The Resurgence of 90s Combat Sims on Steam – Here’s What’s Coming and What’s Available Right Now

Looks like some oldies but goldies are sooo back. Soon we’ll get our chance to get our hands on some fantastic classics that let you sit in the cockpit of all them F-16s, F-22s, Hinds, and Apaches.

Let’s take a look at some of the upcoming releases, as well as stuff that’s out, like, right now.

This is by no means an expansive list, but we guess it gets the job done covering a major share of the old-school sim market.

Also, while we’ll be talking about the 90s, especially the latter half of this decade, some oldies from the late 80s or even stuff from 2000 or 2001 might pop up if relevant.

So, if you’re interested in which combat sims from the 90s are either getting a re-release soon or have already been released, read on!

Stuff that’s coming (or has been released very recently)

Among the returners are the works of one of the major companies in the flight sim field: Digital Integration.

When iF-16 Fighting Falcon, one of the most interesting F-16 sims of the era, surprise dropped on September 1, 2025, it turned out that there’s a whole slew of these games coming. Granted, Hind and Apache Longbow have already been available as exclusives on GOG, but this is just about to change (Hind is also available on Steam as of now and it’s worth checking out as still one of the rare games which are comprehensive simulations of the fabled Mi-24 gunship).

By the way, all three games – iF-16 Fighting Falcon, Hind, and Apache Longbow – are available as original DOS releases, meaning that they use DOSBox to run. If the framerate feels choppy, open the Config folder, fire up the configuration file – it’s a text file – and set the cycle rate to maximum for a fluid gameplay experience.

Two more things here: iF-16 comes bundled with the Afghanistan expansion and despite what its page on Steam says, it was made by Digital Integration and not Interactive Magic, IM was the game’s publisher.

Speaking of Interactive Magic, they’re also planning on re-releasing iF-22, one of those classic F-22 simulators that were so popular around 1997 and 1998. One of its standout features is  the dynamic campaign, something that was coveted back then and didn’t really make it to many similar games at the time. The music’s a bit jarring, though.

Oh yeah, speaking of music, Fighting Falcon has a phenomenal soundtrack blending hard rock with ethnic instrumentation. Be sure to check it out on YouTube even if you’re not interested in the game. Hind’s also great, if you loved the music in Warcraft 2, this is pretty much in the same vein.

Alright, what else is coming? Air Warrior II & III. These World War II fighter simulators, both released in 1997, are the sequels to a 1987 classic which is pretty much the great-great-great-grandfather of stuff like War Thunder or World of Warplanes. They’re both planned for a Q3 2025 release, just like all the games mentioned above, meaning they’re going to drop sometime in September. Be on the lookout for these, especially if you’re up for old-school multiplayer aerial warfare action!

Stuff that’s already been released (pre-September 2025)

A sizeable new batch of flight sims might be about to drop, but there’s already a sizeable collection of classics available on Steam (or GOG, if you prefer).

If you want probably the best F-16 sim to this day, be sure to get Falcon 4.0. Interesting thing here is that is serves as a basis for Falcon BMS, a mod which makes the game even greater and is said to be way better than the DCS module. Improved graphics, incredible realism, dynamic warfare – what else do we need? You can also get the series’ oldies from the late 80s and early 90s, but we suppose these are mostly for aspiring game historians or those who grew up with these and want to relive the nostalgia.

If you’re more of a chopper pilot instead, you might want to check out Enemy Engaged: Apache vs. Havoc, a hit sim from 1999 which lets you fly the mighty Apache and its equally mighty Russian counterpart, the fabled Mi-28.

Its sequel, Comanche vs Hokum, now labeled as Enemy Engaged 2: Desert Operations on Steam, is more of the same, but even more advanced. Be wary, though, as many reviews state that there are all sorts of technical problems with launching the game (and the reviews on Steam are mostly negative). Might need some work before you launch it and there’s no promise it’s going to work even then. A bummer, really.

Don’t feel like playing these games? An alternative is the 2000 Gunship! (not really a 90s game, but still). Its predecessors are also available for purchase if you feel like playing something VERY retro.

Digital Integration has one of its oldies, Tornado, in the catalog as well. Games centered around pretty much the cornerstone of the Desert Storm operation are few and far between. If you don’t mind antiquated graphics – or if you love them, actually – you’re going to have a fun time playing this one, given the fact that it’s still pretty accurate as far its sim aspect goes, and the game boasts a dynamic campaign and a complex mission planner feature, something that’s been missing from later DI games. Bummer.

DI also got F/A-18E Super Hornet, originally released in 2000. The F/A-18 was also a very popular choice of topic and this one is considered a very decent and fun sim, so you might want to check it out as well, especially if you loved any previous Digital Integration game.

