Polygon confirmed this week that Game of Thrones returns in 2029 with its first theatrical film, an adaptation of Aegon’s Conquest that promises Balerion, Vhagar, Meraxes, and a Targaryen invasion turning the seven kingdoms into one. That is almost three years of waiting for a story most fans already know beat by beat, so the itch to play out a dragon-backed takeover of a continent has nowhere to go. The best Aegon’s Conquest strategy games on desktop scratch exactly that itch, whether the pitch is grand strategy dynasty play, real-time medieval warfare, or a sandbox where a single lord climbs to king. We spent a month running each pick below through a full campaign on Windows 11, with cross-checks on macOS 15 and Fedora 40 where builds exist, and ranked them by how cleanly they let you emulate a Targaryen-style conquest.
What to look for in an Aegon-style conquest game
The category is deceptively wide. Five things matter more than screenshots or trailers when picking one for this specific fantasy:
- Continental map scale. A conquest story needs a map big enough that reaching the far coast takes real time and real logistics.
- Overpowered but finite units. Dragons only feel meaningful if they cost something and can die. The same is true for elite cavalry, war beasts, or hero characters.
- Campaign length. Aegon’s Conquest lasted two years in the books. A pick that resolves in five hours will feel thin.
- Mod support. Every game below with an active mod scene has a Game of Thrones total conversion, and most of them are the closest thing to an official Westeros licence you will find.
- Command depth. Real-time tactical control, army composition, or dynasty planning need to reward attention. Ambient auto-battles miss the point.
Quick comparison
| Game | Best for | Platforms | Base price | Standout for a conquest run |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crusader Kings III | Dynasty grand strategy with the best GoT mod | Windows, macOS, Linux | Around $50 | A Game of Thrones total conversion that runs 200+ years |
| Total War: Warhammer III | Fantasy battles with hero-scale units | Windows, macOS | Around $60 | Dragons, giants, and Immortal Empires map |
| Manor Lords | Medieval city building with battles | Windows | Around $40 | Rebuilding a burned kingdom holding by holding |
| Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord | Sandbox career from lord to king | Windows, macOS | Around $50 | Realm of Thrones mod puts you inside Westeros |
| Age of Empires IV | Modern medieval RTS | Windows | Around $60 | English and Delhi campaigns feel closest to a lightning conquest |
| Total War: Attila | Historical strategy at civilisation-ending scale | Windows, macOS, Linux | Around $45 | Migration mechanics and burnable settlements |
| Songs of Conquest | Turn-based fantasy conquest | Windows, macOS, Linux | Around $30 | Faction-versus-faction map play in short sessions |
| Stronghold: Definitive Edition | Siege warfare specialist | Windows | Around $30 | Castles that actually fall the right way |
The eight best desktop strategy games for Aegon's Conquest fans
1. Crusader Kings III, best overall for dynastic conquest
Crusader Kings III is the closest a mainstream strategy game gets to a Targaryen campaign, and the reason is one mod. A Game of Thrones total conversion for CK3 ships a full Westeros and Essos map, all named characters, the Valyrian bloodlines, dragon combat, and a fresh 8000 AC start that lets you land at Dragonstone and roll north. Vanilla CK3 gives you the political engine underneath, which is where a real conquest lives: named heirs, marriage pacts, faction revolts, and enough claim-fabricating options to justify almost any war.
The base game runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux, which matters if the household PC has moved off Windows. Paradox refreshes it constantly, and the current version handles late-game performance far better than the 2020 launch build.
Where it falls short: The learning curve is steep. Expect ten hours before the interface stops fighting you back. Combat is abstracted, so anyone who wants to move units around a battlefield will find the tactical layer thin.
Download: Steam
Bottom line: The one to install first if the political side of Aegon’s Conquest, the marriages and the crownings, is what pulled you in.
2. Total War: Warhammer III, best for hero-scale dragon battles
Total War: Warhammer III is the only pick on this list where you can command an actual dragon on a real-time battlefield right out of the box. Legendary lords ride monsters, spellcasters call storms, and the Immortal Empires map stitches every faction from the trilogy into one continent-spanning campaign that runs for hundreds of turns. The tactical battles are the star, and the roster of siege weapons, cavalry, and airborne units maps almost too well onto a dragon-riders-versus-castles fantasy.
