Top 20 Greatest Real Time Strategy Games

If you like real-time strategy games, it doesn't get any better than this. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re looking at the best the real-time strategy genre has to offer. We’re keeping it limited to one entry per franchise, so only the finest entries count. Our countdown of the best RTS games includes “Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War” (2004), “Company of Heroes 2” (2013), “Stellaris” (2016), “Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne” (2003), and more! Is there an RTS game you think deserved to be on the list? Let us know in the comments.
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[@WatchMojo]

Is there an RTS game you think deserved to be on the list? Let us know in the comments. For more content like this, click here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hKrFc2qGoK5jqas Don't forget to play our Live Trivia (www.watchmojo.com/play) games at 3pm EST for a chance to win cash! The faster you answer, the more points you get!

[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

Love your content guys 😊😊😊😊

[@CertifiedCommentBotHater]

Wonder if they will address the pornographic bots that KZbin doesn't seem to care about in the comments section of their videos yet

[@tirissotheios9821]

Maybe having a top 20 RTS game series could give more importance to Greatness. But thanks since I grew up with almost all of these games. Dawn of War War and Warcraft 3: Frozen Throne couldn't reach a top 20 potential yet as a fan of RTS all of them are great.

[@mikespike2099]

Are u talking about series? Or the game in the series itself? Because there are much better Total War games than Rome … the Warhammer version - especially 2 is best 👍🏻

[@Involves]

Starcraft Orignal Is by far better then the Milk cow from activison Blizzard Sc2 They are billions The total war entire franchise (Specifically Warhammer) Dune. Battlefleet Armada. -Frostpunk is not really a RTS more a City Management/Survival Genre game. Company of heroes. Starwars Empire at War. Universe at War : Earth Assault. You can't include stellaris without the infamous Hearts of Iron IV Common . I enjoyed the video

[@michaelkern1719]

Star Wars empire at war was great but sadly wasn’t on the list

[@charlesjohnson7458]

ALL CAPS AMEN!!!!!!!!

[@theehacker13]

Was also sad not to see it here

[@Nate31891]

This and Galactic Battlegrounds were the only 2 star wars rts games im aware of

[@xtexasxfightx]

EaW is still going strong. The mod community is really incredible for that game.

[@Lark88]

I would have put it in Frostpunk's place since Frostpunk isn't an RTS.

[@Aragorn7884]

Empire Earth 1 is a hidden gem IMO 😊

[@daftpunkking909]

Aww man, you made Me think about that again.

[@Involves]

the tears are real.

[@TheWillow1979]

Yeah I forgot about that game I loved it

[@GOSALTStudio]

from prehistoric to nano age prepare for 8 hours of entertainment

[@iLightSoundGeometry]

best rts ever .. space race, pre and Indy Tlow gren rush

[@-Raylight]

Warcraft, C&C, Red Alert, Starcraft, Dawn of War, Age of Empires... those were the days, the golden day of RTS. Hope it'll come again with the upcoming RTS games

[@christian9146]

DAWN OF FREAKING WAR!! WHAT A MASTERPIECE

[@metalgearsolidsnake6978]

true back than i feel the games were better

[@indigonadler8694]

Bro so right along with stronghold

[@archer3600]

I grew up playing Warcraft, StarCraft, rise of nations, total annihilation, and age of empires.

[@Ramiobomb]

Star Wars Empire at War was very well made.

[@TheLizzerazu]

I can't fathom that you dont have Dune 2 on the list. The game that created the RTS genre. So many of these games arn't real RTS games. They have RTS elements, but are 4X games. And you still dont have the first RTS game on the list. Its like you only looked at sales numbers and not what games defined the genre. The greatest are those who shape the future. And no other game did that more than Dune 2.

[@internetwanderer9053]

I agree. I had the pleasure of playing Dune 2. When I hear RTS, the oldest games I have in my mind are Dune 2, Total Annihilation and Age of Empires

[@ShootingStar1313]

The granddaddy of all RTS doesn't even get mentioned here. Shows just how much thought was put into making this list.

