Base Building RTS In 2025 | 40 Best New & Upcoming Real-Time Strategy Games

[@GamerZakh]

I went all out for this video. If you enjoyed it, consider joining the Patreon at $1 right now to lock in that price for everything forever! www.patreon.com/GamerZakh Exclusive videos, gameplay, and more. The price is going up soon but not for you if you're already at the $1 tier and stay at that tier. Thank you!

[@EmpireEternal]

nice, ty for talking about our project

[@d.c.19991]

@@EmpireEternal Seriously this not Coincidence that you Short is "EE" Like Empire Earth! XD

[@shahoul1]

RTS is my favourite genre. Really hope Sanctuary turns out good. Thank you for the video, Zakh.

[@thingamarobYT]

Okay, the opening skit was very amusing. Put a smile on my face for the day. Thank you.

[@GamerZakh]

Thanks, I'm glad you liked it!

[@GlobalConflagration]

First and foremost we are most thankful for all the support we've received over the years and for all the coverage! We are the first who would like to have the game out there in the hands of the players. Sadly the reality is that we picked the most complex genre to delve into with a very small indie team. Even with larger scale independent games you can see a pattern of delays or incomplete releases. RTS bar is indeed really high and very time consuming to reach and without a lot of corners to be cut either. For the sake of transparency we do our best to organize open demos for everyone to check in our progress but in the end it is sadly a long journey.

[@mesarthim640]

I'm all hyped for your game ! I wasn't expecting much but after trying your demo, I was blown away ! I just wanted more range to artilleries.

[@warcrome]

Tempest Rising date release is in April 24 of 2025... Finally one got out of the eternal production! By the way: good list, as always Zakh😊

[@GamerZakh]

Yeah that announcement just happened, so didn't make it into this video but good that I didn't get the year wrong lol

[@AaronBrown-po1rf]

Is this for Xbox we need these on Xbox

[@NHlegionking]

Great list. But what I like the most about your videos is the very detailed list with time stamps, very easy to rewatch.

[@GamerZakh]

Thank you! I try real hard to make them the best they can be.

[@LordHog]

Great job on the list. I know this took a lot of effort, so thanks..

[@GamerZakh]

Hey thank you so much for the support! I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[@DanIliescu-o7e]

Gates of Pyre and Tactical , Battlezone and Ablight, Crown of Greed, the Spance, From Glory to Goo, Collapsed Galaxy 2 - Godsworn, Barkhan with Red Chaos, Liquidation, Sanctuary Shattered Sun, and Manor Lords is awesome - chose mostly these 14

[@mesarthim640]

Oh please Zakh, I absolutely need you to say that 2025 will be the year of the RTS ! Once again... once more ! You can't avoid it ! Thank you for this amazing list though =D

[@GamerZakh]

Haha I'd still say that was 2024 because that is the year when these announcements happened and a whole bunch released in some form. Even if many of the hopefuls didn't perform at the end of the day. 2024 is the year RTS picked up again, so I'll keep that as the marker year for the new era of RTS (for now).

[@mesarthim640]

@@GamerZakh Gotcha... Still, 2025 looks like it's coming back strong this time... This will definitely be the year of RTS, right? Also, a lot of new RTS and older ones were announced lately for 2025 by smaller indie devs , Moduwar scheduled for Q1 2025, endeavor rite of passage, fractured alliance, incarnus warfare, hyperwar, WarOS, Atre Dominance Wars, Dust Front. In case you missed them... Those were the one I took note of but there are a couples more worth of note (just not my cup of tea) I know you mentioned a few of them in past videos but did not talk about them here for reason I can easily imagine. I hope I help a little though ! I tried Global Conflagration during the steam demo thingy and I really loved it, this will be amazing ! I really had a blast and I was beyond impressed with what I saw compared to what I was expecting. If you didn't try it, I really encourage you to take a look at it when it will be available. Tempest Rising was announced for April 2025 (just saw that on 3d realms discord), I have 24th in mind but I could be wrong, saw end of April though.

[@GamerZakh]

@@mesarthim640 Yeah there are hundreds of upcoming RTS really. For the ones I didn't list, they're usually either something that has been 'upcoming' for ages and the release isn't going to be a full release. Or they are very indie like solo dev level and unlikely to have a full release in 2025. Some don't even have a trailer yet or are still saying things like 'pre-Alpha'. Some specific examples: - WarOS says they're releasing but on Steam forums they specify it's into early access and they're meant to be running a Kickstarter that hasn't started yet. - Moduwar I listed as far back as 2018, it's been 8 years and this next release is still just early access. - Fractured Alliance is super indie and supported on Patreon which is only getting $140/month support, so it's likely a long term passion project. And so on for various reasons. So in most cases, even if they do become playable in 2025 they will be listable for 2026 if they prove to be good. Suggestions always help though! When I make future lists I tend to scour the comments of older lists to see what people were interested in.

