First-person shooters are probably the most popular genre of video games, and a lot of them are set in World War era. Some of the games try to tackle wars set in a futuristic era that has never happened. While others try to explore war scenarios and historical events that have already occurred.
In the list below, we will try to rank some of the best video games set specifically in either of the World War eras.
The Best World War Era Games
10) Valiant Hearts: The Great War
When people think about video games based on the World War era, their mind usually goes to shooters. But let’s subvert notions and talk about a very different kind of game based on this setting. Valiant Hearts:
The Great War is a game set in the World War I era. Instead of dropping our main characters in a gun-blazing situation, it familiarizes us with a story that is very touching. The gameplay involves piecing together a story through some puzzles and interactions.
The art style is hand-drawn 2D with beautifully drawn cartoon characters. Valiant Hearts: The Great War was released for multiple platforms in 2014. A sequel to the game was also released very recently.
9) Sniper Elite 4
How much do you love being the sniper in shooter games? Well, they made a whole game about it that you can play to your heart’s content. Sniper Elite is a third-person shooter that is set in the World War II era.
Initially, it looked like a regular shooter set around war scenarios, but it quickly gained its popularity when people found the fun stuff. Sniper Elite games have some of the best kill cams ever seen in a video game.
The fourth entry in the series is what took things to newer heights and is widely agreed between fans to be the best one. It was originally released for certain platforms in 2017, but by 2025, it had been released on mobile devices.
8) Wolfenstein: The Old Blood
Aside from being a game set in the World War II era, the Wolfenstein franchise needs to be credited for its contributions to the FPS genre. Since then, the franchise has gone through several iterations and has been surviving to date.
Presently, the developmental rights to the games lie in the hands of Machine Games under Bethesda. They have been doing some fine work with the franchise. If you are a fan of alternate World War era history where you get to destroy some nazis, then Wolfenstein is your franchise.
In the game, you get to step into the shoes of William “B.J.” Blazkowicz, who is infiltrating Castle Wolfenstein. Locked in this Nazi compound, instead of feeling trapped, the only thing your enemies should fear is you.
7) Commandos
Switching things up again and moving away from shooters once more. We take a look at a tactical stealth action series set during the World War II era. Commandos is an isometric stealth war game that has become a long-running franchise.
The newest entry in the series just came out in 2025, but we are going to take a look at the oldest Commandos game instead. Released in 1998, the game features a team of characters that players have to control.
Each unit has its own specialization, and the gameplay involves players managing all of their kits accordingly. The first iteration of the franchise is only available for Windows PC. Fortunately, modern entries in the game are available for consoles as well.
6) Medal of Honor: Allied Assault
Medal of Honor was one of the most well-known first-person shooters which released back in the day. But unfortunately, the series has been lost to time; otherwise, it used to stand tall alongside other similar games such as the Call of Duty series.
We shall be focusing on Medal of Honor: Allied Assault for this one; it is considered one of the best entries in the series. Published by EA, the game is set in the World War II era.
One interesting trivia about the game is that a lot of levels are references to Steven Spielberg’s war film, Saving Private Ryan. Players step into the shoes of Lt. James Powell, experiencing several types of missions, including infiltration as well as saving allies.
5) The Saboteur
The Saboteur is a game that is lost to time, but was for how fun and ambitious it was back in the day. It is a game set in the World War II era, in German-occupied France. The game was developed by Pandemic Studios and published by Electronic Arts.
It is an open-world game that mixes multiple types of gameplay elements, including driving and melee combat alongside shooting. Exploration and environments were a big deal for this game on the hardware back in the day.
The Story of the Saboteur puts us in the shoes of Sean Devlin, an Irish race car driver. After his friend is killed by Nazi forces, he joins the resistance to liberate Paris.
4) Company of Heroes
Steering the wheels away from shooters once again. This time, we want to draw your attention to the Company of Heroes series, specifically the first game. We must tell you that a list of war video games is incomplete without Company of Heroes.
These are a series of tactical strategy games originally developed by Relic Entertainment and published by THQ. The first game was released back in 2006 for PC systems and has since been ported to mobile devices as well.
Company of Heroes has garnered a cult following over the years and is still supported to this day by fans of tactical games. The third mainline entry in the series was just recently released in 2023.
3) Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30
Brothers in Arms is another long-running series of video games set in the World War era. We will be specifically taking a look at what is considered the best game in the series.
It was one of the first games developed by the legendary Gearbox Software studio. Directed by Randy Pitchford, who is presently well known in the video game industry for his Borderlands franchise. These games are set in World War II, usually during the liberation of Western Europe.
Just like the rest of the series, the gameplay of Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30 deals with tactical team management. This is what made this game really special, as players got control over teams of soldiers in a first-person shooter scenario.
2) Call of Duty: World War II
Call of Duty does not need any new introductions. If you are here reading this list, you probably might have expected to see this one pop up sooner or later. There’s a plethora of games made in this franchise with a multitude of different settings.
Call of Duty: World War II is one of the last games in the franchise to explore the World War II era setting as of yet. The game was released back in 2017 and covers the historical events of D-Day.
In the campaign mode, players get to play as Ronald “Red” Daniels, a soldier who is assisted by other squadmates for health and ammunition. The game tried to revisit the nostalgia that fans had for older games in the franchise, such as Call of Duty 2.
1) Battlefield 1
If there is a video game that can very cinematically emulate what it feels like to be in the middle of a war, then that is the Battlefield series. The games have explored different eras of war, including World War I with Battlefield 1.
It is still one of the most popular multiplayer games in the series, which constantly gets a full lobby of players. Developed by DICE and published by Electronic Arts, it is surprisingly the fifteenth installment in the popular franchise.
The gameplay of Battlefield 1 is like the shining crown of modern-day multiplayer shooters. You get to select your soldier class before being dropped into the warfield, where you have to win objectives alongside a massive lobby of allies.
