War on the Sea
Command ships, submarines and aircraft in the South Pacific during WWII.
Sync your Steam wishlist to find the lowest game prices instantly. No login required, just paste your Steam profile URL!
⚡ Try Wishlist Radar!
Sync your Steam wishlist to find the lowest game prices instantly. No login required!
⚡ Try Wishlist Radar!
Close
Rule the Waves 3 on Steam
Quick menu
Rule the Waves III is a simulation of naval ship design and construction, fleet management and naval warfare from 1890 to 1970.
Rule the Waves 3 is a simulation, wargame and naval game
developed by Naval Warfare Simulations
and published by Matrix Games.
Released on May 18th 2023 is available on Windows and Steam Machine.
It has received 879 reviews of which 785 were positive and 94 were negative resulting in a rating of 8.4 out of 10. 😎
The game is currently priced at 38.99€ on Steam, but you can find it for 8.72€ on Eneba.
The Steam community has classified Rule the Waves 3 into these genres:
Media & Screenshots
Get an in-depth look at Rule the Waves 3 through various videos and screenshots.
Load More
System requirements
These are the minimum specifications needed to play the game. For the best experience, we recommend that you verify them.
Windows
- OS: Windows 11, can work on Windows 10, but not officially supported
- Processor: 1.2 GHz min, 2.4+ GHz
- Memory: 4 GB RAM
- Graphics: No minimum requirement (no hardware video acceleration is required)
- DirectX: Version 9.0
- Storage: 1 GB available space
Steam Price & Best Deals
User reviews & Ratings
Explore reviews from Steam users sharing their experiences and what they love about the game.
This is easily, one of the most brilliant naval warfare games on the market. If you have come down with a case of 20th century warship autism (like me), you will like this game. If you want to design pretty ships, go to Ultimate Admiral. If you want to design real ships, that have to fit a purpose, that have to fit a role, that have to fit your budget? You play Rule the Waves 3. I've been playing this series since I picked up Rule the Waves 2 (wasn't available on steam). The game follows a very simple gameplay loop: 1.) Develop new technology 2.) Build a ship using said technology 3.) By the time the ship is completed, new tech has already been researched that likely has made it theoretically obsolete. Because of this, RTW is - above all else - a game about planning. You're building ships to fight the next war, but the definition of what "The next war" is will be in constant flux. The classic example is the one everyone probably knows from the development of the steel battleship - early in the game, you stick to the pre-dreadnought philosophy (a lot of small guns is superior to a ship of all big guns). Around 1902-1903ish, you have developed the three techs that make building an all big-gun ship worth it and launch the first Dreadnought. This changes the 'rules' of the next war, as the BBs will be more dominant on the battleline than their B counterparts. But, on top of all this, is your budget. It's worth noting before going in that the AI cheats - it always has better budgets than you, but it needs better budgets as you can min-max your fleet building much better than they can. You will NEVER have enough money, and that new ship you want to build may cost more than your budget can handle (I personally will rarely max out the size of my ships, preferring many small ships to a handful of huge ships). This will lead to design constraints - do I want to upgun this ship? May you sacrifice some armor or speed to do so? Ship design is also split across many possible roles and classes. You might even develop your own personal oddball roles. One that I like to use is the raider light cruiser - you build a light cruiser and put a single gun on it, Then you make it as fast as it can go. The idea is that the raider CL will perform surface convoy raiding actions, and if they are ever intercepted by an enemy ship they just withdraw instead of taking the engagement.