[@mesarthim640]

@@GamerZakh Exactly what I thought. But I hoped you didn't know some of them so I could eventually make you discover something and yell a little "yeaaah, I helped" XD Thanks for the info on the game you listed, I didn't know that but saw the devs talking about their game, what they want to implement in their game etc. even got the opportunity to chat a little with them. Many early state project which all have troublesome AI until now. They implement a lot of great features which seems really cool but as I thought, making the AI use those abilities correctly is a nightmare. (like mines, refueling, repairing, ...) And I know many players would give a negative reviews to the game if the AI is below average or just plain cheating to get that level of "difficulty". Anyway, thanks for reading comments, always a pleasure to chat a lil bit with you too.

[@ash231974]

Excellent vid as always broooo...

[@GamerZakh]

Thank you!

[@pavlotverdokhlib7627]

Empire Eternal has resource counters for Food, Wood, Stone, Gold and Iron. Which means it's basically Empire Earth, but without the mechs. Hope they make good modding tools, EE's longevity was largely due to the campaign editor (and the Empire Earth Heaven community). 3000 units per map is a lot? *laughs in Cossacks* Wishlisting StarSim, just because it looks like a solo dev project. I generally don't have as much time for RTSs anymore, and AoE 2 DE keeps me busy with all the custom content; But I am really curious about DORF, Tempest Rising, and a few others. Great list.

[@Somebody374-bv8cd]

I wonder will EA ever make a proper C&C remaster. Then again maybe it's best to leave it alone. There's finally a game like Majesty (Lessaria, Crown of greed), I just replayed Majesty earlier this year, still love it. Thanks for the list, quite a lot of interesting looking titles in here.

[@Fastwinstondoom]

Time to make that steam wishlist even more bloated!

[@murkki018]

Stellar Outpost Commander is another upcoming Majesty-like, but this time in space.

[@GamerZakh]

@@murkki018 Yeah but release date still says 2024, so I can't include it here.

[@murkki018]

@@GamerZakh That it does.

[@tomaszsyga1472]

I like such summaries; thanks for your work ;) greetings from Poland!

[@IT-ry8xt]

Finally someone creating a spiritual successor to majesty series, that was so fun game, cant wait for the Lessaria

[@adhyperdad3027]

Amazing intro. That was one of the most enjoyable video intros I have seen in a long while. Thank you for it

[@GamerZakh]

I'm glad you enjoyed it! I felt like doing something special for this one.

[@SpaceTales_RTS]

Thank you so much for including our game in this list

[@reynanuy]

Thanks a lot for this video! I love what you do for the genre with everything you do, specially these kind of videos which are massive. Again, many thanks!

[@qasderfful]

More than a hour long! Do we really have that many RTS still upcoming🤯

[@GamerZakh]

@@qasderfful 2024 really picked up RTS development, a lot of devs are continuing to try figure out how to make the genre work now.

[@Lucas-gt8en]

Love the intro, genuinely made me laugh!

[@GamerZakh]

Thanks! I worked hard on this one.

[@benjaminking505]

Man I love your list videos! They're always great and I feel like I 'get a good haul' of games to check out from each one. Cheers!

[@Apophis324]

What a great intro! If any company ever makes a new C&C-like game, WITH full motion video, they should definitely consider hiring your mustachioed persona ^ -^

[@AxMi-24]

Amazing moustache Zack 😂

[@GamerZakh]

If only I could really grow that lol

[@rorymercury5033]

So many good looking games! I hope genre will revive.

[@Thomazmllm]

Thanks for the curation, zakh!

[@Thomazmllm]

PS: I LOVE (LOVELOVELOVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!) majesty. Didin't know about this lessaria, will check!

[@zuiop9993]

OMG the intro was so silly and funny. It's good to smile right after waking up :)

[@GamerZakh]

I'm glad you enjoyed it! I felt like doing something special for this.

[@georgigeorgiev2451]

I am definitely mostly hyped for Immortal gates of pyre, Ablight, Tempest rising and maybe DORF

[@florianfrey9258]

Dude, yeah! :D Personally I think Immortal and Empire Eternal make the list for me.

[@nikoladedic6623]

Wait, we are getting Majesty spiritual successor?

[@GamerZakh]

A few of them actually. The 2 here are just about touching the RTS genre, but there are more that play a bit like hero RPGs and there have been a couple similar-ish games over the years.

