Best Real-Time Strategy Games
264 Real-Time Strategy games, ranked by the Rank and Play community.
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Winter Assault
Released: Sep 23, 2005
Critic rating: 84.5 / 100
Rating: M
Genres: Real Time Strategy (RTS), Strategy
Platforms: PC (Microsoft Windows)
Game modes: Single player, Multiplayer
This expansion adds all-new units and strategies to the exciting gameplay offered by Dawn of War.
Pharaoh
Released: Nov 2, 1999
Critic rating: 70.0 / 100
Rating: E
Genres: Real Time Strategy (RTS), Simulator, Strategy
Platforms: PC (Microsoft Windows)
Game modes: Single player
Pharaoh is a 1999 strategy game developed by Impressions Games and published by Sierra Entertainment.
Command & Conquer: The Covert Operations
Released: Jan 1, 1996
Critic rating: 77.6 / 100 • 23 votes
Rating: T
Genres: Real Time Strategy (RTS), Strategy
Platforms: PC (Microsoft Windows), DOS
Game modes: Single player, Multiplayer
Covert Operations is an add-on for Command & Conquer which features 15 new missions, new music tracks, and multiplayer maps.
Men of War: Assault Squad 2
Released: Mar 20, 2014
Critic rating: 75.0 / 100
Rating: T
Genres: Real Time Strategy (RTS), Simulator, Strategy, Tactical
Platforms: PC (Microsoft Windows)
Game modes: Single player, Multiplayer, Co-operative
Men of War: Assault Squad 2 features new single player style skirmish modes that take players from extreme tank combat to deadly sniper stealth missions.
Spore
Released: Sep 4, 2008
Critic rating: 82.0 / 100
Rating: E10+
Genres: Real Time Strategy (RTS), Role-playing (RPG), Simulator, Strategy, Adventure
Platforms: PC (Microsoft Windows), Mac
Game modes: Single player
From Single Cell to Galactic God, evolve your creature in a universe of your own creations.
Battle Realms
Released: Nov 7, 2001
Critic rating: 77.4 / 100 • 34 votes
Rating: T
Genres: Real Time Strategy (RTS), Strategy
Platforms: PC (Microsoft Windows)
Game modes: Single player, Multiplayer, Co-operative
Kenji, exiled heir to the Dragon throne, must stake his claim in a chaotic world wracked by the subversive intrigues of the Serpent, Wolf, and Lotus clans.
Imperator: Rome
Released: Apr 25, 2019
Critic rating: 84.0 / 100
Rating: PEGI 16
Genres: Real Time Strategy (RTS), Simulator, Strategy, Turn-based strategy (TBS), Tactical
Platforms: Linux, PC (Microsoft Windows), Mac
Game modes: Single player, Multiplayer
"Paradox Development Studio returns to ancient history with Imperator: Rome, a new title set around the growth of Roman power in a threatening Mediterranean.
Empire Earth
Released: Nov 12, 2001
Critic rating: 77.3 / 100 • 149 votes
Rating: T
Genres: Real Time Strategy (RTS), Strategy
Platforms: PC (Microsoft Windows)
Game modes: Single player, Multiplayer
Epochs are the ages a player passes through in Empire Earth.
Tropico 4
Released: Aug 26, 2011
Critic rating: 74.3 / 100
Rating: T
Genres: Real Time Strategy (RTS), Simulator, Strategy
Platforms: PC (Microsoft Windows), Mac, Xbox 360
Game modes: Single player
Fancy being a dictator?
Kingdom Rush Frontiers
Released: Jun 6, 2013
Critic rating: 80.0 / 100
Rating: E10+
Genres: Real Time Strategy (RTS), Strategy, Indie
Platforms: Linux, Android, PC (Microsoft Windows), iOS, Mac, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Game modes: Single player
Command your troops through an epic (mis)adventure as you defend exotic lands from dragons, man-eating plants, and ghastly denizens of the underworld -all with flashy new towers, levels, heroes, and more goodies to help you crush your foes in this Fantasy Action Tower Defense game!
Brütal Legend
Released: Oct 13, 2009
Critic rating: 80.3 / 100
Rating: M
Genres: Music, Real Time Strategy (RTS), Simulator, Strategy, Adventure
Platforms: PlayStation 3, Linux, PC (Microsoft Windows), Mac, Xbox 360
Game modes: Single player, Multiplayer
Brütal Legend is an action-adventure that marries visceral action combat with open-world freedom.
Door Kickers
Released: Oct 20, 2014
Critic rating: 84.5 / 100
Rating: T
Genres: Shooter, Puzzle, Real Time Strategy (RTS), Simulator, Strategy, Tactical, Indie
Platforms: Linux, Android, PC (Microsoft Windows), iOS, Mac, Nintendo Switch
Game modes: Single player, Multiplayer, Co-operative
Door Kickers is an innovative Real-Time Tactics game that puts you in charge of a SWAT team.
Age of Empires IV
Released: Oct 28, 2021
Critic rating: 81.6 / 100
Rating: T
Genres: Real Time Strategy (RTS), Strategy
Platforms: PC (Microsoft Windows)
Game modes: Single player, Multiplayer, Co-operative
One of the most beloved real-time strategy games returns to glory with Age of Empires IV, putting you at the center of epic historical battles that shaped the world.