[@richardsussens490]

Fantastic list, very happy some of my childhood strategy games like Warcraft 3-The Frozen Throne, Dawn of War games, Age of Empires, Command and Conquer: Red Alert 2.I really had fun playing these games growing up, also Honorable Mentions to Spellforce 2:Shadow Wars! 😁

[@locustkllr]

Dune and an entry from the Star Wars RTS series are obvious misses from this list. Dune practically invented the genre.

[@lrj1180]

this list looks like it was made by a 15yr old kid.

[@Hellerjakub]

@lrj1180 what? I am 35 and i can guarantee you that no 15yr old kid even know half of these games on this list...

[@dragoon6055]

Dune battle for arakis was the first and the best, sad it was not on the list😅

[@westtexastiger]

Red Alert 2 was such an amazing game. Of course I beat the hell out of both campaigns and expansion, but I also played an insane amount of Skirmish Mode. Warcraft 3 was also a damn good game, although I got stuck in the expansion. Never played Starcraft II, but I did enjoy the first game.

[@Miaauify]

Play Starcraft 2. It is not quite the same as 1, but it is fantastic

[@JimboDean216]

Red Alert 2 & Warcraft 3 are incredible have some serious HOURS into them 😂

[@stevenlandbo6039]

And wing of liberty campaign for starcraft two is free so that a plus

[@erebusparcae]

StarCraft: Broodwar is my #1

[@josephxp96]

Star Wars: Empire at War would like to have a word with you about this list… 2005 and still has a great moding community

[@Miaauify]

Is a good game, but I think it becomes a great games through the mods

[@LFwitch_hunter]

@@Miaauifywould it help to know the devs recently updated it to support multi threading though i say yes

[@Fastwinstondoom]

Respect for having Sacrifice and Homeworld on the list! Those two were so different from everything else(and still kind of are) when they came out, I played both of them to death.

[@RibbidyJamGames]

Sad not seeing Generals but at least Red Alert was on the list

[@musicplus6306]

Reminded me of my childhood

[@maximilianasenov7950]

Been playing command and conquer for 15 years and having played every one of them i still think generals is my favourite. Tho tiberium wars and red alert have an interesting storyline which also makes them hella cool

[@louievelayo4100]

Well, one entry per franchise so... (shrug) Hey at least Command and Conquer is rep'd by its Magnum Opus...

[@banterabc5135]

Generals was the best CNC

[@michaelgoff6481]

Generals was visually great but it was sadly lacking in strategy. It had no counters or defense. If you get 15 apache helicopters you win. It needed defense in depth and layers. The best cnc was tiberian sun.

[@563Phoenix]

Battle Realms and the Black and White games were also hidden gems.

[@GlobalStrike1]

I agree, though the black and white games were technically god simulators, and not straight up rts.

[@francis_is_shi]

Finally i remember it, yeah i used to played this when old times BATTLE REALMS

[@acdragonrider]

AOE, classic Rome Total War and Red Alert 2 are perfection. Also, AOE is remastered and thriving now. I’d recommend showing footage from that instead.

[@frankieseward8667]

The starcraft 2 trilogy is easily the equivalent of the Original Star Wars trilogy. Great games

[@General-F]

Command and Conquer Generals will still be my #1. But I can understand why Red Alert 2 is always the best.

[@ninjaninja1720]