It is essentially a "Spreadsheet Admiral" game where you constantly play a delicate balancing act by edging both foreign superpowers and domestic politics to fund your ever-growing, multi-class fleet. It also forces you through the seven stages of grief every time you have to decide whether to scrap an iconic old warship or refit it to keep pace with a new era. with naval history, logic, and pure common sense, I systematically defeated China, Spain, France, and Britain. I then fought off Italy, Russia, and Germany, ultimately conquering all of Asia, the Northwest and South Pacific, nearly all of South Africa, and the far eastern Indian Ocean (complete with six occupied oil fields). To fuel this expansion, I've maxed out research at 12% of the naval budget, continually expanded dockyard capacity for larger hulls, and maintained enough funding to keep the fleet afloat. Along the way, my forces sank countless enemy warships and merchant vessels while expanding my territorial reach. Yet, despite all these conquest and combat victories, the most stressful part of the game remains fleet budget management. Even with the US Navy's massive budget (ending up short of nearly $100k+ of the US by 1990, i have 690k+ while US has 890K+), balancing naval expenditures is a nightmare. And worst of all the temptation of Scrapping my old fleet of ships to make room for new ones only ends up in a realization that you don't need to do it, you just needed to refit or convert them into specialized roles that suit the new era and also waiting of the research to be completed. here's my ships in 1933 BB Yamato 35K+ Ton , in 1941 Akagi 35k+ Ton, in 1964 CV Zuikaku 64K+ Ton, in 1973 BB Kaga 85k ton , in 1979 CV Shinano 69K+ Ton. just some note worthy ones. In summary: Don't build up a ship harem, the upkeep is far too expensive. Marry just one, you won't Regret it. here's my critic: * Provide direct options for player-initiated inland invasions, or increase event frequency. waiting and prolonged the war against the Soviet only for some ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ in the Hague to force a Peace Deal cockblocking me for the victory that I Desire.(seriously ♥♥♥♥ the Hague, their peace Conference and only one time use of Naval Treaty) * Increase the frequency of neutral territory invasion events. its too passive for both parties.
Rule the Waves 3 looks like Wikipedia and Excel had a kid… and then left it alone in a room full of warships. You boot it up and it’s just menus, numbers, charts, more numbers… like damn, where’s the “game”? But then it clicks and suddenly you’re obsessing over ship designs at 3am like a complete maniac, arguing with yourself about armor thickness and gun calibers like it actually matters. There’s no flashy action, no hand-holding, nothing pretty to look at. It’s just pure systems, and somehow that turns into one of the most addictive things ever. You lose a battle and it feels personal. You win one and you feel like a genius. It’s ugly, it’s overwhelming, and yeah, it looks like a spreadsheet on steroids—but once it grabs you, it doesn’t let go. This thing shouldn’t be fun… and yet it absolutely is (if u have the IQ required). 9999/10, spreadsheet supremacy achieved.
Similar games
View all
Dangerous Waters
S.C.S. - Dangerous Waters allows you total control over multiple air, surface, and submarine platforms in a modern-day naval environment. Take direct control of individual crew stations and also plan and execute combined arms naval strategies from a top-down 'Commanders Eye' perspective.
Battle Fleet 2
Welcome Admiral! Select your fleet, assign weapons, and sink the enemy fleet by controlling each of your ships down to setting the aim and range of each weapon's shot. Features include full open world Pacific & Atlantic campaigns, cross-platform multiplayer and awesome turn-based naval battles.
Command: Modern Operations
The ultimate tactical and operational military simulator. Command joint air, naval, subsurface, ground, space, and cyber forces from post-WWII to the near-future. Master real-world EW, C4ISR, and multi-domain warfare on a global map powered by the engine trusted by defense professionals.
Cold Waters
Spiritual Successor to the Microprose Classic “Red Storm Rising”.
Carrier Deck
Carrier Deck is a fast paced time management game where you play as the Air Boss on board the CVN-76 in the midst of active war.
Sea Power : Naval Combat in the Missile Age
From the lead designer of Cold Waters, Sea Power lets you control NATO and Warsaw Pact forces in modern naval conflict campaigns. Use your advanced naval weaponry and sensors to respect rules of engagement and defeat the enemy forces in a tense fight for initiative and air/naval supremacy.
Victory At Sea
Engage in epic RTS warfare across 3 huge campaigns as well as other battle modes. Create your own fleet of ships, pick your side and enter into World War II naval combat on a global scale.
Atlantic Fleet
Turn based tactical and strategic naval combat. Atlantic Fleet puts you in command of the Allies or Kriegsmarine (German Navy) in the longest military campaign of WWII, The Battle of the Atlantic.Take command of surface ships, submarines as well as carrier and land based aircraft in the deadly struggle for control of Atlantic shipping...