[@indarklove6850]

we love those videos!

[@Soccer5se]

The first game looks a lot like Rise of Nations! One of the best RTS games of all time!

[@Spaced_Invader]

Thanks Zakh for the RTS vid! I needed this and loved it! My man... you didn't include Dust Front... :O .Best wishes!

[@lionheart233]

I was in the Tempest Rising Beta and let me tell you that game is going to be a massive success!

[@potatopotato1353]

I never thought, i will live long enough to see renanissance of RTS genre.

[@GamerZakh]

It's had some bumps but 2024 did feel different compared to the last 15 years.

[@shaider1982]

56:12 That feature of possesing your own units is present in the old game, Dungeon Keeper.

[@Mrmich5371]

Well done with the intro.. 😊

[@lukaf2393]

The heritage of the glorious Total Annihalation/ Supreme Commander is still strong I see...

[@paecmaker]

The thing I'm slightly worried about is the sheer number of upcoming RTS games that cater a lot on nostalgia to the point that it seems to be their main selling point.

[@delapool1518]

Empire Eternal looking VERY similar to EE lol im into it

[@V4zz33]

Sanctuary runs really smoothly and looks tasty at the moment. Loads of things are missing though, and unit variety is nowhere near close to Beyond All Reason, or TA. It's got lots or Experimental units though. If you're impatient and crazy enough, you can sign up for the $100 Patrion, and you can get access to a playable demo. I really don't like the design of the "Human" air units... basically just big ass drones, they don't look like aircrafts.

[@erez87xp]

lol, you really are forced to mention manor lords in every list cause of the crazies :D

[@GamerZakh]

I mean it fits the criteria, it's just there isn't much new to say about it at this point.

[@SkullCrusher069]

Intro was great

[@shaider1982]

Hope someone makes a reboot of Battle Realm. The only game where your troops are literally born first before you train them.

[@Arcodus]

Tempest Rising for my win!

[@leadingauctions8440]

"complication of Homeworld recently" What happened?

[@GamerZakh]

Generally speaking a lot of people didn't enjoy it enough for it to be considered a success. It's a lot of details, so you can look further into it for more.

[@grey9526]

StalinZakh isnt real, he cant hurt you. Stalin Zakh:

[@hekkura]

Nebulous : Fleet Command if you want a more tactical version of Homeworld

[@Alex06CoSonic]

I think Stormgate will be 1.0 in November or December of 2025. If they could take a while longer, I'd say a May-June 2026 1.0 release looks healthier for them. They need time to cook, as it's a pretty ambitious project.

[@Inucroft]

Stronghold 3 I Alt-F4 from soon as i saw spearmen throwing their spears...

[@mateuszlobien6665]

Please uninstall all the games with infinite amo and all the unrealistic and scientifically impossible stuff based on this logic. Please make it happen stick to ur guns

[@BlackGold-fc7tu]

Mustache Zakh demands respect

[@ItsGroundhogDay]

The Majesty games are still a lot of fun. Even the second one that people complain about, that was great.

[@musizlover2008]

It sounds to me ZeroSpace is borrowing the persistent war idea from Helldivers 2.

[@Jasp137]

Really looking foreward to Broken Arrow! Big WARNO/Wargame/RTT fan here. But also Sanctuary Shattered Sun since i used to play a lot of Supcom.

[@lapix7333]

I played Godsworn inj beta the only complaints i have are skill lets you stomp everyone no matter how far you're behind and the price

[@BodaciousBohannon]

Tempest Rising has set a release date of April 24 2025. Woot woot

[@dot2562]

😂😂😂 you need a wee plumbers hat 😂

[@argentum746]

Battle Aces looks a bit like Footmen Frenzy.

[@rafaelitho]

cant wait for Lessaria, i love majesty

[@sanderkiki]

I hope they will replace AI assets tho.

[@marekkos3513]

The Scouring will be so good in 2025.So sad you forgot about it.Its going to be amazing rts game like warcraft ;]

[@flexikee]

Can you tell something about Stronghold 2? Is there a hope for remaster like first game?

[@GamerZakh]

Nothing has been confirmed, so no one really knows. People have been asking for it but we don't know the details of what's possible.

[@flexikee]

@@GamerZakh got it, thanks

[@frostbite-v8d]

sanctuary and falling frontier

[@Defomir]

Hey @GamerZakh could you do something similar but for strategy for Steam Deck? Would love to have something good to play on it

[@marekkos3513]

Broken Arrow and Bar ! .Thank you and have a nice day. Ps.I just wonder what Relic is doing with the next rts game ?.Dawn of war 4 ?

