Total Nerd The Best Space Combat Simulator Games of All Time  

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2.9k votes 463 voters 47.3k views 83 items

These are the best space simulator games of all time for any console or system, including cover art pictures when available. These highly rated space flight simulator games are ordered by popularity, so only the greatest space simulator games are at the top of the list. Spanning the entire history of the genre, these space combat simulator games are considered the best in the genre. This list includes all challenging space simulator games that have ever hit the shelves, so it doesn't necessarily have all the more obscure or new space flight combat games.

Games here include everything from Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader to Star Wars: Rogue Squadron.This list answers the questions, "What are the best space flight simulator games?" and "What is the greatest space flight simulator game game of all time?"

After you are finished voting up the best space combat simulator games, go ahead and vote on the best city-building games of all time.

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FreeSpace 2 is listed (or ranked) 1 on the list The Best Space Combat Simulator Games of All Time
FreeSpace 2 1999 FreeSpace 2 is a 1999 space combat simulation computer game developed by Volition, Inc. as the sequel to Descent: FreeSpace – The Great War. It was completed ahead of schedule in less than a ...more

2
95 23
Star Wars: TIE Fighter is listed (or ranked) 2 on the list The Best Space Combat Simulator Games of All Time
Star Wars: TIE Fighter 1994 Star Wars: TIE Fighter, a 1994 space flight simulator/space combat computer game, is the sequel to Star Wars: X-Wing. It places the player in the role of an Imperial starfighter pilot during ...more

3
77 18
Freelancer is listed (or ranked) 3 on the list The Best Space Combat Simulator Games of All Time
Freelancer 2003 Freelancer is a space trading and combat simulation video game developed by Digital Anvil and published by Microsoft Game Studios. It is a chronological sequel to Digital Anvil's Starlancer, a ...more

4
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Wing Commander: Privateer is listed (or ranked) 4 on the list The Best Space Combat Simulator Games of All Time
Wing Commander: Privateer 1993 Wing Commander: Privateer is an adventure space flight simulation computer game released by Origin Systems in 1993. Privateer and its storyline is part of the Wing Commander series. Privateer ...more

5
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Star Wars: X-Wing vs. TIE Figh... is listed (or ranked) 5 on the list The Best Space Combat Simulator Games of All Time
Star Wars: X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter 1997 Star Wars: X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter is the third installment of the X-Wing computer game series, although it is not a regular part of the series. Including several technical advancements over the ...more

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Wing Commander III: Heart of t... is listed (or ranked) 6 on the list The Best Space Combat Simulator Games of All Time
Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger 1994 Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger is the critically acclaimed third main game in Chris Roberts' Wing Commander science fiction space combat simulation video game series, developed and ...more

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Star Wars: X-Wing is listed (or ranked) 7 on the list The Best Space Combat Simulator Games of All Time
Star Wars: X-Wing 1993 Star Wars: X-Wing is the first LucasArts DOS computer game set in the Star Wars universe, as well as the lead title in the X-Wing combat flight simulator game series. The player's character ...more

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Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance is listed (or ranked) 8 on the list The Best Space Combat Simulator Games of All Time
Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance 1999 Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance or XWA is the sequel to both Star Wars: TIE Fighter and the multiplayer-focused Star Wars: X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter. XWA presents the story of the Azzameen family, a ...more

9
40 13
Wing Commander is listed (or ranked) 9 on the list The Best Space Combat Simulator Games of All Time
Wing Commander 1990 Wing Commander is the first, eponymous game in Chris Roberts' science fiction space simulation franchise Wing Commander by Origin Systems. The game was first released for the PC DOS on September ...more

10
45 18
Starlancer is listed (or ranked) 10 on the list The Best Space Combat Simulator Games of All Time
Starlancer 2000 Starlancer is a space-based science fiction flight simulator computer game, created by Erin Roberts, Chris Roberts, and Warthog PLC under the auspices of Digital Anvil.