Fleet Command
International waterways become theaters of war when the world's most formidable maritime powers exchange their fatal blows. With entire fleets at your command, you must strategically deploy vessels from every class - frigate to aircraft to nuclear submarine - to maintain the precarious balance of naval power and gain position for the...
Boat Crew
Command your crew in Boat Crew, a gripping action-strategy experience amidst the Pacific War. Take charge of a PT boat against Imperial Japan, skillfully managing resources and personnel by any means necessary to ensure victory in this high-stakes conflict.
Combat Mission Shock Force 2
The latest title in the famous Combat Mission franchise of wargames, now on Steam. Shock Force 2 brings you to a hypothetical conflict in Syria between the forces of NATO and the Syrian Army. Play either on WeGo or Real Time in an incredibly detailed and realistic 1:1 tactical simulation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Rule the Waves 3 is currently priced at 38.99€ on Steam.
No, Rule the Waves 3 is currently not on sale. You can purchase it for 38.99€ on Steam.
Yes, Rule the Waves 3 received 785 positive votes out of a total of 879 achieving a rating of 8.42.
😎
Rule the Waves 3 was developed by Naval Warfare Simulations and published by Matrix Games.
Yes, Rule the Waves 3 is playable and fully supported on Windows.
No, Rule the Waves 3 is not playable on MacOS.
No, Rule the Waves 3 is not playable on Linux.
No, Rule the Waves 3 is not playable on Steam Deck.
Yes, Rule the Waves 3 is playable on Steam Machine, though it might require a few minor tweaks. Make sure to check the Steam store page and community feedback on ProtonDB for exact compatibility details.
No, Rule the Waves 3 does not support VR.
Rule the Waves 3 is a single-player game.
Yes, there is a DLC available for Rule the Waves 3. Explore additional content available for Rule the Waves 3 on Steam.
No, Rule the Waves 3 does not support mods via Steam Workshop.
No, Rule the Waves 3 does not support Steam Remote Play.
Yes, Rule the Waves 3 is enabled for Steam Family Sharing. This means you can share the game with authorized users from your Steam Library, allowing them to play it on their own accounts. For more details on how the feature works, you can read the original Steam Family Sharing announcement or visit the Steam Family Sharing user guide and FAQ page.
You can find solutions or submit a support ticket by visiting the Steam Support page for Rule the Waves 3.
Data sources
The information presented on this page is sourced from reliable APIs to ensure accuracy and relevance. We utilize the Steam API to gather data on game details, including titles, descriptions, prices, and user reviews. This allows us to provide you with the most up-to-date information directly from the Steam platform.
Additionally, we incorporate data from the SteamSpy API, which offers insights into game sales and player statistics. This helps us present a comprehensive view of each game's popularity and performance within the gaming community.
Last Updates| Steam data | 16 September 2026 12:20 UTC |
|---|---|
| SteamSpy data | 16 October 2026 19:44 UTC |
| Steam price | 26 October 2026 19:39 UTC |
| Steam reviews | 19 October 2026 16:05 UTC |
If you'd like to dive deeper into the details about Rule the Waves 3, we invite you to check out a few dedicated websites that offer extensive information and insights. These platforms provide valuable data, analysis, and user-generated reports to enhance your understanding of the game and its performance.
- SteamDB - A comprehensive database of everything on Steam about Rule the Waves 3
- SteamCharts - Analysis of Rule the Waves 3 concurrent players on Steam
- ProtonDB - Crowdsourced reports on Linux and Steam Deck Rule the Waves 3 compatibility
38.99€
Visit Store
🔥 Deal
-78%
38.99€
8.72€
Buy Now
-76%
38.99€
9.57€
Visit Store
-76%
38.99€
9.69€
Visit Store
-72%
38.99€
11.23€
Visit Store
Game modes
Features
Online players
82
Developer
Naval Warfare Simulations
Publisher
Matrix Games
Release
18 May 2023
Platforms
Clicking and buying through these links helps us earn a commission to maintain our services.