The best political games on PC 2025

What are the best political games? There's an addictive quality to political simulation games that’s unlike the rush you get from shooters or RPGs, although the escapism is no less real. Whether you’re setting economic and trade policies, standing strong on the international stage, or leading a nation through war or some other crisis, it can be easy to say you can do better than the real politicians. In some cases, that's absolutely true, but what about those unforeseen circumstances?

Both RTS games and war games have a political edge to them for certain, but it's not all just about how you demonstrate your power through armed conflict. Sometimes, you need to flex your diplomatic muscles to solve the world's more pressing problems, like having enough to eat, building enough infrastructure, or balancing emission levels to reduce their environmental impact. Here are some of the best games on PC in a genre that attempts to model every facet of what goes into running a nation.