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X3: Terran Conflict is listed (or ranked) 11 on the list The Best Space Combat Simulator Games of All Time
X3: Terran Conflict X3: Terran Conflict, is a space trading and combat simulator from German developer Egosoft and is the culmination of their X series of computer games. Described as a stand alone game, based on ...more

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38 15
Star Trek: Bridge Commander is listed (or ranked) 12 on the list The Best Space Combat Simulator Games of All Time
Star Trek: Bridge Commander 2002 Star Trek: Bridge Commander is a space combat simulation video game, published by Activision and Totally Games in 2002, based in the Star Trek universe. The plot revolves around a newly promoted ...more

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Elite: Dangerous is listed (or ranked) 13 on the list The Best Space Combat Simulator Games of All Time
Luis Díaz F. added Elite: Dangerous 2014 Elite: Dangerous is a space adventure, trading, and combat simulator that is the fourth release in the Elite video game series. Piloting a spaceship, the player explores a realistic 1:1 scale ...more

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Tachyon: The Fringe is listed (or ranked) 14 on the list The Best Space Combat Simulator Games of All Time
Tachyon: The Fringe 2000 Tachyon: The Fringe is a computer game developed and published in 2000 by the company Novalogic. It features the voice acting of Bruce Campbell as main character Jake Logan in a 3-D space ...more

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38 17
Star Control II is listed (or ranked) 15 on the list The Best Space Combat Simulator Games of All Time
Star Control II Star Control II is a science fiction video game, the second game in the Star Control franchise. It was developed by Toys for Bob and originally published by Accolade in 1992 for DOS. It was ...more

16
37 17
Independence War 2: Edge of Ch... is listed (or ranked) 16 on the list The Best Space Combat Simulator Games of All Time
Independence War 2: Edge of Chaos Jun 01 2001 Independence War 2: Edge of Chaos, or Edge of Chaos: Independence War 2, is a sequel to the space combat simulator video game Independence War. Developed by Particle Systems Ltd - the developers ...more

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Wing Commander IV: The Price o... is listed (or ranked) 17 on the list The Best Space Combat Simulator Games of All Time
Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom 1995 Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom is the fourth main game in Chris Roberts' Wing Commander science fiction space combat simulator video game series, produced by Origin Systems and released ...more

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Elite is listed (or ranked) 18 on the list The Best Space Combat Simulator Games of All Time
Elite 1984 Elite is a seminal space trading video game, written and developed by David Braben and Ian Bell and originally published by Acornsoft for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron computers in September ...more

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Star Trek: Klingon Academy is listed (or ranked) 19 on the list The Best Space Combat Simulator Games of All Time
Star Trek: Klingon Academy 2000 Star Trek: Klingon Academy, also known as Klingon Academy, is a starship combat Space flight simulator computer game developed by 14 Degrees East, an internal development house of publisher ...more

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X3: Reunion is listed (or ranked) 20 on the list The Best Space Combat Simulator Games of All Time
X3: Reunion Oct 28 2005 X3: Reunion is a single-player space trading and combat game developed by Egosoft and published by Deep Silver. It is the third installment in the X universe adventure video game series and the ...more

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X2: The Threat is listed (or ranked) 21 on the list The Best Space Combat Simulator Games of All Time
X2: The Threat 2003 X2: The Threat is a computer game developed by Egosoft for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X. It is part of the X Computer Game Series. It was released in 2003 and is a sequel to X: Beyond the ...more

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DarkStar One is listed (or ranked) 22 on the list The Best Space Combat Simulator Games of All Time
DarkStar One 2006 DarkStar One is a space trading and combat simulator game developed by German studio Ascaron and published by CDV. The PC version of the game was officially released on June 16, 2006 in the ...more

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Star Wars: Rogue Squadron is listed (or ranked) 23 on the list The Best Space Combat Simulator Games of All Time
Star Wars: Rogue Squadron 1998 Star Wars: Rogue Squadron is an arcade-style action game co-developed by Factor 5 and LucasArts. The first of three games in the Rogue Squadron series, it was published by LucasArts and Nintendo ...more

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Wing Commander II: Vengeance o... is listed (or ranked) 24 on the list The Best Space Combat Simulator Games of All Time
Wing Commander II: Vengeance of the Kilrathi 1991 Wing Commander II: Vengeance of the Kilrathi is the first sequel in Chris Roberts' Wing Commander science fiction space combat simulator franchise of computer games, produced by Origin Systems. ...more