Generals was better IMO. I even made up an expansion for it that added 3 more generals. 🔵US Special Forces General: Specialized in infantry. Special infantry units can hide, steal funds, swim, set traps, shut down the power to structures and set demo explosives. Sniper unlocked at start. No tanks, no bombers, only Apache chopper. Gets access to units like Seals, Rangers and Force Recon. Units have upgrades that make them useful against different enemy types. Can have up to 5 "hero" units. +Tanya for a total of 6. Ion cannon replaced with "Blackout Raid" A massive EMP hits an area, destroying infantry and aircraft outright and shutting down all vehicles and structures. A squad of stealth veteran units deep strikes down into the center of the blackout and begins planting explosives on all vehicles and structures. When the EMP effect wears off, all planted explosives will detonate at once and the squad will vanish. Lasts 15 seconds. 🔴China Inferno General: infantry has flamethrowers. Migs, choppers, inferno cannons and artillery start with black napalm. Main tanks can be equipped with flamethrowers. Incendiary mines. Red Lotus (Black Lotus)now sets hacked buildings on fire. The firestorm effect where the burn gets bigger when you concentrate fire on a small spot is expanded, allowing for larger burn spots. Destroyed units equipped with flamethrowers will explode and burn the area upon death. Nuke replaced with "Scorched Earth" 3 bombers in V formation carpet bomb the area with black napalm bombs. Burns for 15 seconds. 🟢GLA Propaganda General: Specialized in misinformation and disinformation. Can spend general points for abilities like "Propaganda Video" which can convert enemy units in a radius into friendly units, on a cooldown. "Intimidation Tactics" Causes enemies to flee. "Crossed Wires" Causes units to fire on friendly units at random for 5 seconds. Jarmen Kell can still snipe vehicle pilots. Radar van now also jams enemy radar in its radius. Recruitment center continuously spawns a basic infantry unit every 30 seconds. Hijackers unlocked at start. Scud Storm replaced with "Peoples Revolution". Creates a massive "armed mob" that attacks any enemy units or structures lasts for 15 seconds. All three new generals have an emphasis on infantry combat and have an alternative superweapon. The game was so fuckin good

[@normanryan9145]

Omg dungeon keeper! This was my childhood 😂

[@Fastwinstondoom]

I replayed DK1 this month and I still had a blast with it. Part of it is probably nostalgia because I played it so much back in the day but I still think it holds up!

[@forpspeakingclass4444]

never played it but looks super fun

[@haakonglindtvad5489]

everyone that are looking for new RTS games, 2024 is gonna be a sick year. We have for all the Command and conquer fans " Tempest Rising, + other indies titles " for blizz rts fans we get Stormgate and Zerospace and a Age of mythology remake. Beside this we are getting alot of other rts games, including Homeworld 3, Godsworn and many more. I recommend to check out Age of empires 4 it keeps getting better and better, and it just released a huge new expansion pack.

[@KingChelonias]

I am actually shocked that SC2 took the title and not Starcraft BW

[@AshPrimeDCFC]

It's never going to break in to this list but I'm replaying the Star Trek Armada games and I'm loving them.

[@barryvercueil2346]

Can't believe the list is without Dune 2 and Star Wars Empire at war!!!

[@twitchster77]

Star Craft was magical to me. I was using an under-powered laptop but managed to get that game running just fine and it's the first time I'd ever played an RTS. Didn't even know what an RTS was until then! I didn't know wtf I was doing at first, but when it clicked...pure magic! I was so hooked! lol truth be told I really sucked at the game, but dang I had fun!

[@spooks196]

I still play Total Annihilation… badass game!!!

[@AlinPrisecaru]

Nothing from Paradox? Maybe Europa Universalis 4? Or CK2? Also I would include Mount and Blade: Warband. Some would call it RPG, but I'd say it's more strategy than its follow up Bannerlord really took it to the next level. But great video anyway. When RA2 soundtrack kicks in you really wanna attack the enemy base.

[@Romanthony2007]

here is hoping that RTS comes back in force! And I really hope we get a Red Alert 2 remaster like we did with C&C recently. because even if you own the digital version on orgin you are still plagued with the DRM programme which causes all your units to unalive them self

[@uzvisheni]

if it was anything but Star Craft there would have been war :D Excellent list, all of these RTS's are amazing.

[@Nickgellatly]

Came here to see where Dark Reign appeared on the list. Didn't expect it to not be there at all. Devastated...

[@VonPunk]

I still play Dune II by Westwood Studios, an excellent precursor to the Command & Conquer series.

[@hayeonkim7838]

Thanks for useful and valuable video as always ❤❤❤

[@PrimalElf]

Starcraft 1 and 2, Warcraft 3, Civilizaton V and Total War (Empire, Napoleon and Warhammer 1 and 2) are my favorite strategy games ever

[@tirissotheios9821]

Top 20 Greatest RTS game based on choosing one per company is so limited. I was expecting more important criteria as Continuous Challenge, Compeling Storyline, Combining Fun and Realism and most importantly in an RTS game, Flexibility between units, buildings, technologies and resources.