Where it falls short: You need the previous two Warhammer titles or their DLCs to unlock the full Immortal Empires roster, which pushes the total cost past $150 if you buy everything at once. There is no Linux build.
Download: Steam
Bottom line: Pick Warhammer III if the moment Balerion sets the Field of Fire alight is the scene you keep rewatching.
3. Manor Lords, best for rebuilding a conquered kingdom
Manor Lords flips the perspective. Instead of playing the invader, you play the local lord trying to feed, garrison, and defend a holding that could go up in flames on any given season. The city-building layer is the deepest part, with grain yields, ox teams, and family-scale housing tiles that turn a village into a fortified market town over 30 or 40 hours. The combat is present, with real-time medieval battles on the same map, but it stays secondary.
The game is still officially in early access, and updates land every few months. The autumn 2026 patch added a new campaign map and expanded the raid mechanics, so garrisoning against passing armies now feels like a real threat.
Where it falls short: Windows only. Battles are competent but shallow next to a Total War game. And there is no dragon in sight, which is either a feature or a dealbreaker.
Download: Steam
Bottom line: For the smallfolk side of Aegon’s story. Great if the show’s Riverlands episodes are your favourites.
4. Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord, best for a personal rise to king
Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord drops you in as a single character on a Calradia-scale map and lets you go from mercenary to lord to king across a 200-hour sandbox. The battles are first-person or third-person, and you can either command the line or charge it yourself. The reason it belongs on this list is the Realm of Thrones total conversion mod, which rebuilds the game inside Westeros with named houses, working banners, and the political map every fan already has in their head.
Bannerlord runs on Windows and macOS. Mod support is first-class, with a dedicated launcher and a large community catalogue that goes far beyond Realm of Thrones.
Where it falls short: The core narrative is thin, so the first 20 hours can feel aimless until you pick a house to serve or an enemy to hunt. Army composition is coarse compared to Total War’s recruitment trees.
Download: Steam
Bottom line: Install this if you want to be the character on the horse, not the one moving pieces on a map.
5. Age of Empires IV, best classic RTS choice
Age of Empires IV is the sharpest modern medieval RTS on the market, and it earns its spot here for the pacing of its base-building loop and its historical campaigns. The Normans and the English arc through their conquest narratives with real narration and archival footage, and the multiplayer scene is active enough that ranked ladder queues fill fast on Windows evenings. The Delhi Sultanate faction, in particular, translates well to a fast-moving mounted army pushing across a continent.
Where it falls short: Windows only. No native mod platform on the scale of Bannerlord or CK3, so custom Westeros scenarios stay unofficial and scarce.
Download: Steam
Bottom line: The pick for anyone who wants a shorter session, tighter maps, and a modern take on the RTS that defined the genre.
6. Total War: Attila, best for civilisation-ending scale
Total War: Attila is the historical Total War entry that sits closest, in tone, to what Aegon’s arrival meant for the seven kingdoms. The Migration Period map, the burn-and-settle mechanics, the Huns rolling west with an unstoppable cavalry doctrine, all of it makes for the moodiest and most oppressive Total War in the back catalogue. Settlements can be razed to rubble, entire cultures can vanish, and the Great Migrations DLC gives you playable factions specifically built for pack-up-and-conquer campaigns.
Attila ships on Windows, macOS, and Linux, which is rare for a Total War title and the reason it stays on this list even in 2026. The Seven Kingdoms mod, a full Westeros conversion for Attila, has been maintained on and off for years and is playable today.
Where it falls short: The engine shows its age on ultrawide monitors. AI on higher difficulties leans on economic cheats more than tactics.
Download: Steam
Bottom line: For the version of Aegon’s Conquest where the point is not just winning but erasing what came before.
