Can real-time strategy come back from the brink of death?

There's never been a better time to be obsessed with strategy games on PC, unless you have the misfortune to carry a torch for real-time strategy. We're spoiled with all these brilliant turn-based tactics, 4X and grand strategy diversions, but try to find a notable new RTS and you're going to have a much harder time. What the heck happened, and can we ever go back to the glory days?

[Dragonborn12345]

Hope So!

[Unspoken]

MOBA's have taken over the space and pubs\devs want to make money. I'm not sure we'll see a return to classic RTS popularized anytime soon.

Now I did just pick up Brass Tactics on Oculus and playing an RTS in VR was extremely satisfying and scratched that old school RTS itch. Literally seeing your opponent across the battlefield upped the engagement level.

[indysurfn]

There is room for a full price pay once game. Herzog Zwei needs a sequel!

[xX1NORM1Xx]

I don't think a genre is close to dead because there isn't a huge game, look at hero shooters Overwatch came along and everyone just gave up and now we have like 3 regularly updated hero shooters left and i don't see any coming in future...
I'm seeing more strategy games released on console than ever i'm not a fan of the genre so these could all just be years old ports that are only just making it to console and i could be completely wrong.

[KyRo]

Exactly. No genre in gaming, music or films truly die. You might not get the biggest developers making strategy games anymore as they're all to busy making cliché games, forcing open worlds onto everyone but there will always be smaller Devs making them. Much like how horror was kept alive by the indie Devs before it became cool to make them again.

[NecrumOddBoy]

Well Disco is dead as far as I know.

[KyRo]

Disco is is very much alive. Listen to a few sets from Skream, find tracklists and you'll find plenty of new bits about. Soul, Garage, Grime, Breakbeat, Funky House, Dubstep (not the noise these EDM producers make, Dubstep which actually has dub elements like the good days) are still alive too. Your never believe it by listening to generic Spotify playlists and radio though.

[Michiel1989]

well its not really a fair comparison, fps has seen much more games and enjoyed much more popularity the last few years (even before OW) compared to RTS.
I doubt RTS will ever truly die, I've been waiting for years now on Warcraft 4 an Battle for Middle Earth 3 (i know the latter will never happen, but a man can dream)

[bluefox755]

Until they can find a way to make them viable on consoles, I doubt they'll ever see the success they used to have, unfortunately.

[Fraggle1987]

This is spot on.

[CorndogBurglar]

Halo Wars did this very well. I don't see any reason why other studios couldn't expand on that formula.

The problem isn't that RTS' aren't viable on consoles. It's that publishers and developers don't think they are money makers. Because it's been shown that they CAN work on consoles.

[specialguest]

RTS games didn't work on consoles back then, mainly due to the lack of k/m support(mainly the mouse). RTS games are very point and click heavy, and it's crucial to quickly select your troops, buildings, or commands. The thumbstick was simply too slow. I'm not sure how it worked out for the Halo RTS game, but I remember C&C wasn't that good on PS

[kneon]

The touchpad on the DS4 could work for this use, but then it would need to be a PS4 exclusive.

[coolastheycome]

They need more of these on consoles.

[gamer7804]

Halo wars 2 is awesome. Especially in coop.

[RaidenBlack]

I just want SEGA to publish and Relic to develop Company of Heroes 3.
And Ubisoft to assign Massive Entertainment to develop World in Conflict II .

[Muzikguy]

I really enjoyed playing C&C on the PS1. I also liked Warzone 2100.

[CDbiggen]

I still play Empire Earth lol.

[itBourne]

We do have a new Age of Empires coming! (Even though its not by Ensemble because MS killed them..)

I would be so excited if an RTS just blew up though! At least SC2 just pinned a 3 year contract, so its safe for a while for me to keep watching almost everyday lol

[CorndogBurglar]

If Blizzard would quit screwing around with World of Warcraft and finally make a proper Warcraft 4 they could bring the genre back easily.

The hype alone sells itself. "The franchise that pioneered a genre". "The legend returns". All that kinda stuff.

Hell, people would go ballistic over a Star Craft 3 too.

And then once those became obvious big sellers you would see others resurface. A Command and Conquer reboot. Total Annihilation. Who knows where it could go from there.

But it all needs to start with a classic coming back. That's what would jumpstart the genre.

[3-4-5]

* Age of Empires 4 is going to lead the charge. There has and always will be a dedicated communicty for certain RTS games like the age of empires series & Starcraft...

[UnholyLight]

For me, it's never truly died. Yes games like RUSE are more one dimensional but I absolutely loved that game, and same goes for Men of War: Assault Squad II...I always play Men of War with a friend online and when we start to overdo it we switch back to AOE II Definitive! I feel like the next ten years are hopefully promising, especially since we are going to kick off with AOE IV!

[Mithan]

If it was popular once, it will be again. I think new gamers are simply stuck in Battle Royal mode now, which will eventually change. Old Gamers have simply gotten families and 1 or 2 kids to raise, limiting their time. That too will pass.

[Tross]

It is also true that as genres evolve, new genres can form as certain games try something different with the standard formula that separates itself enough from the norm to warrant its own category. I think this is what we have seen over the past decade or so with the RTS and TBS genres. The tower defense genre is clearly an offshoot of the turn-based strategy genre, and the MOBA is clearly an offshoot of the real-time strategy genre (where instead of playing God, you're playing one of the units). Heck, Battle Royale could be an offshoot of MOBA, albeit with shooter elements. Sometimes elements of more than one genre are fused to form a new one.

None of this means that there's no longer any value in a more traditional RTS, and I think the truth is far from it. Obviously as new ideas are explored, the ones that catch on tend to get a huge cult following, and for a time there's a bit of a honeymoon phase where it can be the type of game to play. But, it's also true that there are still games being made that are more traditional. I'm not saying that genres instantly stop being popular after the honeymoon phase either (and truth be told I think Battle Royale likely has a lot of staying power), but it's not as though the classic RTS game has been completely eliminated.

[ApocalypseShadow]

Not really. And I love them. But Warcraft is no longer an RTS. Starcraft is dead. EA killed my favorite RTS company Westwood. And Age of Empires is really the only thing left.

As someone said above. Would work great in VR. The player would be the eye in the sky. Like the satellite feed. As the map opened, you could see more and zoom in to the enemies position.

But the enemy could produce generators to hide sensitive buildings and protection. You would have to send in vehicles or troops to knock out the generators producing the blur. Just as bad as if you sent in troops blind just like the black shade in old games.

And with motion controls, you could command a single unit or circle the entire group you want to use. Or create squads like the old days.

But right now, RTS is about as popular as side scrolling beat em ups today. I love them too. But that's about dead as well. I still play both. But most gamers have moved on.

[Endyo]

I'm rooting for it, but traditional RTS is pretty reliant on that mouse and keyboard and all the big companies want to be able to get console money too. The rise of the middle tier AA developer though is going to produce more high-quality niche games though, so hopefully, it works out.