[@toolfuti]

Came Here because of Red Alert 2 and Warcraft 3 didn't left dissapointed.

[@rafaelpozo9962]

Red alert 2 was my true love for a long time❤

[@spartansdieforglory]

Alien V Predator: Extinction is very fun!

[@ItalianGamer83]

Yes Very Good & Under Appreciated, just needed a Skirmish Mode!

[@jacobjackjackstrong4776]

"Kirov reporting" Yuri vs Tanya, Tesla tanks and towers vs prism tech. Ah the good ole days

[@nicolasdeuer952]

Rise of Legends was really awesome, I prefer it to any Rise of Nations title. But I give you bonus points for putting the underappreciated Sacrifice on the list.

[@Highretrogamelord]

Oh wow, I did NOT expect Sacrifice to be on this list but I'm so happy it is!

[@Lezeik1]

Warcraft 3 The Frozen Throne is amazing in its story and equally online multiplayer competitiveness. It also gave rise to the entire MOBA scene. It is atrocious how Activision Blizzard is treating the game with the Reforged "remaster" (dubbed Refunded by the community).

[@FunRageDIE]

can you guys do a list like this but for turned based stratergy games instead?

[@GuremaManaba]

My dad plays Red Alert 2 and Yuri's Revenge(DLC) most of the time, me and my brother did the same thing before we played C&C Generals, but I never played or heard about the foundation of C&C game, Tiberium universe...

[@Barricade379]

To this day I still play Age of Empires and Rise of Nations. But also Star Trek Armada. I'm surprised that wasn't on this list or even a Star Wars RTS game

[@AndersonNeo12]

Thank you, I just posted the almost the same comment 😊

[@canadaknighte]

Honorable mention to They Are Billions.

[@Grauhuf88]

I played most of this games in my youth. One of my favourite genres. Sadly they don't do games like this anymore. At least not in this quality.

[@evelinecarolinelienhuaming1184]

I Like to Play Warcraft Reign in Chaos 🥵 & Frozen Throne 🥶

[@joshmccalip6053]

Lego Mars Mission Crystalien Conflict. It may have been a browser game, but it was an amazing RTS that I enjoyed a lot as a kid.

[@TabariGames]

I always have a soft spot for older rts games, like Total Annihilation: Kingdoms.

[@pappajon91]

I know battle for middle earth 1 was on the list, but the sequel and it's expansion took it to a whole other level

[@afbratt]

Definitely Star Trek Armada 1 & 2. With homeworld would have gone with the remastered version but that's personal preference.Possibly one of the Anno games. Maybe ashes of the singularity. Star Wars Empire at War.

[@jimmideerichards9554]

Nothing beats Command and Conquers live action cut scenes 😂😂😂, my favourite by far is the one Tim Curry shouts…. SPACE!!!! 😂😂😂 it’s absolute gold.

[@mccuish]

I have a lot of fond memories playing AOE 2 AOK with my dad. I would always team up, but he would always switch sides and catch me off guard 🤣🤣

[@gothicnightwolf6]

I missing The KKND games, Z (1996 robot war),Dune games maybe Settlers games or knight and merchants, Cossacks,Dorf, Dominion: Storm Over Gift, im sure there are loads more,but these are the ones top of my head.Thank you for the video.

[@minsapint8007]

Great list. Total Annihilation was my favourite for years but, when it came out, I thought that Total Annihilation: Kingdoms was even better.

[@ued_general5805]

Starcraft wings of liberty?! Should be Starcraft Broodwar. Although it lacks the modern graphics. It is a classic masterpiece which still holds up to modern games today and is actually on a current uptrend in popularity.

[@karelkucera4000]

Dune 2 should be on the list. Othrwise not bad list 😉

[@Chertograad]

Great list. I'd have probably put Tiberian Sun over Red Alert 2 there. Both are great but I'm just more into the GDI vs Nod lore than Allies vs Soviet. Kane was just a cool enigmatic antagonist.

