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ICBM: Escalation

ICBM: Escalation

ICBM: Escalation is a grand RTS where you command armies, develop cutting-edge tech, and wield devastating weapons. Conquer enemies with conventional forces or nuclear firepower. With new modes like Standoff and Conquest, the game offers deep strategic layers in a global warfare setting.

Released Nov 21, 2024 Developer SoftWarWare Publisher Slitherine Ltd. Platforms Windows StrategyRTSCold WarWarPvP
View on Steam ↗ $20.99 (US · as of 2026-07-26)

What players say

Steam review score and the most-helpful voices, which may include critical ones. Data as of 2026-05-20.

87.8%positive878 reviews
Recommended · 8 found this helpful

“Fun game but PVE AI needs work. I spawned in as North America. Setup along the Mexico border cus Central America has assets there. CA had a tank on the border CLEARLY moving into NA even before the “No war” timer was up. The second the timer finished was getting invaded by CA.…”

— a player, Steam review · 10 hrs played
Recommended · 8 found this helpful

“TLDR: Great game, even better warcrime simulator. So the game is good fun, basically you build up your country, research (mostly warcrimey) tech and eventually war breaks out. At this point you hopefully managed to build up decent defences as both you and your enemy will start…”

— a player, Steam review · 62 hrs played
Not recommended · 13 found this helpful

“This is a great game and expands a ton on the first title and the original DEFCON, but I hope you have a bunch of friends who are willing to play, or you will very quickly find the bigger flaws. The AI in particular is very poor—both your AI and the enemies'—making the game feel…”

— a player, Steam review · 136 hrs played
Read more reviews ↗

Player activity

Monthly average concurrent players. Live count fetched 2026-07-24 01:28 UTC · history via SteamCharts.

113playing at last check
14424-hour peak
1,364all-time peak
0 500 1k 2025 2026 701 avg · Nov 2024

Achievement stats

Global completion rates across all Steam players — a data view of how far people actually get. Source: Steam official stats · as of 2026-07-25.

82achievements
2.2%median completion
0.1%rarest: Suicide Solution
30.6% of players 29.4% of players 28.3% of players 17.5% of players 16.2% of players 14.7% of players 13.9% of players 12.3% of players 11.3% of players 11.1% of players 10.8% of players 10.3% of players 10.0% of players 9.5% of players 9.2% of players 9.0% of players 8.5% of players 7.9% of players 7.6% of players 7.2% of players 7.0% of players 6.7% of players 6.0% of players 5.5% of players 5.5% of players 5.3% of players 5.3% of players 5.1% of players 4.9% of players 4.5% of players 4.5% of players 3.8% of players 3.6% of players 3.5% of players 3.4% of players 3.2% of players 2.9% of players 2.9% of players 2.7% of players 2.7% of players 2.4% of players 2.2% of players 2.2% of players 2.1% of players 2.1% of players 1.8% of players 1.7% of players 1.5% of players 1.3% of players 1.2% of players 1.2% of players 1.1% of players 1.0% of players 1.0% of players 0.9% of players 0.8% of players 0.8% of players 0.8% of players 0.7% of players 0.6% of players 30.6% 0% most earned rarest
Almost everyone has
30.6%No More Lies — Completely destroy an enemy faction after they betray you
29.4%2 Minutes To Midnight — Score 2000 points in 2 minutes
28.3%Homecoming Denied! — Destroy 20 units being carried by another unit in a standard game
Rarest badges of honor
0.1%Suicide Solution — Destroy an invading army using a bomb truck
0.1%My Last Words — Kill at least 1 million people after being forced to surrender
0.1%Kill The King — Destroy 3 central command bunkers in a single game

Price tracking

US-region pricing (USD), sampled twice daily by our own tracker since 2026-07-25. Steam prices vary by region — always confirm your local price on Steam.

$20.99−30% right nowcurrent · sampled 2026-07-26 08:39 UTC
$29.99base price
$20.99lowest since tracking began2026-07-25
US20.99 USD−30%
EU20.29 EUR−30%
UK17.49 GBP−30%
Australia30.76 AUD−30%
Canada27.29 CAD−30%
Japan2,380 JPY−30%
Brazil62.29 BRL−30%
China75.60 CNY−30%

Regional prices at last sample, in local currency — Steam sets each region's price independently.

China≈$11 Brazil Japan Canada US Australia EU UK≈$23

Cheapest → most expensive, converted to USD at ECB reference rates (2026-07-24). Relative comparison only.

Latest official news

Developer announcements via the Steam news API — links go to the original posts. More across all games on the news hub.

Jul 22, 2026
ICBM: Escalation - Assassin's Mace | DLC Revealed

We’re excited to reveal Assassin's Mace , the next DLC for ICBM: Escalation. Assassin's Mace follows the rise of the People's Republic of China from the aftermath of World War II to its emergence as a

Jun 04, 2026
Update 1.1.3 — New Beta — AI Rework Next Steps

Hi everyone, a new update for ICBM: Escalation is out now. It focuses on AI behavior, QoL improvements, fixes and more. 1.1.3 : Fixed the extreme performance drop caused by helicopters hanging on top

May 11, 2026
AI Rework Release + S.N.A.R.E. Campaign free content

AI Rework The team fully reworked the game’s AI. This is a fundamental overhaul, heavily driven by community feedback and incorporating many player-suggested tactics and improvements. The new AI is mo

Apr 15, 2026
AI Rework - Beta Progress and Update #5

Hello everyone, here’s the next iteration of the Beta AI. This update focuses primarily on fine-tuning existing systems rather than introducing entirely new mechanics. Nuclear Escalation Balancing One

Mar 26, 2026
AI Rework - Beta Progress and Update #4

The open beta is now approaching the point where the majority of the planned features have been implemented and are ready for testing. Beta 5 introduces several important improvements to the AI. Smart

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Screenshots

Official Steam store screenshots — click any shot to enlarge.

Facts & details

From the Steam store record, snapshot 2026-05-20.

GenresStrategy
Player tagsStrategy · RTS · Cold War · War · PvP · Co-op · Multiplayer · Singleplayer · Online Co-Op · Wargame · Destruction · Modern (SteamSpy community voting)
FeaturesSingle-player · Multi-player · PvP · Online PvP · Co-op · Online Co-op · Steam Achievements · Family Sharing
LanguagesEnglish, French, Italian, German, Spanish - Spain, Simplified Chinese, Russian
Achievements82
Estimated owners20,000 – 50,000 (SteamSpy)
Official sitehttps://www.slitherine.com/game/icbm-escalation
Minimum system requirements (PC)

Minimum: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system OS: 64-bit Windows 10/11 Processor: 4-core CPU Memory: 8 GB RAM Graphics: GPU GTX 970 DirectX: Version 11 Storage: 8 GB available space Sound Card: DirectX Compatible Sound Card