Steam app 2008100 · updated 12 Sep 2026, 19:35 UTC
Rule the Waves III is a simulation of naval ship design and construction, fleet management and naval warfare from 1890 to 1970.
717 hourly samples, with the daily peak drawn over them. Weekends are shaded.
41 months, May 2023 to September 2026. The highest number of people in the game at once, each month, on a time axis -- a gap in the record stays a gap.
The highest number of people in the game at once, each month. Four, because four is as far back as the source keeps anything finer than one figure a month.
31 days, each one the highest figure that day. The source keeps no hourly detail this far back. Weekends are shaded.
31 days as the curve, each the highest figure that day. Behind it, 436 hourly samples from 13 Aug, which is as far back as the source keeps every hour. Weekends are shaded.
12 days as the curve, each the highest figure that day. Behind it, 281 hourly samples. Each dip is a night. Weekends are shaded.
Rule the Waves 3 was released on 18 May, 2023.
| Language | Full audio |
|---|---|
| English |
A blank audio cell means full audio was not marked in the returned language list.
49 developer announcements, Apr 2023 to Aug 2026 · times in UTC
With 1.01.44 we bring a minor update that includes additions to ship design, QOL improvements, and bug fixes. Here are the highlights: High position ship design option for improved long-range accuracy Ability to copy and paste air groups in…
sofia.cA new update for Rule the Waves 3 is now available, focused on improving stability and refining several core systems following the release of the Expanded Battles expansion.This patch introduces a series of fixes and gameplay improvements…
sofia.cThe naval strategy sim Rule the Waves 3 has a new DLC, Expanded Battles, now available.The expansion adds historical scenarios, a ship and scenario editor, and a Quick Battles mode to instantly generate engagements across different eras.…
sofia.cQuick BattlesWe accept that Rule the Waves 3 is not the easiest game to learn, especially given the length of the campaign mode and the ever-changing political and technological landscape. As we mentioned in our previous dev diary, the ship…
sofia.cHello wargamers, naval historians, and ship enthusiasts!We have a new update available before the release of the new DLC.Update highlights:- This update lays the groundwork for the release of Expanded Battles, with a focus on battle…
sofia.cThe Ship DesignerGiven that Matrix Games held several ship design competitions in the past, we can safely say that one ofthe many draws to RTW3 was the ability to create ships to your liking. RTW3 is intended to be a navalwarfare sandbox…
sofia.cHello wargamers, naval historians, and ship enthusiasts! We have an important update regarding the progress of Rule the Waves 3: Expanded Battles. Development on the expansion has been going full steam ahead, and we’re in the final stages…
sofia.cDev diary 3 - The Scenario Editor RTW3: Expanded Battles includes a powerful scenario editor that will let users create scenarios depicting any naval battle in the world between 1890 and 1970. You can specify the forces and ships taking…
sofia.cThe Historical ScenariosMyself, I love campaign style games, where I can build up and nurture a force over a long stretch ofbattles and encounters. Not everyone has the time and inclination to do that however, and some playersprefer…
sofia.cExpanded Battles Overview We are currently into beta testing of “Expanded Battles”, the much anticipated expansion to our successful naval combat and ship design game “Rule the Waves III”. The expansion will include historical scenarios, a…
sofia.cThe wait is almost over: Home of Wargamers 2025, the yearly live showcase that we stream on Twitch and YouTube, is coming on September 25th.It will bring you the biggest announcements, updates, Spoilers and behind-the-scenes insights from…
sofia.cHello Admirals,While we are working on the new DLC "Expanded Battles" we continue to improve the base game, and we're happy to announce that the Maintenance Update is now available. It's a bug-fixing update, mostly focusing on the UI…
sofia.cHello Admirals, We're excited to announce that the Remaster Update is now live, just in time for the launch of the WarGames Fest, running from April 28 at 10:00 AM PDT to May 5! This major update brings a host of new features, improvements…
sofia.cHello Admirals, In celebration of the upcoming WarGames Fest, we’re excited to announce that the Remaster Update for Rule the Waves 3 will be launching on April 28. This update continues our commitment to refining and enhancing the game…
sofia.cHello Admirals. Today we have an update for you that continues to refine and improve Rule the Waves 3. It mostly includes bug fixes like battles that generated without any ships, and balance tweaks like making blockading enemies more likely…