[@RascalV666]

Roman Empires looks great, you can see there was money for this game

[@shaider1982]

Man, all these awesome games but I again have the same problem I had back in high school during the late 1990's: no machime powerful enough to run any of them (just a 2021 laptop).🤣

[@pentagram4745]

1:22 lmao goes through the gate

[@GamerZakh]

Yeah it's older footage, but there isn't a lot of new official footage as the trailer is pretty short.

[@HaydenCraig000]

Another RTS worth mentioning is potentially Dust Front RTS.

[@GamerZakh]

I've listed that before, I'm waiting to see how things turn out for that first.

[@darknetworld]

RTS is not easy task as it required math balance for damages. There are some good dev solo is not easy to release if keep changing. I feel they have features creeps... XD

[@RascalV666]

STARSIM is nothing more than a new version of Earth 2140 Which still looks great and is still playable Podoba mi sie to STARSIM

[@FEDEXLuchs]

does Empire Earth not exist?

[@Alex06CoSonic]

59:45 How about April 24th, 2025? How's that sound? :)

[@GamerZakh]

Yeah they announced that after I had already uploaded this video lol. At least I got the year right.

[@DelondialLottracus]

Ok. I'm unapologetically here for Dinolords. Only game that piqued my interest.

[@AaronBrown-po1rf]

We need these games on Xbox

[@FlightFight42]

It seems no one can agree what "Action RTS" actually means ever since Steam invented the term 😅

[@GamerZakh]

It's gonna be like 'Action RPG' haha. I settled on 'Action RPG' being like The Witcher but having 'ARPG' being like Diablo and those being 2 different subgenres, but not everyone agrees with me on that. Similarly for 'Action RTS', I'm leaning towards it being the middle ground between RTS and RTT. Where I settled on RTTs not having base-building or resource collection and are like wargames where you control an army, so an 'Action RTS' would have a little bit of base-building and/or resource collection but not in the traditional sense. Company of Heroes style would probably count as an Action RTS moving forward.

[@m3ntal_c0re]

I think modern RTS should just be like Halo Wars 2 ...but with support 😑

[@marcojanker6116]

I buy IT. Its reborn generals

[@avedis1990]

falling frontiers main problem from my perspective lacking 3d camera view.. thats a big NO for me ,as it kills the game emersion, and when we have other games like sins of solar empire who managed to use 3d camera more than 10 years ago, i dont see why this game cant, am sure its not about money.. stormgate problem is it doesnt look good aesthetically, like it doesnt capture that dark vibe designs of creatures, rather it feels like a moba game with fornite graphics ... broken arrow, i mainly play rts games for their story , conquest campaign , broken arrows seems to focus purely on PVP, which is really sad , hope they give us a decent conquest campaign mode, the game still feels thaat it needs another year plus at least to release .

[@Piet-d1j]

Age of Mythology Retold

[@stepheng3735]

Great video, but, let's be clear. RTS is still "REAL-TIME", and games like Mechabellum have reduced themselves to auto-battler scenes or "Strategy" (even turn-based) games which remove a player's influence just like Civilization games do for the battles between two units. So, *no,* there's been no split, its more off-shoots from RTS as a genre. Real Time Strategy games encompass active action, and control, at all times for playable content. (Minus story-based stuff, such as cinematics.)

[@GamerZakh]

I mean, 'split' and 'off-shoot' means the same thing in this context. You can use the term you prefer. You may have noticed I listed zero auto battlers in the video.

[@stepheng3735]

​@@GamerZakh Not necessarily. And true, you didn't list any autobattlers (only making a comparison to Mechabellum for clarity). I'm glad you didn't! I'm agreeing there. I mention this specifically when you speak of the elements that RTS, as an inspiration, created for these other types of games. Which, essentially, reduces them to *just* Strategy games. I irks me when they claim to have RTS in the title/tags/description when they *don't fulfill those requirements to identify as such!* xD Anyway, Sanctuary Shattered Sun had better fulfill my Flow-Eco RTS needs or I'm going to suffer... ; _ ;

[@DonDensho]

Still waiting for the next red alert

[@Bauschaumbruder]

Please play Polismos

[@FineWine-v4.0]

Where's Dying Breed ?

[@GamerZakh]

Listed in the video.

[@FineWine-v4.0]

​Apologies @@GamerZakh

[@Slayer-x4j]

중간 중간 시대에 안맞게 2d로 나온 게임들은 뭐임?

