Over the last couple generations, it has felt like the RTS genre has vanished into the shadows. Popular RTS franchises like Command & Conquer, Starcraft, and Warcraft have all mostly been put on ice, and there seems to be little interest from AAA developers to explore the genre. While RTS games are still coming out, it feels like they are fewer and far between. The genre feels like it has become smaller and more niche, but the upcoming Minecraft Legends has the chance to change that perception.
Minecraft Legends will be bringing the blocky world of Minecraft to the RTS genre, or more specifically the action-strategy genre. Players will have to work together to construct a base, build an army, and lash out against the dangers of the world. It looks like it could be a great co-op title, and the PvP mode may give Minecraft Legends a ton of competitive longevity. Its accessibility and relation to the mega-popular Minecraft brand may attract people from all over, and that has the potential to open the RTS genre up once more to the masses.
The RTS Genre Seems to Have Shrunk
There was a time when it felt like RTS games were everywhere, and that was partially due to major franchises like Command & Conquer having very consistent release schedules. However, since 2010, that series has been rather inconsistent and has mostly disappeared. Blizzard Entertainment also used to be big in the RTS genre, but the Warcraft series has pivoted to World of Warcraft and there seems to be little interest in reviving the Starcraft series. It took IPs like Age of Empires 16 years to get a brand-new entry, and popular indie titles like Planetary Annihilation seem to have vanished. The RTS genre as a whole has just gotten smaller, and does not seem to be in the public eye like it used to.
While the RTS genre may have shrunk, it definitely hasn't disappeared entirely. Creative Assembly still churns out titles in its Total War series, Men of War is set to return soon, Age of Empires has seen a slew of releases recently, and Homeworld will be getting its long-awaited third entry in the near future. There are still many RTS games on the market, but the market has gotten considerably smaller with big studios like EA no longer developing games in the genre. They also all seem more niche and catered towards history buffs, and the occasional sci-fi fan. While that is not necessarily a bad thing, Minecraft Legends has the chance to give the genre a wider appeal.
Minecraft Legends May Bring the RTS Genre to the Masses
Minecraft Legends trailers make it feel like a colorful and fun game that could serve as the perfect starter RTS for those who are unfamiliar with the genre. Its unique art style could pull in younger and older audiences alike, and it could lead to many new players discovering the genre for the first time. While this is all hypothetical, and Minecraft Legends may not actually accomplish any of this, it has a clear opportunity.
Minecraft Dungeons was criticized by genre fans for its simple gameplay, but that was partly by design. Mojang wanted to streamline the dungeon crawler to make it more accessible and welcoming to all sorts of audiences, and it mostly accomplished that. Anyone without any prior knowledge of the genre conventions could pick this game up and play it. It did not matter who the person was as it was pretty easy to figure out how to play the game. It helped open the concept of dungeon crawlers to a large audience, and it seems to have paid off, as the game reached 15 million players in 2022.
If Minecraft Dungeons can bring the dungeon crawler to a more general audience, then there is nothing stopping Minecraft Legends from doing the same for the RTS genre. Minecraft Legends' strategy gameplay may be simpler and more streamlined, but that also makes it more accessible. It could pull in players from all over and may create new RTS fans in the process. If it is successful enough, then it could even spawn a renewed interest in the genre as a whole, and that would only benefit RTS games in the long run.
Minecraft Legends releases on April 18, 2023, for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S