Severus Lupushttps://store.steampowered.com/app/3170370/Rule_the_Waves_3_Expanded_Battles/ We are happy to announce that the first Rule the Waves 3 DLC is on the way! Have you ever wanted to see a Jutland-style battleship slugfest set in World War II?…
Severus LupusWe are proud to announce our new Home of Wargamers live event, which will take place on September 26th at 5 pm UK time. Join us on our Twitch channel to know more about our biggest franchises. You can set a reminder here. We will talk about…
sofia.cHello Admirals, today we have a Rule the Waves 3 update for you. Version 1.00.52 brings tweaks and fixes to the game, including changes to A.I. fleet generation for the 1935 start date. The full changelog can be viewed below. Happy hunting…
Patch notesToday we have a dev diary for you all on torpedo mechanics in RTW3. Torpedo hit chances is a topic that is a frequently discussed topic among players of RTW3. Torpedoes are a serious threat, and in RTW3, as in real naval combat, a single…
Severus LupusRule the Waves 4 Episode 5 is out now. The Second World War had seen new technologies implemented on a massive scale. By the end of the war vast fleets of radar equipped Essex class carriers, Iowa Battleships, and Fletcher destroyers were…
Severus LupusHello everyone. RTW3 has officially updated to v.1.00.46. The full changelog is posted below, but before we get to that - we have a dev diary for you. Some players have had issues with how officers and their appointments are currently…
Severus LupusRule the Waves 3 Episode 4 is out now. The Second World War saw the carrier usurp the battleship as the king of battle, radar allowed ships to detect targets beyond visual range, and the first use of remotely guided weapons. It began with…
Severus LupusThe First World War was ruinously expensive. Dreadnought construction had drained the coffers of competing fleets. To help limit this reckless spending the naval powers agreed to limits on capital ship construction. Cruisers and Carriers…
Severus LupusHello Admirals, Captains, and any newly commissioned midshipmen. We have an update today for Rule the Waves 3. Update v01.00.40 brings us several new fixes and some new QoL features that should improve player experiences. Pre-battle…
Severus LupusHello RTW3 fans. Beta testing on the next update is completed, and we are now live with v01.00.37. This update has several big changes that will improve gameplay and functionality. The first of these is a change of save file locations.…
Severus LupusWe have just had our second ship design contest, and we had some really top notch designs. While not everyone could be a winner we are really encouraged by how strong the community response is every time we run one of these. Check out the…
Severus LupusWith the launch of Dreadnought and Invincible the race for naval supremacy intensified. Ships ballooned in size, cost, speed, and armament. From 1906-1914 the navies of the world built a combined 63 Dreadnought Battleships in a naval arms…
Severus Lupus{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44009852/6eb0b407e178efca614a127eb20e2dd472f38b75.jpg *The start time of the winners livestream has been delayed a half hour and is now 12:30 PM EST Hello everyone, we are happy to announce that we got a ton of great…
Severus LupusHello Admirals, Commodores, Captains, and every other kind of Master and Commander. We are launching the second ship design contest for Rule the Waves 3. Every person entering the contest and making a valid submission will receive a Matrix…
Severus LupusWhile technology has always played a role in shaping the military, naval warfare in the early 20th century was defined by rapid innovation that saw whole generations of ships made obsolete only a few years after they were completed. The…
Severus LupusHello Admirals, We are happy to release the largest update RTW3 has gotten since launch. The Admiral Update includes a completely reworked battle generator, adding an entire new level of command to Rule the Waves 3.…
Severus LupusWe want you - yes YOU Admiral - to nominate us for the Best Game you Suck category for the steam awards. Since our launch back in May we have had plenty of AAR's on the forums highlighting all the challenges players face in RTW3. From 1890…
Severus LupusHello Admirals, the first Ship Design Contest is over and we have our winners. Gabino, Hououtenki, EwaldvonKleist, Dyna, Student Wang, and The Black Baron's designs were chosen as the judges favourites. We had a grand total of 66 different…
Severus Lupus{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44009852/a5b601b2d471072d2e489281f79abd244f4e3115.jpg Hello everyone, we are happy to announce that we got a ton of great submissions from the community. Thank you everyone that chose to participate in this event!…