Want some more World War II action? Feel like flying a B-17? You’re in luck. You can grab B-17 Flying Fortress: The Mighty 8th – either the OG release or the modern remaster, the Redux – and its 1992 predecessor, B-17 Flying Fortress: World War II Bombers in Action. The former doesn’t just let you fly the fabled bomber, but also a wide variety of escort fighters. Heck, you can even jump into the cockpit of a German plane and hunt down them fliegendes Stachelschweine (German for “flying porcupines”) instead! And if these feel too old for ya, you might love the fact that we’re about to get another sequel, B-17 Flying Fortress The Bloody 100th, though its release date is as of yet unknown.

And if you want some flight simulators which balance realism and accessibility, NovaLogic used to make these back in the day. You can get F-16 Multirole Fighter, MiG-29 Fulcrum, and F-22 Lightning 3, fun little simulators which let you take off and shoot down some baddies/bomb some tanks or other ground targets in no time. They feel kinda samey, but they’re fun nonetheless, considering the fact that Mig-29 doesn’t really have that many simulators and F-22 Lighting III lets you drop some nukes, too. 

Here’s a warning, though: F-22 Lighting III might have issues running, especially if you mess around with the resolution. Keep that in mind while tinkering with the game’s settings.

Also, F-117A Nighthawk Stealth Fighter 2.0 from 1991. Very old, but might still be very fun.

What if I don’t feel like flying? Are there any classic 90s simulators of, I don’t know, tanks?

Sure and there’s quite a handful of these.

The most popular tank in simulators is obviously the Abrams, playable in the likes of iM1A2 Abrams, Armored First 3, and M1 Tank Platoon II. Spearhead, another Abrams sim, is also about to get a re-issue on Steam, probably sometime in September 2025. And it’s getting a modern sequel, Spearhead 2, which looks sick and might be a great one to pick up if you’re looking for something on par with today’s tech standards instead.

Any World War II sim classics? iPanzer ’44 might be your jam. Its also slated for a Q3 2025 release, meaning it should be out in mere days.

Feel like engaging in some naval warfare? Well, there’s Harpoon Classic ‘97, a legendary strategy game where you can engage in realistic naval combat, with the whole 90s feel, to boot.

These are just a couple ideas, but we’re sure that you might find more stuff to your liking if you do some more digging. Check out MicroProse’s page on Steam and recommended games.

What if I want a simulator that is only inspired by the 90s classics, but it’s a modern game?

There are some good ideas here.

First off, Tiny Combat Arena, a sim lite that lets you fly the famous VTOL fighter, the Harrier. It’s fairly easy to pick up and its visuals are an obvious throwback to classics such as Hornet 3.0 or A-10 Cuba! The development on this one has been slow, but it’s still pretty playable in the current state (it’s available via Early Access).

And if you want something with modern visuals, but an old-school feel, be sure to give Nuclear Option a shot. Another Early Access title, this one lets you fly fictional, but plausible aircraft, including an attack helicopter clearly inspired by the Comanche. You can drop some powerful nukes, too, hence the title. Nuclear Option strikes a great balance between realism and accessibility, which makes it a fun game to play especially if you’re interested in simulators, but can’t be bothered to spend hours on reading 600-page manuals and playing through training missions just to be able to take off the ground.

If you can’t be bothered to wait for Spearhead 2, you can grab Gunner, HEAT, PC! via early access instead. This tank sim promises to blend realism and fun in the right amounts and lets you commandeer various vehicles that were available back in 1985.

What are other simulator classics that you’d like to see re-issued on Steam?

MicroProse is rolling out them classics like crazy, so here’s hoping that they might obtain the rights and re-release more 90s stuff.

Anyway, we’d like F-22 Air Dominance Fighter/Total Air War officially re-released on Steam or GOG, we don’t care where. NovaLogic could finally put out stuff like older Armored Fist games, Comanche Gold, and F-22 Lighting II/Raptor, all iconic pieces of software.

There’s been this long-standing Jane’s simulation series which also includes a whole bunch of sim staples, just to mention Jane’s F-15, Jane’s Longbow 2, Jane’s IAF: Israeli Air Force, Jane’s USAF, and Jane’s WWII Fighters.

More? Team Apache, maybe some of them Jetfighter games, if you’re up for sim lites which are even closer to Ace Combat than actual flight sims. Hornet 3.0 would also be a fantastic pick for a re-issue.

Anyway, there’s a whole lot of great 90s classics that are available already, a whole bunch coming around September 2025, and a whole lot of possibilities awaiting us from Q4 2025 onwards.