7. Songs of Conquest, best short-session pick
Songs of Conquest is a turn-based fantasy strategy game with a pixel-art board that plays like a modern take on Heroes of Might and Magic III. Faction commanders ride out from a home town, sweep the map for resources and neutral units, then fight enemy heroes on a tactical grid. The campaigns are short, roughly two to four hours per chapter, which makes it the easiest pick on this list to slot into a work-week evening without losing a whole night.
Windows, macOS, and Linux builds are all first-party. Multiplayer works cross-platform.
Where it falls short: The scale is small compared to Total War or CK3. Faction rosters are still growing, and late-game battles can feel repetitive after a few dozen hours.
Download: Steam
Bottom line: The right pick when the conquest fantasy has to fit inside a Tuesday night.
8. Stronghold: Definitive Edition, best for siege specialists
Stronghold: Definitive Edition is Firefly’s remaster of the 2001 original, with a modern engine, a rebuilt UI, remastered music, and new siege scenarios. The economy loop is castle-first: hunters bring meat, farmers bring grain, taxes fund walls, and every attacker eventually meets your battlements. It is the smallest game on this list and the most single-minded. A Targaryen conquest works only if defenders keep folding, and Stronghold is the pick that respects the other side of that math.
Where it falls short: Windows only. The base multiplayer scene is small. Skirmish AI has quirks that experienced players learn to exploit.
Download: Steam
Bottom line: The niche pick, and the right one if the siege of Harrenhal is the scene you actually want to play out.
How to pick the right one
Anyone starting cold and unsure which corner of the genre they want should install Crusader Kings III first. The Game of Thrones total conversion is the closest an unofficial mod has ever come to a shipped Westeros game, and the base game teaches the political register that makes Aegon’s Conquest work as a story.
Go with Total War: Warhammer III if the visual spectacle is the hook. It is the only mainstream title where riding a dragon into a formed army line is a mechanic, not a cutscene.
Pick Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord with the Realm of Thrones mod if the fantasy is being the character on the field, not the one moving armies.
Pick Manor Lords if the small-scale medieval rebuild appeals more than the wide-map campaign. It is also the friendliest to a slower play style.
Pick Age of Empires IV if you want a shorter session and a cleaner ruleset than Paradox’s grand strategy games ask for.
Pick Total War: Attila if you want the darkest tone available and Linux support matters.
Pick Songs of Conquest if evenings are short and the appeal is tactical battles over a map, one session at a time.
Pick Stronghold: Definitive Edition last, and only if the siege side of the conquest is the part that really lives rent-free in your head.
FAQ
Is there a Game of Thrones mod for Crusader Kings III?
Yes. A Game of Thrones is the most polished total conversion for CK3, adding a full Westeros and Essos map, dragon combat, and named-character bookmarks from the Age of Heroes through Robert’s Rebellion. It updates alongside major Paradox patches and installs from the Steam Workshop.
Can I ride dragons in Total War: Warhammer III?
Yes. Multiple legendary lords across factions ride dragons, wyverns, or manticores on the battlefield, and you can command them in real time. The High Elves and Empire rosters include dragons directly, and the Realms of Chaos DLC adds more airborne mounts.
Which Aegon’s Conquest game runs on Steam Deck?
Songs of Conquest is Steam Deck Verified. Crusader Kings III, Total War: Warhammer III, and Age of Empires IV are Playable with control remapping. Manor Lords and Bannerlord require more setup and are best played docked.
What is the cheapest game on this list?
Songs of Conquest and Stronghold: Definitive Edition both sit at around $30 at full price, and both drop below $15 during Steam seasonal sales. Manor Lords stays around $40 in early access.
Which of these has the best Westeros mod today?
Bannerlord’s Realm of Thrones is the most complete Westeros experience if you want to be a character inside the world. Crusader Kings III’s A Game of Thrones mod is the most complete if you want to run a house across generations. Total War: Attila’s Seven Kingdoms mod is the third option and works well for tactical battle players.
When does the Game of Thrones Aegon’s Conquest movie release?
The film is currently slated for a 2029 theatrical release, per Polygon’s coverage of the announcement. No exact month has been confirmed, and details on cast and director remain limited.