[@haakonglindtvad5489]

to be fair an old rts player here, but Age of Empires 4 deserve a spot on this list

[@JoshR813]

Red Alert 2 is a good memory from my childhood. One of my favorite games ever.

[@user-me8mg3ox2n]

The frozen throne, such a nostalgic game. I used to play it all the time when I was 6 or 7 and used cheat codes all the time.

[@paulyoung9216]

Original War is amazing and challenging due to limited resources so you have to be really tactical :

[@dragoonismkf9682]

Im missing Red Alert and atleast one of the early Command & Conquer games.

[@JackLiberty0]

When will you do a Top 20 PlayStation One Games? I thought you would have done one by now.

[@nkonig1]

Dawn of War Ground Control Total Annihilation Red Alert 2 Those were my childhood PC games

[@Shortyland05]

I reckon Evil Genius (or the sequel) deserves a spot on this list.

[@nicklopez3133]

I played the first Starcraft and loved it. Sadly I never got a chance to play Starcraft 2.

[@Hellraiser5901]

Wings of liberty is free iirc the expansion passes you still have to pay for... which would be the zerg and protoss campaigns

[@nicklopez3133]

@@Hellraiser5901 I was not aware of that. Since I can't play Starcraft 2 I never looked into such details.

[@drakojan77]

I love RTS, don't forget iron harvest, total war Warhammer, sword of the stars, etc. A lot of great games out there.

[@Reaper2004]

At least mention that Supreme Commander is the sequel to Total Annihilation

[@hardrockertoygraphy]

My top 3: C&C Red Alert 2 + Yuri's Revenge expansion Stronghold Crusader + Extreme edition Rise of Nations Still having and playing these 3 games. The best RTS ever in all aspects.

[@jesuslacanilao4117]

Dungeon keeper to kick off the list was chefs kiss

[@BoodyDarknes]

I playd 17/20 of those games listed here :D and few more RTS games that did not make the cut here.

[@ApocGuy]

missing here are ; ground control (first one was awesome , second one not that much but still good), World in conflict (another awesome RTS), dark reign (both), warlords, starship troopers( terran ascendancy and command), original war, submarine titans (this one is good too), metal fatigue (oldie but goldie) ,warzone 2100, stronghold series...

[@keithcastillo5434]

Problem with Starcraft some of the strategy is lost due to the fact you have to be able to type like a super sonic robot to win.

[@CtG-Games]

That's only true at the professional level in versus mode. For 99.99% of the player base who are in the lower versus leagues, campaign players and co-op players, Starcraft is more of a management game where you need to remember what to do next in any given situation. You can be a very successful player without having to click more than once per second if you know what you're doing, but that fact is often lost in the highlight videos of Korean pros mashing control group buttons repeatedly to artificially inflate their typing rate.

[@majorgear1021]

I hate games like that. It’s no longer a game of strategy. It devolves into who can build tanks, orc units, etc the fastest.

[@Zed-fq3lj]

Total badass list! Brilliant!

[@PLightstar]

Nice list, though I would have replaced Halo Wars with Myth 2 such a great game and Bungie at its best.

[@Gustra88]

A few miss Spellforce games, Star Wars Empire at War, Kohan games, Commando games( idk if count as RTS) , R.U.S.E, and Dune games, but still good list.

[@Lark88]

Spellforce is so unique. I'm surprised it didn't make the list.

[@MarloLaw]

I got red alert 2 back in 2003 by accident on limewire. That was my introduction to rts games

[@majorgear1021]

Limewire vet here! It was like a box of chocolates, you were never sure of what you were going to get. Ideally not a virus :)

[@amogus8844]

Battle Realms is a hidden gem. Also I really want a empire earth remake.

[@darkdragonmedeus705]

StarCraft II being number 1 is easily obvious. That game is such a phenomenon and basically the only Activision/Blizzard franchise I still love/care about these days.