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Star Trek: Starfleet Command I... is listed (or ranked) 25 on the list The Best Space Combat Simulator Games of All Time
Star Trek: Starfleet Command III 2002 Star Trek: Starfleet Command III is a Star Trek computer game published in 2002. It was the fourth entry in the Starfleet Command series, and one of the last Star Trek games to be released by ...more

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Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is listed (or ranked) 26 on the list The Best Space Combat Simulator Games of All Time
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy 1994 Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is a PC Star Trek simulation game that simulates the life of a typical Starfleet cadet. The object in the game is for the player to learn the basics of flying a ...more

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Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: R... is listed (or ranked) 27 on the list The Best Space Combat Simulator Games of All Time
Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader 2001 Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader is an arcade-style action game co-developed by Factor 5 and LucasArts. The second of three games in the Rogue Squadron series, it was published by ...more

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Descent: FreeSpace – The Great... is listed (or ranked) 28 on the list The Best Space Combat Simulator Games of All Time
JabonDix added Descent: FreeSpace – The Great War 1999 Descent: FreeSpace – The Great War is a 1998 space combat simulation IBM PC compatible computer game developed by Volition, Inc. when it was split off from Parallax Software. Published by ...more

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Wing Commander: Prophecy is listed (or ranked) 29 on the list The Best Space Combat Simulator Games of All Time
Wing Commander: Prophecy 1997 Wing Commander: Prophecy is the fifth direct sequel in Chris Roberts' Wing Commander science fiction space combat simulator franchise of computer games. The game was released in 1997, produced ...more

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Star Fox 64 is listed (or ranked) 30 on the list The Best Space Combat Simulator Games of All Time
PeteBoyle added Star Fox 64 1997 Star Fox 64, known in Australia and Europe as Lylat Wars, is a 3D scrolling shooter game themed around aircraft combat for the Nintendo 64 video game console. It is a reboot of the original Star ...more

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Spacewar! is listed (or ranked) 31 on the list The Best Space Combat Simulator Games of All Time
Spacewar! Jan 01 1962 Spacewar is one of the earliest digital computer video games. It is a two-player game, with each player taking control of a starship and attempting to destroy the other. A star in the center of ...more

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Wing Commander Arena is listed (or ranked) 32 on the list The Best Space Combat Simulator Games of All Time
Wing Commander Arena 2007 Wing Commander Arena is a space combat video game developed by independent software developer Gaia Industries for the Xbox 360's Xbox Live Arcade service. It is a spin-off of the popular Wing ...more

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Star Fox is listed (or ranked) 33 on the list The Best Space Combat Simulator Games of All Time
PeteBoyle added Star Fox 1993 Star Fox, released as Starwing in Europe, apparently to avoid confusion with an association called "StarVox" in Germany is the first game in the Star Fox series of video games, ...more

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Star Wars Arcade is listed (or ranked) 34 on the list The Best Space Combat Simulator Games of All Time
Star Wars Arcade 1993 Star Wars Arcade is a video game released in 1993 to arcades. A home port served as a launch title for the Sega 32X in 1994. It is set during the original Star Wars trilogy.

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Jumpgate: The Reconstruction I... is listed (or ranked) 35 on the list The Best Space Combat Simulator Games of All Time
Jumpgate: The Reconstruction Initiative 2001 Jumpgate: The Reconstruction Initiative is a MMORPG in a science fiction setting for the PC, released in North America on September 25, 2001 by NetDevil and 3DO. However, only months after 3DO ...more

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Infinite Space is listed (or ranked) 36 on the list The Best Space Combat Simulator Games of All Time
Infinite Space 2010 Infinite Space, initially announced as Infinite Line, is a 2009 science fiction role-playing video game with space simulation and real-time strategy RPG elements, developed by Nude Maker and ...more

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Star Trek is listed (or ranked) 37 on the list The Best Space Combat Simulator Games of All Time
Star Trek 1982 Star Trek: Strategic Operations Simulator is a space combat simulation arcade game based on the original Star Trek television program, and released by Sega in 1983. It is a vector game, with ...more

