Choose Artifact
Choose Artifact if it matches what drew you to this matchup. 9,748 Steam reviews back the pick.
Artifact vs Artifact Foundry
Artifact and Artifact Foundry 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. Artifact (2018) is 3 years older than Artifact Foundry (2021). Both sit near 58% positive on Steam (Artifact: 9,748 reviews, Artifact Foundry: 416). 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 Artifact Foundry
Choose Artifact Foundry if it's the newer release (2021) and ships with the modern feature baseline. Artifact Foundry launched in 2021.
Both Artifact and Artifact Foundry sit in Strategy on Steam and both list Multi-player, Online PvP, and PvP, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Steam reviews are nearly tied (57.9% vs 58.2% positive), so genre fit is the cleanest tiebreaker — scroll the table for the feature-by-feature view.
Side-by-side comparison
 Artifact |  Artifact Foundry | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2018 | 2021 |
| Genres | Strategy | Strategy |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| Steam Deck | Deck Playable | Deck Playable |
| Price | Free to play | Free to play |
| Steam reviews | 57.9% positive (9,748 reviews) | 58.2% positive (416 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Multi-player | Multi-player |
| Developers | Valve | Valve |
Side by side
- Both are Strategy games on Steam.
- Artifact (2018) is 3 years older than Artifact Foundry (2021).
- Both sit near 58% positive on Steam (Artifact: 9,748 reviews, Artifact Foundry: 416).
- Both are free to play.
- Both are Deck Playable.
Artifact vs Artifact Foundry — FAQ
- Which is better, Artifact or Artifact Foundry?
- On Steam reviews the two are nearly tied: Artifact sits at 57.9% positive (9,748 reviews), Artifact Foundry at 58.2% (416). The choice usually comes down to genre fit and the platform features each one supports — see the comparison table above.
- Should I play Artifact or Artifact Foundry first?
- If you want chronology, Artifact (2018) came out before Artifact Foundry (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 Artifact and Artifact Foundry 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.