Severus LupusHello Admirals, Commodores, Captains, and every other kind of Master and Commander. We are launching our very first ship design contest for Rule the Waves 3! A full list of the rules and submission instructions are available at…
Severus LupusWe are proud to announce our new Home of Wargamers live event, which will take place on September 12th at 5 pm UK time. Join us on our Twitch channel to know more about our biggest franchises. You can set a reminder here. We will talk about…
giuliac1994Hello everyone, We are happy to announce another update for Rule the Waves 3. Along with multiple bug fixes and tweaks to the campaign and battle generator, a new feature added with this update increases the number of large fleet battles…
Severus LupusThe battle generator is an aspect of the game that has generated some discussion I will take the opportunity to explain some of the decisions behind it. The aims of the battle generator is to generate: * Battles that are realistic compared…
Severus LupusWe are happy to announce another update for Rule the Waves 3. Included in the patch are numerous bug fixes and UI improvements. Read the full changelog below. What’s New in Version 1.00.14 Fixed a bug with warning when the player has…
Severus LupusWe are happy to announce the first update for Rule the Waves 3. We have fixed several bugs and typos, tweaked templates to improve AI ship designs, and added a button to pick a ships name from a historical list. What’s New in Version…
Severus LupusWe are happy to announce the release of Rule the Waves 3, a naval grand strategy game that places you in command of the great fleets of the 19th and 20th century. Engage in national politics, set your research priorities, build your fleet…
DeathAfter the mid-1940s, jet aircraft enter the scene. Existing aircraft carriers will have to be rebuilt to handle jet aircraft, adding blast barriers and angled flight decks. As carriers will need to be larger to handle heavier jet aircraft…
DeathThe dreadnought era in the game can be said to cover roughly the years between 1905 and 1945. The completion of the first all big gun battleship, the HMS Dreadnought, was a consequence of technical developments that made long range fire by…
DeathThe Ironclad age (the 1890 start in RTW3) has some marked differences from the time of the First World War, and brings its own interesting tactical challenges. Combat ranges tend to be short. Gun sights and fire control are relatively…
DeathWe know there are a lot of fans of Rule the Waves out there; finally you can read all the new features and improvements that the developers have made for Rule the Waves 3. There are a lot of changes compared to the previous game: POLITICS…
DeathAs Rule the Waves 3 is a game with a large focus on the evolution of naval ship design, the ship designer is at the heart of the game. RTW3 lets you design any ship from a small corvette up to the mightiest super-battleship. And not only…
DeathRule the Waves 3 is a simulation of naval ship design and construction, fleet management and naval warfare from 1890 to 1970. You are placed in the role of 'Grand Admiral' of a navy from the time when steam and iron dominated warship design…
giuliac1994Rule the waves 3 has a number of improvements over its predecessors. The most obvious one is the extension of the time period covered to allow for a truly epic scale. RTW3 starts in 1890, which means that the early game includes some really…
DeathRule the Waves III is a simulation of ship design, fleet management and naval combat that depicts the period from 1890 to 1970, covering eighty years of naval history with changing technology and tactics. Rule the Waves III places you in…
DeathEverything Steam lists as add-on content for this game, newest first. Prices are left out on purpose: the store answers this page in one currency and it is not the reader's.
| Name | Platforms | Released |
|---|---|---|
| Rule the Waves 3: Expanded Battles | Windows | 19 Mar 2026 |
What Steam runs, and with what. Straight from the app configuration.
| Description | Executable | Arguments | Platform | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Launch | Launcher.exe | any | branch devtest press beta | |
| Rule the Waves 3 (Quick Launch) | RTW3.exe | any | branch default |
The folders Steam Cloud syncs. The root is a token Steam uses for a location on your own machine, not a path this page can know.
| Root | Folder | Files |
|---|---|---|
gameinstall | Save | * and below |
WinMyDocuments | My Games/Rule the Waves 3 | * and below |
It runs on public data and somebody's spare time.
https://paypal.me/KintaroPalPay[email protected]0x4d559C765AA8BFe336E36d5b76024926767eD38dTJtctWU9uetJaTBoSybd1RErW7n9duTKVG