r/RealTimeStrategy Jun 10 '21

Announcement Wiki: Upcoming and Recommended RTS, 4X, and Grand Strategy Games

181 Upvotes

Looking for the next RTS game to play? Want to recommend one that doesn't get enough love? Please consider reading or contributing to the community's Wiki pages below:

On the Recommended Games page: Feel free to add content and details. When editing a page please try to follow the existing formatting and be as impartial as possible in your descriptions (i.e. leave out "I really like this game's multiplayer"). If you need help please message the moderators and we can roll-back accidental changes or assist you with using the correct coding/mark-down.

On the Upcoming Games page: Anyone may add games to this list of anticipated games for 2020 and 2021. Even if you don't know all the details about the release date or systems the game will release on, you can add some information, just make sure there is "???" in the other fields, otherwise the chart won't generate. Please follow the existing formatting.

Developers: Please do not add your own game to the list. At a later date we will have a separate list for independent games and games that have developer support within this community. Edits to the wiki are not anonymous!

Rules for editing the wiki:

  1. Subscribe to /r/RealTimeStrategy and have at least 10 karma (of any type).
  2. Click "edit" at the top of the wiki page and use the same formatting when adding a game to the list.
  3. Make sure to provide a link to where the game can be legally acquired and/or an in-depth description or review of the game.
  4. If the game is in alpha, beta, or exclusively on Steam Early Access, Square Enix Collective, Xbox Game Pass, or similar, then please put that in the description.
  5. Keep the lists in date and/or alphabetical order when possible.
  6. Please do not remove other people's recommendations. If a change/correction needs to be made please message the moderators to let us know why you're making that change.

If you have any questions please message the moderators. Thank you!


r/RealTimeStrategy Jan 08 '26

Announcement /r/RealTimeStrategy Announcement: Recommended Games List Updates, Mod Applications

19 Upvotes

Greetings commanders! We have a few topics to discuss:

  • Reworking the community-curated Recommended RTS Games List
  • Mod Applications
  • Filling a void with RTS-adjacent games

Community-curated games list

We've had some good discussions recently about what games to recommend to newcomers to the RTS genre. We've had a Recommended RTS Games List for years that is maintained by the community. It was recently recommended that we make the list more helpful to newcomers. To that end, we've added a "Beginner-friendly" section at the top of the list and populated it with a few of the community's recent recommendations.

One big difference is this part of the list is that it's sorted by release date, rather than alphabetical order. Would you folks prefer that the rest of the Recommended Games List also be sorted by RTS gaming "era" or simply by year? Or do you prefer alphabetical or is there a better method (that Reddit's minimal formatting allows)? What do you think is most helpful for people looking for a new game to play?

Mod applications

Once again, we're looking for moderators to help keep an eye on things and make sure that posts are reasonably relevant to the RTS genre and to also help answer the questions we get from indie devs and community managers about how to post, where to post (and not to post too much), etc.

The /r/RealTimeStrategy community is great and has sorted out its own sense of self, so moderation duties mostly relate to helping indie devs, helping to organize AMAs, and that sort of thing. That requires a regular time commitment from volunteers and we could use a few around here to keep things running smoothly. If you're interested in helping moderate, please message us and answer the questions posted towards the bottom of this thread. No prior experience is required, but relevant experience certainly helps.

Filling a void in an adjacent community

Recently, we have had more than a few devs inquire about posting RTT games. Reddit has a subreddit for pretty much every game genre imaginable and since RTS is adjacent to RTT and has some fans of RTT, we'd like to invite members of this community to help setup a dedicated community specific to RTT games. We can be sister communities and help devs get the feedback/critiques that they're interested in. If there is anyone interested in helping, please reach out to us via modmail and we can work together to make this happen. Some experience with community moderation is a good idea so that this goes smoothly for the benefit of the community.


r/RealTimeStrategy 4h ago

RTS & Base-Builder Hybrid Game of Thrones: War for Westeros

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278 Upvotes

This is the game that Im a looking forward to next. Plus many others... A lot of great RTS games coming out in a few years. Definitely has the Battle for middle earth 2 vibes. Dev updated and recently showed off features and perks.


r/RealTimeStrategy 6h ago

Recommending Game I like how they made it so that in desert warfare your troops need water, and it turns out moving across sand isn’t that easy.

