Rank 01Games like Natural Selection 2
- 28 games
- Updated May 4, 2026
Players who liked Natural Selection 2 also play
The closest matches to Natural Selection 2: Evolve Stage 2, Nuclear Dawn, NS2: Combat, PlanetSide 2, and Counter-Strike. Ranked by imho.run from Steam co-play data, shared tags and reviews.
- Rank 01
Rank 02Why this
Also Team-Based and RTS, like Natural Selection 2.
- $9.99 (Price checked Oct 31)
- 2011
Rank 03
Rank 04 
PlanetSide 2
Why this: Also Team-Based and Tactical, like Natural Selection 2.
Rank 05 
Counter-Strike
Why this: Also Competitive and Team-Based, like Natural Selection 2.
Rank 06 
Sanctum 2
Why this: Same challenging mood as Natural Selection 2.
Rank 07 
Rank 08 
GTFO
Why this: Shares team coordination and resource management with Natural Selection 2.
The full ranked list: top 24 games like Natural Selection 2
Best match first, as plain text. The same list for AI assistants:
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- 9Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad with Rising Storm
Genres: Action, Simulation, Massively Multiplayer
- 94% of 11,326 reviews
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- 24Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance
Also Competitive and RTS, like Natural Selection 2.
- 96% of 5,855 reviews
- Released: 2012
- Developer: Unknown Worlds Entertainment
- Price: $4.99checked Nov 4
- Steam Deck: Deck Playable
- 85% of 5,398 reviews
- Genres: Action, Strategy, Indie
- Metacritic 80
- Platforms: Windows
Players highlight
- Asymmetrical upgrades create evolving tactics
- Commander role adds strategic depth
- Hybrid fps rts gameplay is unique
- Challenging
- Competitive
- Intense
More games like Natural Selection 2, sliced differently
Reviewers mention these as similar to Natural Selection 2
Surfaced from review text: when other players write 'if you liked X, try Y', we catch the name and resolve it back to a Steam game.
Team Fortress 2
Why this: Also Competitive and Team-Based, like Natural Selection 2.
Squad
Why this: Also Team-Based and Tactical, like Natural Selection 2.
Quake
Why this: Shares resource management with Natural Selection 2.
Murnatan
Why this: Same competitive mood as Natural Selection 2.
Starship Troopers: Extermination
Why this: Same stressful mood as Natural Selection 2.
Free alternatives
Free games the recommender matches to Natural Selection 2, limited to titles with at least 500 Steam reviews and 80% positive.
Counter-Strike 2
Why this: Shares team coordination with Natural Selection 2.
Dirty Bomb®
Why this: Also Competitive and Team-Based, like Natural Selection 2.
Empires Mod
Why this: Also Team-Based and RTS, like Natural Selection 2.
MechWarrior Online™ Legends
Why this: Also Team-Based and Tactical, like Natural Selection 2.
More from Unknown Worlds Entertainment
Other recommendable Steam games by Unknown Worlds Entertainment, ranked by review count so the studio's hits land first.
Subnautica: Below Zero
Why this: Same challenging mood as Natural Selection 2.
About Natural Selection 2
The closest matches to Natural Selection 2: Evolve Stage 2, Nuclear Dawn, NS2: Combat, PlanetSide 2, and Counter-Strike. Ranked by imho.run from Steam co-play data, shared tags and reviews.
If Natural Selection 2 is your kind of game, the closest matches are Evolve Stage 2, Nuclear Dawn and NS2: Combat — picked from the ranked list below. Reviewers describe it as challenging, competitive and intense, and single out its asymmetrical faction balance and commander rts overlay. Each pick is ranked by what players of this game also play, shared genres and tags, and review-mined similarity — not a generic popularity list.
Natural Selection 2 is a sci-fi multiplayer title released in 2012 that blends first-person shooter action with real-time strategy elements. Players choose between fighting as marines or playing as aliens in teams that must coordinate around a shared commander who oversees territory control and resource management. Creature evolution and asymmetrical faction balance create evolving tactics throughout each match, which players describe as finite 20-minute encounters. The hybrid FPS/RTS gameplay is described by players as unique, with the commander role adding significant strategic depth. Reviewers highlight that resource scarcity forces teams to make difficult decisions, and the experience is generally described as challenging, competitive, and intense. Currently priced at $4.99 USD, the game holds an 85% positive rating from over 5,300 Steam reviews and is marked as playable on Steam Deck.
About Natural Selection 2: A fast paced multiplayer shooter that pits aliens against humans in a strategic and action-packed struggle for survival!
Is Natural Selection 2 worth buying?
Players recommend it
A summary of what players say, not a promise you'll like it. Every signal is listed below.
- 85% of 5,398 Steam reviews are positive.
- We don't track this game's daily reviews yet, so this is the all-time picture.
- Price: $4.99 (checked Nov 8).
- People who recommend it had played a median of 109 h when they wrote their review.
- Critics had played a median of 294 h before turning negative, so complaints are about the long run, not the first hours.
- Steam Deck Playable: works, with some rough edges.
What fans praise · Themes mined from positive reviews
- Asymmetrical upgrades create evolving tactics
- Commander role adds strategic depth
- Hybrid fps rts gameplay is unique
- Matches have finite 20 minute duration
Top critical reviews
The most up-voted negative English reviews in our sample, quoted as written.
“Don't bother with this game. The people who play it are god awful. Look for the review by Opti from December 2025-ish. It's full of sick weirdo scumbags (and scammers) and is just not a good one to pick up. If you asked me 10 years ago…”
“game is super actully very dead(if its not prime hours u cant even find a server) and the people who remain are darn toxic. and the main server(BAD) has the most ego driven admins , they will ban and abuse people for no good reason just so…”
People who play it also play: Evolve Stage 2, Nuclear Dawn, NS2: Combat
Frequently asked about Natural Selection 2
Can I run it?
Does Natural Selection 2 run on Steam Deck?
Natural Selection 2 is rated Playable on Steam Deck — it runs, but expect some manual adjustments (control remapping, text size, or graphics settings) for the best experience.
How much does Natural Selection 2 cost?
Natural Selection 2 is listed on Steam at 4.99 USD (current store price; Steam sales may reduce this temporarily).
Does Natural Selection 2 have multiplayer or co-op?
Yes — Natural Selection 2 supports multi-player play according to its Steam store listing (Multi-player, Online PvP, PvP).
What games are most similar to Natural Selection 2?
Based on Steam play patterns and shared genres/tags, the games most often recommended alongside Natural Selection 2 are Evolve Stage 2, Nuclear Dawn, NS2: Combat.
Who developed Natural Selection 2?
Natural Selection 2 was developed by Unknown Worlds Entertainment and published by Unknown Worlds Entertainment, KRAFTON, Inc..