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Pardus is listed (or ranked) 38 on the list The Best Space Combat Simulator Games of All Time
Pardus Sep 14 2004 Pardus is an award-winning graphical browser-based MMORPG written in PHP and C/C++ and set in a futuristic universe where players interact and compete in space. It is a persistent-universe, ...more

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Star Trek: Shattered Universe is listed (or ranked) 39 on the list The Best Space Combat Simulator Games of All Time
Star Trek: Shattered Universe Jan 13 2004 Star Trek: Shattered Universe is a space simulator video game set in the Star Trek Mirror Universe, as portrayed in the original series episode Mirror, Mirror. Originally intended to be one of ...more

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11 7
Allegiance is listed (or ranked) 40 on the list The Best Space Combat Simulator Games of All Time
Allegiance 2000 Allegiance is a multiplayer online game providing a mix of real-time strategy and player piloted space combat gameplay. Initially developed by Microsoft Research, the game was later released ...more

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11 7
A/X-101 is listed (or ranked) 41 on the list The Best Space Combat Simulator Games of All Time
A/X-101 Jan 01 1994 A/X-101 is a 1994 space/FMV video game for the Sega Mega-CD.

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Jumpgate Evolution is listed (or ranked) 42 on the list The Best Space Combat Simulator Games of All Time
Jumpgate Evolution 2009 Jumpgate Evolution, commonly abbreviated as JGE, was an unreleased massively multiplayer online game having been in development by NetDevil intended to be published by Codemasters. The game is a ...more

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I-War is listed (or ranked) 43 on the list The Best Space Combat Simulator Games of All Time
I-War Nov 01 1997 I-War is a space combat simulator developed by English development house Particle Systems Ltd. The game was first published in 1997 in Europe by Infogrames as I-War, and in late August of 1998 ...more

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Nexus: The Jupiter Incident is listed (or ranked) 44 on the list The Best Space Combat Simulator Games of All Time
Nexus: The Jupiter Incident 2004 Nexus: The Jupiter Incident is a science fiction themed real-time tactics computer game developed by the Hungarian based Mithis Entertainment that focuses on tactics and ship management instead ...more

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4 0
Asteroids is listed (or ranked) 45 on the list The Best Space Combat Simulator Games of All Time
JabonDix added Asteroids 1979 Asteroids is an arcade space shooter released in November 1979 by Atari, Inc. and designed by Lyle Rains and Ed Logg. The player controls a spaceship in an asteroid field which is periodically ...more

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14 11
Star Trek: Starfleet Command I... is listed (or ranked) 46 on the list The Best Space Combat Simulator Games of All Time
Star Trek: Starfleet Command II: Empires at War 2001 Star Trek Starfleet Command II: Empires at War is the sequel to Star Trek: Starfleet Command and the second in the series of 'real-time' space combat games, developed by Taldren, Inc. and ...more

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10 8
Bang! Gunship Elite is listed (or ranked) 47 on the list The Best Space Combat Simulator Games of All Time
Bang! Gunship Elite Jul 19 2000 Bang! Gunship Elite is a space combat simulator that was released for both the Dreamcast and the PC. Similar in play style to games like Wing Commander, or Descent: FreeSpace – The Great War, it ...more

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7 5
Titan Wars is listed (or ranked) 48 on the list The Best Space Combat Simulator Games of All Time
Titan Wars Jan 01 1995 Titan Wars is a video game released for the Sega Saturn, developed and published by Crystal Dynamics. Its full motion video sequences star Claudia Christian. Solar Eclipse was developed under ...more

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Star Trek: Encounters is listed (or ranked) 49 on the list The Best Space Combat Simulator Games of All Time
Star Trek: Encounters Oct 12 2006 Star Trek: Encounters is a video game set in the Star Trek fictional universe, which was released on October 4, 2006, for the Sony PlayStation 2 console. The game was developed by Scottish ...more

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Wing Commander: Armada is listed (or ranked) 50 on the list The Best Space Combat Simulator Games of All Time
Wing Commander: Armada 1994 Wing Commander: Armada is a computer game set in the universe of Chris Roberts Wing Commander franchise. Created by Origin Systems and distributed by Electronic Arts in 1994, Armada was the ...more