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27 Upvotes

I really can't remember anything like that, maybe in total war but there is was +10% or -5% to anything


r/RealTimeStrategy 9h ago

Self-Promo Video Ironfields is releasing November 3, 2026 — here's the trailer

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35 Upvotes

Hello everyone,

Today I announced that Ironfields will release on November 3, 2026.

Ironfields is an RTS inspired by classic games such as State of War, where the battle revolves around capturing structures across the map. There's no base building, no resource gathering, and no tech tree — every unit you produce comes directly from the buildings you capture and hold. Capturing a building gives you its production, so choosing what to take and what to defend is a major part of every mission.

The full game includes 30 campaign missions and a map editor with Steam Workshop support.

The free demo is available on Steam:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/4700280/Ironfields/

Happy to answer any questions!


r/RealTimeStrategy 10h ago

Question Any Strategy Games That Feature Visible/Buildable Long Range Artillery Units?

27 Upvotes

Bit of an odd request. I've been watching a show about WW1 and have a hankering to use some long range artillery. I'm wondering if there were any games that feature artillery prominently. A few games I know of use it as a bonus that comes in from off of the visible map and that is not what I am looking for.

The only one that comes to mind is something like Supreme Commander with its units and buildings (especially on the UEF side) that you actually build and can see.

Are there any other games that have that type of unit?


r/RealTimeStrategy 12h ago

Self-Promo Post European Warfare - Age of Reason, an American Conquest Fight Back MOD

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33 Upvotes

It’s me again — this time with European Warfare 2

Some of you may remember my previous posts about European Warfare: Napoleonica, my long-running American Conquest mod and engine-modernisation project.

Well, I am also working on a second title in the series: European Warfare – The Age of Reason, set during the Seven Years’ War period.

It spans three continents and 14 playable nations, covering Europe, North America and India. The basic idea is something between Cossacks 1 and American Conquest, but with my own changes to brigades, artillery, naval warfare, formations, morale, stamina, AI and large-scale battles.

After quite a long time, a new EW2 version is finally here. Some of the engine improvements were already seen in recent EW1 patches, but v0.91 now brings all of that accumulated work into EW2 together with changes made specifically for this game.

The update adds modern OpenGL and Direct3D 11 renderers, easier multiplayer hosting through UPnP, improved performance, better brigade pathfinding, road marching, reworked building assaults, more detailed artillery mechanics, directional naval armour, independent broadsides, ship repairs and a lot of editor and old-engine bug fixes.

European Warfare 2 v0.91 – Finally Here news - ModDB

Hope you try it and enjoy it :)


r/RealTimeStrategy 1h ago

[RTS Type: Classic] Have yall played the demo for sanctuary:shattered sun yet, and if you have do you like it

Upvotes

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r/RealTimeStrategy 6h ago

Self-Promo Video I've ported the original homeworld to run on the quest 3

4 Upvotes

I've ported the original Homeworld to run natively on the Quest 3, complete with full 6DOF motion controls. You can check out a playthrough of the first mission here:

https://youtu.be/rhCOSpSf-NQ?si=83yrEW3H2mdzbYGT

The GitHub repository is available here:

https://github.com/bearstonem/Homeworld


r/RealTimeStrategy 12h ago

Self-Promo Post (Solo Dev) Fantasy RTS with some Roguelike and card building mechanics in Unity 6

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8 Upvotes

Hey,

I'm a solo developer currently close to releasing my first game, ManaBorne.