Warcraft: Orcs & Humans
Released: Nov 23, 1994
Critic rating: 76.7 / 100 • 173 votes
Rating: E
Genres: Real Time Strategy (RTS), Strategy
Platforms: PC-9800 Series, PC (Microsoft Windows), Mac, DOS
Game modes: Single player, Multiplayer
Warcraft: Orcs & Humans is the first game in the Warcraft series developed by Blizzard Entertainment.
Starlink: Battle for Atlas
Released: Oct 16, 2018
Critic rating: 76.4 / 100
Rating: E10+
Genres: Shooter, Real Time Strategy (RTS), Role-playing (RPG), Simulator, Strategy, Adventure, Arcade
Platforms: PlayStation 4, PC (Microsoft Windows), Xbox One
Game modes: Single player, Multiplayer, Co-operative, Split screen
Starlink: Battle for Atlas is an all-new action-adventure game developed by Ubisoft Toronto.
Grey Goo
Released: Jan 23, 2015
Critic rating: 83.0 / 100
Rating: T
Genres: Real Time Strategy (RTS), Strategy
Platforms: PC (Microsoft Windows)
Game modes: Single player, Multiplayer, Co-operative
Grey Goo is a real-time strategy game features three factions -- the Beta, Humans and Goo -- each with its own style, strategies and epic units (very powerful, rare combatants that tower over the battlefield).
Curious Expedition
Released: Sep 2, 2016
Critic rating: 75.8 / 100
Rating: T
Genres: Real Time Strategy (RTS), Role-playing (RPG), Simulator, Strategy, Adventure, Indie, Card & Board Game
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Linux, PC (Microsoft Windows), Mac, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Game modes: Single player, Multiplayer
Curious Expedition is a roguelike expedition simulation set in the late 19th century.
Anno 1701
Released: Oct 30, 2006
Critic rating: 76.7 / 100
Rating: E10+
Genres: Real Time Strategy (RTS), Simulator, Strategy
Platforms: PC (Microsoft Windows), Nintendo DS
Game modes: Single player, Multiplayer
Anno is a real-time strategy video game series with business simulation and city building elements.
Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance
Released: Nov 6, 2007
Critic rating: 75.0 / 100
Rating: E10+
Genres: Real Time Strategy (RTS), Strategy
Platforms: Linux, PC (Microsoft Windows)
Game modes: Single player, Multiplayer
Forged Alliance is a stand-alone expansion to the critically acclaimed RTS game Supreme Commander.
Northgard
Released: Mar 7, 2018
Critic rating: 81.0 / 100
Rating: E10+
Genres: Real Time Strategy (RTS), Role-playing (RPG), Simulator, Strategy, Turn-based strategy (TBS), Indie
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Linux, Android, PC (Microsoft Windows), iOS, Mac, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Game modes: Single player, Multiplayer, Co-operative
Northgard is a strategy game based on Norse mythology in which you control a clan of Vikings vying for the control of a mysterious newfound continent.
Halo Wars 2
Released: Feb 21, 2017
Critic rating: 76.7 / 100
Rating: T
Genres: Real Time Strategy (RTS), Strategy
Platforms: PC (Microsoft Windows), Xbox One
Game modes: Single player, Multiplayer, Co-operative, Split screen
After decades adrift and declared “lost with all hands,” the brave crew of the UNSC Spirit of Fire are mysteriously awoken above an ancient Forerunner haven known as the Ark.
Supreme Commander
Released: Feb 16, 2007
Critic rating: 76.3 / 100
Rating: E10+
Genres: Real Time Strategy (RTS), Simulator, Strategy
Platforms: PC (Microsoft Windows), Xbox 360, PlayStation 2
Game modes: Single player, Multiplayer, Co-operative
For a millennium, three opposing forces of humanity--the Cybran Nation, the Aeon Illuminate and the United Earth Federation--have fought a bitter and bloody war over conflicting and unwavering systems of belief.
Dawn of Discovery
Released: Jun 23, 2009
Critic rating: 72.0 / 100
Rating: T
Genres: Real Time Strategy (RTS), Simulator, Strategy, Adventure
Platforms: PC (Microsoft Windows)
Game modes: Single player, Multiplayer
Dawn of Discovery (Known as "Anno 1404" in Europe) is a city-building and economic simulation game with real-time strategy elements.
Iron Harvest
Released: Sep 1, 2020
Critic rating: 80.7 / 100
Rating: T
Genres: Real Time Strategy (RTS), Sport, Strategy
Platforms: PlayStation 4, PC (Microsoft Windows), Xbox One
Game modes: Single player, Multiplayer, Co-operative
After World War 1 farmers found a plethora of unexploded ordnance, barbed wire, weapons, shrapnel and bullets while ploughing their fields.
Plague Inc.
Released: May 26, 2012
Critic rating: 80.0 / 100
Rating: E10+
Genres: Real Time Strategy (RTS), Simulator, Strategy, Tactical
Platforms: Web browser, Windows Phone, Android, iOS
Game modes: Single player
As a new disease, it is your job to destroy the entire human species by evolving to a deadly plague.