Best Value 4X Games Under $40
The 4X games on Steam games under $40 that deliver the most playtime per dollar: median reviewer hours divided by current price.
All Indie Action Adventure Simulation RPG Strategy Co-op Open World Story Rich Casual Funny Survival Difficult Pixel Graphics PvP Horror Anime Puzzle Rogue-like Relaxing Turn-Based Strategy Local Co-Op Psychological Horror Hack and Slash Platformer MMO RTS Immersive Sim Post-apocalyptic Action Roguelike City Builder Life Sim Zombies Sports Racing Survival Horror Stealth Bullet Hell Dungeon Crawler Visual Novel JRPG Deckbuilding Grand Strategy Cyberpunk Tower Defense Clicker Fighting Open World Survival Craft Boomer Shooter Colony Sim Farming Sim Cozy Auto Battler Cooking Twin Stick Shooter Metroidvania 4X Souls-like Dating Sim MMORPG
By price
Price divided by median reviewer playtime — how much you pay per hour of gameplay. Lower is better. Reviewers tend to sink more hours in than the average owner, so treat this as an optimistic estimate. Free games are excluded because there's no price to divide by.
- 1Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword$0.03/1hr301h88.73%96.24%
- 2Sid Meier's Civilization III Complete$0.04/1hr130h86.91%89.44%
- 3Hexarchy$0.09/1hr21h84.52%81.92%
- 4ENDLESS Legend$0.13/1hr23h83.98%83.48%
- 5Terra Invicta$0.17/1hr118h82.71%80.41%
- 6Sid Meier's Civilization V$0.18/1hr166h95.12%95.60%
- 7Airships: Conquer the Skies$0.24/1hr53h89.29%95.91%
- 8Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion$0.28/1hr72h90.04%93.16%
- 9Total War: MEDIEVAL II – Definitive Edition$0.31/1hr81h93.34%95.66%
- 10STAR WARS Empire at War - Gold Pack$0.39/1hr52h95.32%97.73%
- 11Knights of Honor II: Sovereign$0.39/1hr29h81.84%77.18%
- 12ENDLESS Space 2$0.40/1hr100h83.82%83.34%
- 13Workers & Resources: Soviet Republic$0.46/1hr88h89.52%91.23%
- 14Conquest of Elysium 5$0.58/1hr52h85.72%89.85%
- 15Total War: ROME REMASTERED$0.59/1hr51h80.36%77.00%
- 16Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth$0.60/1hr67h67.93%60.58%
- 17Anno 2070$0.63/1hr29h71.21%60.39%
- 18Galactic Civilizations IV$0.72/1hr56h82.41%72.46%
- 19Manor Lords$0.72/1hr55h84.24%84.17%
- 20Northgard: Definitive Edition$0.78/1hr45h85.24%85.28%
- 21NEBULOUS: Fleet Command$0.81/1hr37h83.77%81.11%
- 22Farthest Frontier$0.81/1hr43h85.76%86.08%
- 23The Battle of Polytopia$0.84/1hr18h88.31%93.95%
- 24Old World$0.85/1hr47h83.91%82.38%
- 25Breachway$0.90/1hr22h83.75%75.71%
- 26Empires of the Undergrowth$0.91/1hr33h91.08%94.38%
- 27Xenonauts 2$0.96/1hr42h83.69%81.50%
- 28Songs of Conquest$0.97/1hr31h85.34%85.63%
- 29Hero's Hour$1.05/1hr17h82.96%79.49%
- 30Sid Meier's Civilization IV$1.26/1hr16h86.93%92.40%
- 31Cataclismo$1.27/1hr24h86.19%89.13%
- 32Heart of the Machine$1.28/1hr23h86.08%91.53%
- 33Dune: Spice Wars$1.30/1hr27h81.62%79.17%
- 34Total War: PHARAOH$1.38/1hr29h77.27%63.08%
- 35ZEPHON$1.39/1hr29h84.69%83.34%
- 36Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics of War$1.53/1hr26h82.82%81.68%
- 37Homeworld Remastered Collection$1.75/1hr20h86.71%87.96%
- 38A Total War Saga: TROY$1.76/1hr23h81.28%71.53%
- 39Songs of Silence$2.67/1hr11h84.05%80.79%
- 40Age of Wonders III$3.57/1hr8h82.24%80.14%
How the math works: we sample each game’s Steam reviewers, take the median of their total recorded playtime (lifetime hours, not hours at the time of review), and divide it by the game’s current price in your selected currency. Reviewers usually sink more hours in than the average owner, so the numbers run generous. Free games aren’t listed because there’s no price to divide by, and a game needs playtime data from at least 20 reviewers before it qualifies. All prices are Steam’s own regional prices, never exchange-rate conversions.