiwinia is a fast-paced, retro-inspired RTS that blends arcade action with strategic depth. Command armies of Multiwinians in multiplayer battles across vibrant, nostalgic environments. With simple controls and dynamic gameplay, it offers endless fun and challenge for players of all skill levels.
- 19
DEFCON VR
Single-player alternative to DEFCON — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Strategy and Indie with DEFCON.
DEFCON VR allows you to spectate DEFCON games in the comfort of your own virtual War Room. Join others and marvel at total global annihilation as nuclear missiles arc over the globe on their path to destruction. Watch Armageddon unfold as everybody dies….
- 20
Arise Dark Lord
Single-player alternative to DEFCON — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Strategy and Indie with DEFCON.
You are The Dark Lord! Raise an evil army, and crush the race of men. An action-strategy hybrid RTS, blending tower defence, base building and direct control of your Dark Lord avatar, currently in early development.