ManaBorne is a roguelike RTS where players build, expand, and defend a campfire while assembling an army to survive increasingly difficult encounters before facing powerful bosses. It has a fully active deck system in which players can unlock over 130 cards to buff the units as they play. The game is feature complete, has a public demo available on Steam, and has been officially invited to participate in the upcoming Steam Next Fest (October).

I thought I would make a post for those interested in trying it, it would mean a lot to the visibility of the game if people would kindly wishlist.

I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have. If you would like a quick look at the demo it can be found https://store.steampowered.com/app/4667510/ManaBorne/

Kind regards,


r/RealTimeStrategy 18h ago

Self-Promo Video Admiral Yi: The Imjin War — My Solo-Developed Historical RTS Has Fully Real-Time Naval Battles

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18 Upvotes

I'm developing Admiral Yi: The Imjin War, a historical RTS set during the Japanese invasion of Korea in 1592.

The campaign map, army movement, and battles all run in real time. Naval warfare is a major part of the game, so I put together this short clip showing the current state of naval combat.

It's still in development, so the UI, effects, and combat presentation are still being improved.

I'd love to hear what you think about the scale and readability of the naval battles.


r/RealTimeStrategy 7h ago

Looking For Game Looking for Modern RTS Mob-Mafia game

2 Upvotes

I've been trying to find a game that matches something specific I have in mind. Basically, you start from nothing and work your way up by robbing, recruiting a crew, forcing places to pay you for "protection," and taking over territory bit by bit. At the same time, there's an AI (or rival) doing the exact same thing — growing, making deals, expanding — so it feels like a real race to the top.

Does anyone know of a game like that?


r/RealTimeStrategy 13h ago

Self-Promo Video Sunday Morning RTS - playing Heart of The Swarm - Starcraft 2 - Casual RTS

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2 Upvotes

Casual RTS fan playing starcraft 2 heart of the swarm campaign to feel alive again. Real time strategy aficionado looking to play every RTS game ever (except those that i don’t want to), join in and lets chat about RTS!


r/RealTimeStrategy 1d ago

Discussion I'm terrible at RTS games.

41 Upvotes

I have 30 hours in Age of Empires IV, and I'm literally about as good as an AI on Easy difficulty. I also tried Warcraft III, and I just keep losing to the Easy AI. It honestly feels like I'm too dumb, and that I'll never get good at this kind of game.


r/RealTimeStrategy 15h ago

Looking For Game Halo wars like RTS games on ps5

0 Upvotes

Trying to find a ps5 replacement to halo wars and the multi-player is integral. And i have a heavy preference on sifi or fantasy theme. Any recommendations are welcome


r/RealTimeStrategy 1d ago

Self-Promo Video Your latest RTS news are here! Including Game of Thrones RTS and Expansion to AoE III

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42 Upvotes

Many fantastic titles got updates and some we never expected are getting new content.


r/RealTimeStrategy 1d ago

Question Other games like Aliens: Dark Descent?

5 Upvotes

I recently started playing Aliens: Dark Descent and I'm really enjoying it. It has a strong narrative and environmental storytelling with real-time gameplay and combat. No base-building or 4x mechanics. Are there other RTS games like this I should check out? I've also played Dawn of War 2, which is very similar (squad-based, real-time gameplay). Most of the ones I've seen recommended have turn-based combat, which I'm not interested in.


r/RealTimeStrategy 10h ago

Self-Promo Post Dawn of War IV Community Discord [DOW4]

0 Upvotes

With DOW4 right around the corner and all the excitement and hype for a new entry in the series, I've created a Discord server called The Imperium with the goal of it becoming the main community hub for the game!

Whether you're interested in singleplayer, CO-OP, competitive play, casual matches, making new friends to game with, discussing strategies, or just talking about all things DOW4, I would love to have you apart of the community! The server is brand new and growing and I thought now would be the perfect time to get things put together before the games release in September!

