Choose Cold Waters
Choose Cold Waters if you want an Indie experience. On Steam, it carries the stronger Steam consensus at 87.3% positive across 3,472 reviews.
Cold Waters vs Modern Naval Warfare
Cold Waters and Modern Naval Warfare both land in Strategy, 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 Strategy, Simulation on Steam. Cold Waters (2017) is 9 years older than Modern Naval Warfare (2026). Cold Waters scores higher on Steam reviews (87.3% positive) than Modern Naval Warfare (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 Modern Naval Warfare
Choose Modern Naval Warfare if you want an Early Access experience. On Steam, it's the newer release (2026) and ships with the modern feature baseline. Modern Naval Warfare launched in 2026.
Both Cold Waters and Modern Naval Warfare sit in Strategy and Simulation on Steam, 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
 Cold Waters |  Modern Naval Warfare | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2017 | 2026 |
| Genres | Strategy, Indie, Simulation | Strategy, Simulation, Early Access |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Playable | Deck Unsupported |
| Price | 39.99 USD | 53.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 87.3% positive (3,472 reviews) | 63.9% positive (216 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | Killerfish Games | Wave Ops |
Side by side
- Both share Strategy, Simulation on Steam.
- Cold Waters (2017) is 9 years older than Modern Naval Warfare (2026).
- Cold Waters scores higher on Steam reviews (87.3% positive) than Modern Naval Warfare (63.9% positive).
- Cold Waters is currently ~26% cheaper on Steam than Modern Naval Warfare (39.99 USD vs. 53.99 USD).
- Steam Deck: Cold Waters is Deck Playable, Modern Naval Warfare is Deck Unsupported.
Cold Waters vs Modern Naval Warfare — FAQ
- Which is better, Cold Waters or Modern Naval Warfare?
- On Steam reviews Cold Waters scores higher (87.3% positive) than Modern Naval Warfare (63.9% positive). Both have enough reviews to trust the signal, so for players using reviews alone, Cold Waters is the safer pick. Genre fit still matters — check the side-by-side table for the categories each game lands in.
- Should I play Cold Waters or Modern Naval Warfare first?
- If you want chronology, Cold Waters (2017) came out before Modern Naval Warfare (2026). 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 Cold Waters and Modern Naval Warfare similar?
- They overlap on Strategy, 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.