Choose Empires Apart
Choose Empires Apart if you want a Free To Play game with Steam Leaderboards. On Steam, it carries the stronger Steam consensus at 66.8% positive across 1,003 reviews.
Empires Apart vs Stronghold: Warlords
Empires Apart and Stronghold: Warlords 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. Empires Apart (2018) is 3 years older than Stronghold: Warlords (2021). Empires Apart scores higher on Steam reviews (66.8% positive) than Stronghold: Warlords (63.9% 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 Stronghold: Warlords
Choose Stronghold: Warlords if you want a Simulation experience. On Steam, it's the newer release (2021) and ships with the modern feature baseline. 1,895 Steam reviews back the pick.
Both Empires Apart and Stronghold: Warlords 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
 Empires Apart |  Stronghold: Warlords | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2018 | 2021 |
| Genres | Strategy, Free To Play | Strategy, Simulation |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Unsupported | Deck Playable |
| Price | Free to play | 39.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 66.8% positive (1,003 reviews) | 63.9% positive (1,895 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Multi-player, Online Co-op, Co-op | Multi-player, Online Co-op, Co-op |
| Developers | DESTINYbit | Firefly Studios |
Side by side
- Both are Strategy games on Steam.
- Empires Apart (2018) is 3 years older than Stronghold: Warlords (2021).
- Empires Apart scores higher on Steam reviews (66.8% positive) than Stronghold: Warlords (63.9% positive).
- Empires Apart is free; Stronghold: Warlords is paid (39.99 USD).
- Both support cooperative play.
- Steam Deck: Empires Apart is Deck Unsupported, Stronghold: Warlords is Deck Playable.
Empires Apart vs Stronghold: Warlords — FAQ
- Which is better, Empires Apart or Stronghold: Warlords?
- On Steam reviews Empires Apart scores higher (66.8% positive) than Stronghold: Warlords (63.9% positive). Both have enough reviews to trust the signal, so for players using reviews alone, Empires Apart is the safer pick. Genre fit still matters — check the side-by-side table for the categories each game lands in.
- Should I play Empires Apart or Stronghold: Warlords first?
- If you want chronology, Empires Apart (2018) came out before Stronghold: Warlords (2021). 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 Empires Apart and Stronghold: Warlords 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 Empires Apart and Stronghold: Warlords have co-op?
- Yes — both list a co-op category on Steam. Specifics differ: Empires Apart ships Online Co-op, Co-op; Stronghold: Warlords ships Online Co-op, Co-op.
- Is Empires Apart free?
- Yes — Empires Apart is a free-to-play Steam title. Stronghold: Warlords is paid (39.99 USD).