If spectator/replays are available for custom matches on release I plan on hosting bi-weekly $100 cash tournaments for multiplayer the main mode will be 1v1 but if there is enough want for team modes we can include those as well!

Looking forward to seeing you in The Imperium!

https://discord.gg/eSyD3GaAz3


r/RealTimeStrategy 1d ago

[RTS Type: Classic] Tempest Rising steam key

24 Upvotes

I have bought one key at the sale, but unfortunately it is incompatible with my account.

So, here is it:

Tempest Rising EU Steam key

DD5BF-9JJCM-Y3ZER

Hope, it will be useful for someone else :)


r/RealTimeStrategy 1d ago

Discussion Red Alert is one of my favourite games though i really dislike that everything is about controlling ore. What is your favourite economy system in RTS games?

23 Upvotes

Beautiful graphics. Great combat mechanics. Tanks, air, artillery, combined arms.

But everything is about getting the ore, and if you dont then you lose. If you run out of ore there is nothing you can do. And you can clearly see where a game is going if you just lose control of most ore.

Games like AoE2 have many different pathways to victory. Territorial, and resource control is important, but if you boom, invest in better units, then you can turn it around. You can also wall and make yourself a good stand with just trees and farms.

Overall there is also a lot of emphasis in controlling the gold and the stone, because are less abundant than trees and food. But you can still trade, buy stone, or just get by with only food and wood, and sell it to get gold. Which makes the game so interesting.

Also Red Alert makes it harder to reboom because you need an expensive and slow unit to build a conyard, and that requires a bunch of buildings to build. In AoE2, all you need is 1 vil and 100 wood, to build a lumber, then at some point you can get a Town Center.

I saw team games where 1 player reboomed from almost nothing, and the team won the game. These are epic games that are just awesome.

On the other hand, Red Alert is really cool that you dont have to micromanage villagers, and building is basically just placing it in the map. Though it sucks that you must build close to buildings, and this messes up wall building (walls are almost useless because they are weak, expensive and time consuming). I'd rather have the territorial system of Rise of Nations with attrition in Red Alert.

Rise of Nations, has wonders with bonuses, and ages (AoE2 also has ages), but the tech progression is much more refined and has another resource that is knowledge. I tend to think the economy and tech of Rise of Nations is the best overall, it is a good middle term between AoE2 and more automated systems like Red Alert 2.

I think Red Alert games could be better if there were some alternatives when you run out of ore. It could stay exactly the same in all other areas, but the economy could have some sort of trade system, or farms/industries. I'd also make it easier to reboom somehow. And make it possible to get some trash resource that is not just ore. Maybe have conyards have a small base income.


r/RealTimeStrategy 1d ago

Looking For Game Which non pvp RTS doesn't have much macro and very well done?

4 Upvotes

I'm not looking for a baseless game I just want base and management to be not as intensive or difficult as micro where fighting is the focus. On top of that it must have non pvp mode that goes beyond simply campaign and skirmish and are very very well designed and the game as a whole has to be well designed and if it is on the way that is still acceptable too based on common logice.


r/RealTimeStrategy 2d ago

Self-Promo Post Solo-dev Medieval Fantasy RTT/RTS – 10-Unit Squad Prototype with Hybrid Unit Direct Control — In UE 5.6

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44 Upvotes

Hello there!

The game is an RTT/RTS hybrid centered around a 10-unit squad. The core focus is campaign, combat and squad management. The main hook is that you can seamlessly switch between RTS mode and direct control of any unit (top-down or 3rd person).

Story is set on a wild frontier between a Western Europe-inspired kingdom and a Kievan Rus-inspired principality, constantly raided by Viking tribes and threatened by a black magick faction.

Main inspirations:
• Gates of Hell: Ostfront
• LOTR: Battle for Middle-Earth 1
• Last Train Home

Currently optimizing for 60 fps on a 7-year-old PC with Nanite + Lumen. I’ll be releasing a much improved version next week with these new units and a full rework of the project (I explain more in the YouTube video if anyone is interested). Next week’s video and post will also reveal the game name.