[@susangoaway]

I actually have an RTS basically everyone has missed, given it is still in a fairly early state (at least I think it is). Cepheus Protocol: Basically Prototype turned into an RTS with you being the army. In case someone does not know: It's zombie horde game. And my usual comment to Broken Arrow (and any other slitherine games) - Look out for their community manager and mods, they are extremely ban happy, this includes if you have a slitherine account with games on it, they will just ban you for outside conduct they consider "racist" or other isms. You will lose access to your games there. Outside conduct, meaning outside their platforms. I will only mention that one of them also will attempt to get you banned elsewhere, basically trying to cancel your customer. You shouldn't have listed it, yes, I will get in arms instead. About your definition of RTS: I wouldn't call autobattlers RTS, otherwise cardgames would also be RTS. Also about Industrial Annihilation, I do have doubts about it. You shouldn't buy it at release, you should wait when they release a second version like they did with Planetary Annihilation. Got a feeling like they are going to do that again.

[@sokarash]

Honestly as much as I love RTS, most of the look pretty generic. There nothing wrong with taking insipration from older, beloved titles. But some look really close to the original. That is also something I got from playing Stormgate, it deviates very little from StarCraft 2 - which is in my opinion its bigget weakness, even with the kinda botched launch. Despite probably much bigger budget and definately much bugger hype, it kinda fell flat. ZeroSpace in its demo felt better and more unique, despite clearly taking a lot of cues from StarCraft 2. Seems like the C&C-lies are still going strong. No wonder as EA pretty much abandoned the franchise for it feels the millointh time. But most if those games seem like straight up close, with very little if anything at all that makes the unique - not even setting and graphics. Judging from trailers is always tough, so I'm most excited for ZeroSpace, as I already got the chance to play it and it feels like a really solid game, even when ignoring the MMO-aspects. Speaking of ignoring aspects, when I talk to other, older games, they miss the times when RTS had really good campaigns. It seems the last where WarCraft 3 and Age of Mythology that were designed campaign-first, ever since its mostly for competitive multiplayer and campaigns more of a side-project. But there are lots of fans who want exactly that, and bit of a lower pace, but still in realtime. But RTS games seem to have gravitated towards faster action overall. That why I think a concept such as Battle Aces, which wants to be an accessible competitive multiplayer RTS seem not so much a good idea, because for whom is it for? Casual players don't like competitive play as much, especially in one of one. But we'll have to wait and see as they develop. I know that pure campaigns are tough to finance these days, especially if you go for the more cinematic approach, which costs a lot of money. And not everbody is Blizzard who could just made a thing like StarCraft 2. And making that money back in a niche genre that RTS is this days. I don't have a clear answer here, I guess that is just what RTS is these days.

[@argentum746]

What the heck is a "half-dead"? All people in their 40s? Ohhhh i get it. The boomers are invading.

[@kaydee6716]

Stormgate looks like a carbon copy of Starcraft but worse

[@dennismikha7541]

9-bit armies is pretty ok, but its broken in some parts it is SO ANNOYING - boarding the ship mechanic is broken, cant select multiple control groups without merging them - why cant they distinguish Shift and Control buttons like it was in RA2, Generals, AoE, and many many many other RTS games. W T F Petroglyph Games!? You guys were part of the Westwood Studios, how can you break the basic things!?

[@ViteziGames]

I am also developing a Real Time Tactics game, low poly style

[@BrianMark-e4w]

I really appreciate your efforts! Just a quick off-topic question: I have a SafePal wallet with USDT, and I have the seed phrase. (alarm fetch churn bridge exercise tape speak race clerk couch crater letter). What's the best way to send them to Binance?

[@commanderwookiecopc806]

Watch as these games end up being mediocre or terrible.

[@GamerZakh]

Watch as about 4 of them (~10%) become massively popular successes, as it is the same every single year for the last 10+ years I have made these lists. No one will guess which 4 games correctly, as no one has guessed them correctly in the last decade either. About 60% of these will be niche or middling successes, again, as it always is.

[@OperativeDivision-RTSgame]

Some of the items on this list have been listed as "coming soon" for over a year now... while other great RTS games have quietly been released and are already playable. (Not mine... the RTS game I made is "coming soon". You don't have to wait years for it.) 😂

[@sanderkiki]

Stormgate at the end was kinda kekw. Devs overpromised, underdelivered and kept gaslighting audience, so id not recommend anyone to come even close to it. Even their involvement in SC2 is very overblown.

[@Cyklonus]

👍👍

[@РудольфГесс-и1з]

Majesty and dangeon kipper its 2 games wich need remastered

[@wsk1124]

Zakh, thank you for the list. Btw, have you consider doing collab to grow channel?

[@GamerZakh]

I've done collabs before and open to ideas but it's not usually as simple as it sounds.