[@Lark88]

I still go back to playing co-op every now and again. I've also been playing through SC: Mass Recall mod recently. (SC1 in SC2 graphics)

[@majorgear1021]

Don’t say that too loudly. Blizzard will replace it with Starcraft II: Reforged

[@ericbaker8791]

I can't remember the name of the game, but it would require you to plant your own resources let them grow, then you'd collect it. It was a more post modern themed game, came out in either 96, 97, or 1998.

[@JerziIceViper]

I actually like generals more for command and conquer especially when the made the zero hour expansion I played that for hours at my fav lan cafe

[@sapphyrus]

Myth II: Soulblighter remains the best experience for me, it was unlike any other narratively and gameplay-wise back in 1998.

[@Fastwinstondoom]

Considering how innovative Bungie was in the 90's it's crazy to me that they haven't made anything but Halo and Destiny since...really wish we'd have gotten a Myth III :(

[@sapphyrus]

@@Fastwinstondoom Yeah, Bungie went from one of the most innovative companies of 90s (Marathon, Myth, Oni) to one of the most derivative companies once MS bought them. The true Bungie stopped existing after Halo 1 as far as I'm concerned. The informal Myth III was the closest thing we got as a kinda spin-off.

[@seapappy9183]

How do you leave out Command and Conquer or Warcraft???

[@kermidiu4390]

I honestly preferred Age of Empires 3 to 2. Resources were automatically added to your stockpile, and they did a better job at storytelling and immersion.

[@theanonymousman8325]

No ‘Battle Realms?’ Yeah, this was a shocker.

[@josephsimoneau664]

Halo Wars my favorite back in my childhood is at number 19 on this list.

[@jeffbergstrom]

Frostpunk was cool but you learn that there really is little variation between games and you have to learn by trial and error to get through the game. You get a little further with each try, fail and then get to the next mistake and fail and so on. It is fun to start and a neat premise but really not fun to keep banging your way through because there is only one (or few) routes to success and you just had to learn what those were...not use clever strategy.

[@ninjaninja1720]

Command and Conquer Generals They did Generals within a faction that had unique takes on play styles. (USA GLA China) As far as I know, its the first RTS to do this. Starcraft 2 did the same thing many years later with their co-op commanders. Which is the exact same thing Generals did. Sub Commanders within each faction (Zerg Protoss Terran) Between being a really fun and solid RTS, it also created sub-factions inside primary factions in RTS games, and for these reasons it should have made the list.

[@gregoryshinn9805]

Thanks for the video

[@litmeister]

I have played a lot of these titles, but none surpass Rome Total War. It's just what I want from an RTS game

[@majorgear1021]

Do you have the remastered version?

[@stanleykassim2839]

You nailed it. SC2 definitely is the best RTS

[@jonathanalfuth4347]

Man you guys missed the boat on age of empires. They have dozens of campaigns now and have been rolling out regular expansions. Could have easily also snagged some more up to date footage.

[@J-Rod91]

God I wish they would make Red Alert 2 into a mobile version. I looked for it or something similar a few years ago. I couldn’t find anything that gave the same feeling. It was so fun!

[@CARL_093]

starcraft series red alert series tiberium war series warcraft frozen throm or chaos age of empires series total war series Rise of nation GOAT GAME age of mythology lord of thr rings battle for middle earth europa 4 crusader kings 2-3 hearts irons 4 generals mod and series too i love to play them all i m a fan of strategy games

[@banterabc5135]

Stronghold? Settlers?

[@AndersonNeo12]

For me personally, the original 1st Age of Empires should have been on the list since it basically started it all, and Star Trek Armada (at least for an honorable mention) 🎖

[@kylelantan9220]

Probably should have had an honorable mention to Dune 2 which kind of set the scene for RTS.

[@braidangardner745]

Probably not as popular but warlords battle cry was a great game back in the day

[@jaymeal-alawait5975]

BFME 2 is WAY BETTER than the first!

[@eatsleepgame3467]

Dune 2 (1992) is really missing here

[@darkentbg]

exactly my point

[@majorgear1021]

The spice didn’t flow this time.

[@charlesjohnson7458]

WTF????????? How did Star Wars Empire at War NOT make this list????