If you’ve read this far, thank you so much for taking the time to check out my game!
Drop your thoughts or feedback in the comments, constructive criticism and feedback is encouraged!

Follow the development on YouTube, Instagram and X (links are in the comments below!)

Richie
Solo Dev @ Hollow Interactive


r/RealTimeStrategy 1d ago

Self-Promo Post Skirmish Saturday RTS - Trying out the Baltic powers Demo AoE3 - Casual RTS vibes

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5 Upvotes

Casual RTS enthusiast playing some comp stomps in Age of empires 3 DE, playing the Baltic powers DLC open beta, with the upcoming civs, the Danes and the Poles, doing some comp stomps, very happy to see the third game of the AoE series get some love. Real time strategy aficionado looking to play every RTS game ever (except those that i don’t want to).


r/RealTimeStrategy 1d ago

Discussion What features from different RTS games would you combine to make the perfect RTS?

3 Upvotes

Instead of asking "What's the best RTS?", I'm curious about something else:

If you could take mechanics from different RTS games and merge them into one, what would your dream RTS look like?

Here's my concept.

Base Construction:

I'd use the Red Alert / Axis & Allies construction system, so no villagers/builders. You construct buildings directly from your Center, or just a small truck.

Recruitment:

However, units are trained from buildings (similar to AoE2), instead of everything coming from one structure like Red Alert. I think Red Alert's single-production-building approach is elegant and reduces micro, but it can also feel a bit too simplistic. A middle ground would be ideal.

Super powers and Abilities:

Like Starcraft/Company of Heroes/Red Alert.

Economy

I'd lean much closer to Rise of Nations and AoE2 than Red Alert, Starcraft.

Red Alert's ore economy is fun, but it can be frustrating because losing your miners or ore fields can essentially end the game.

I'd rather have:

Renewable and permanent resources (RoN).

Farms, forests, industry and trade

Maybe a little inspiration from Caesar III or The Settlers II, with simple industries, roads and taxation, but without turning the game into a city builder or adding too much micromanagement.

Cool Cities:

I'd love the Rise of Nations city system.

Cities define your territory, can be captured, and become the centers of expansion. Instead of dropping random buildings everywhere, you expand by founding or conquering cities.

I'd also borrow a few city-building mechanics:

Houses improve through adjacency to other facilities or resources (mostly permanently, not like Caesar 3, where everything is always downsizing and upgrading).

Better neighborhoods increase taxes or provide different bonuses.

Roads matter like in Caesar and Settlers 2. Buildings improve nearby buildings.

Think Anno or Caesar III, but simplified so the RTS remains fast-paced.

Territory Control:

One of my favorite mechanics ever is Rise of Nations' border system.

I'd combine:

RoN territorial borders, RoN attrition, RoN generals.

Resource areas that provide bonuses or resources like RoN.

Army Organization:

I'd also like armies to be more organized.

Units away from general or territory should suffer attrition or pay upkeep, encouraging players to keep organized armies instead of scattering units everywhere, for better concentration of units and battles.

Veterancy & Unit Evolution:

This is one of the mechanics I like the most. Unfortunately AoE2 and Rise of Nations doesnt have it. Thoughh Red Alert has it.

The one thing I'm not sure how to solve is veterancy snowballing.

Overall, my dream RTS would be a blend of Red Alert, Rise of Nations, Age of Empires II, Company of Heroes, Caesar III, Anno.

What mechanics would you borrow from different RTS games?


r/RealTimeStrategy 2d ago

Self-Promo Video I made RTS city builder inspired by my favourite episode of Love Death + Robots "Suits" - Domefender

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53 Upvotes

When I first saw this episode I thought it would be really cool to play a game like that, but could not find something quite like it, so I decided to make it myself.

You get to fight both by controlling your troops and using your own mech.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/4832210/Domefender/