Anyone could argue that all video games have some element of real-time strategy (RTS), but once upon a time, this was a unique genre. In the 1990s, games started to appear that simulated wargames or tabletop battles. Unlike today, there wasn't a lot of crossover with RPG or online games, and the platform was often limited to personal computers. Vintage games from the 20th century defined the RTS game, and today, the current selection of contemporary RTS games keeps innovating their creations using a combination of experimental writing and modern technology.
The influence of the RTS games that closed out the previous century had a lasting effect on the present state of video games. Many of these titles remain obscure while others have made it into the history books and have been remade or remastered for the present day. Whether or not that's a good thing remains a matter of opinion. Either way, a combination of nostalgia and an aging gamer population has ensured that virtually all of these games are readily available to anyone who's interested in experiencing the early days of RTS video games.
10 Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty (1992)
The early 1990s saw some of the first few RTS games as we now understand them, and although they were two-dimensional their creators still found ways to give them large, epic scale. The Dune franchise is one example, using the lore of a literary titan to form a sophisticated backdrop for a complex RTS experience. The sequel took these details to the next level and gave future games in the same genre a template to follow.
Westwood Studios would continue working to advance RTS games and their name comes up frequently when discussing the genre's history. Its popularity ensures that modern versions exist, and there's a fan-made version known as Dune Legacy that you can play in your browser.
9 Command & Conquer (1995)
The concept of setting video games in alternate timelines might have started with certain early RTS games. Command & Conquer, which takes place in an alternate Earth timeline in which the world is split up into two global factions, is one example. Westwood Studios, the same company behind the Dune franchise, brought the successful design of that game a few years ahead and combined it with the concept of modern warfare. Not from the world wars, either, but from the Gulf War, which was well underway at the time.
Players who want to experience this classic can invest in the Command & Conquer Remastered Collection that was released in 2020.
8 StarCraft (1998)
It might seem strange now that they rule the world of MMORPGs, but Blizzard used to be known for dominating the RTS market. StarCraft was just one entry from their library that utilized this popular genre, and it broke new ground by combining an RTS game with an exciting science fiction narrative. It's the 26th century, and four races vie for galactic dominance. Players take on one of those four races and fight for resources as well as control of the region in a distant sector of the Milky Way.
There were also three campaigns available if you wanted to play on your own through the storyline, a novel concept in the RTS genre. The current version of StarCraft is readily available on the Blizzard website, and a remastered version of the classic that started the series was released in 2017.
7 Sins of a Solar Empire (2008)
Sins of a Solar Empire was one of the first games of the 21st century to successfully combine the best features of past games with some impressive innovation for future inspiration. The developers describe it as an RT4X game, which means it combines an RTS game with a 4x environment.
Most RTS games today fall into this category. 4x stands for Explore, Expand, Exploit, and Exterminate, which is just as much fun as it sounds, and the gameplay still has the usual turn-based system but is focused as much on development and expansion as it is discovery and conquest.
A newer version of the game, Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion is currently available on Steam.
6 Sid Meier's Civilization 2 (1996)
This could be one of the genre's most enduring franchises, with no less than six titles in the series. The first Civilization game was painfully two-dimensional, but it still had some great ideas when it came to using historical events and places in creative and entertaining ways. The second game in the series retained some of these better features and added new ones, like a map that was reaching forward into a time of actual 3D. Players choose empires to build based on some historical fact, so even though the game itself is fantasy it gives a reality-based frame of reference.
Even though the franchise continues to evolve, with Civilization 6 just recently released, the older versions retain their popularity and are available to play online.
5 Empire: Total War (2009)
Empire: Total War is one of the more recent games to have a major impact on the genre. It combined the realism of a historic RTS game with superior graphics that pushed the limit of what 3D animation could do, such as creating some of the first real-time naval battles in RTS games. The effect was a deeply immersive gaming experience that other games have tried to emulate.
The time period of the game spans the 18th century and includes a campaign that follows the development of the United States, starting from the settlement of Jonestown to the War of Independence. Players can recreate other historic battles from the same time period using actual events and locations as points of reference. It's still a popular game, and the current Definitive Edition is available on Steam.
4 Dungeon Keeper (1997)
A classic with a devoted cult following, Dungeon Keeper inspired the horror-fantasy genre, which gave us titles like Diablo only a few years later. The first platforms this game was available on were MS-DOS and Windows 95, and it made enough of an impact to start a franchise that continued on into 2014 with the most recent installment. It combined the 4x concept of other RTS games with the concept of a dungeon crawler, and it included an expansion pack, a Direct3D version, and a level editor.
Critics and players alike loved the depth, variety, and creativity along with the fantasy crossover. The original was re-released online in 2011 and copies have been available through game developer Origin since 2016.
3 Homeworld (1999)
Homeworld takes some cues from StarCraft when it comes to setting, backstory, and gathering resources, but this game depends more on a linear storyline that calls back to the Civilization franchise. It also brought the concept of sophisticated musical scores into the realm of video games, utilizing the talents of Paul Ruskay and his newly formed Studio X Lab, a track from the pop band Yes, and Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings, the last of which became the game's anthem. It received numerous accolades and awards for the advanced graphics and multiplayer system, but the jury is still out on the difficulty level and complex plot.
The success of the game spawned a franchise, and when the game's source code appeared in the public domain in 2003, fans ran with it and made their own versions of the game. Gearbox Software released a remastered version in 2015 for Windows and Mac.
2 Dark Reign 2 (2000)
Speaking of new concepts that became common tropes thanks to RTS games, here's a sequel to a game that's actually a prequel. It included three player modes as opposed to the usual two. In addition to multiplayer and single-player, there was the option of instant action mode. The multiplayer version could host up to 32 players at once and battles had different objectives and styles, like Bloodbath, in which the goal is a kill quota, and Gluttony, which consists of finding and collecting as many resources as possible.
The original game CD included packaging software that players could use to create their own game mods, a novel concept at the time. The map editor was cutting edge and there are internet tutorials to help players learn how to use it. The classic game is available on retailers like Amazon, and the source code was leaked in 2011, which means there are also fan-made copies out there.
1 Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos (2002)
Just after the turn of the century, Blizzard was already riding high from its successful RTS franchise. With World of Warcraft two years away, they introduced an RTS game that focused more on the RPG storyline than gathering resources or military prowess. This was high fantasy rendered in three dimensions and it was glorious.
More than any other classic RTS game, this is the one that's received most of the attention lately, and for all the wrong reasons. Blizzard thought that they could repeat the same success of Classic WoW with a re-release of an even older and even more influential game, and the result was Warcraft 3: Reforged. It turns out that didn't work out very well, and unless you have a stand-alone copy of the classic game and haven't connected to the internet, it's hard to find a copy of this game that isn't the Reforged version, which overwrote older versions instantly upon download.