The rise and fall of real-time strategy games

Have a Not long ago, real-time strategy (RTS) games ruled the world. Starcraft After the 1990s, it became the most prestigious e-sports in the world. The first sequel of the game, StarCraft II: Wings of Freedom, Which sold more than 3 million copies The first month of listing. PC grognards used to position their entire hype index in the latest remains release.This is their trump card in the console accident-seriously, if the Xbox can’t be played, what’s the point of buying it Homeland, dawn of war, or A group of heroes?

Gamers benchmark the latest graphics cards by their ability to deal with the swarming units on the screen.I remember i was in awe Supreme Commander, And the large amount of RAM necessary to render its buzzing mercury spacecraft. RTS games are even a major player in the licensing ecosystem.I mean, is there once Is a better partner than the movie Battle of Middle-earth? or The empire is at war?

This is life in the mid-2000s. Blizzard proved that it is possible to establish a dominance with a compact and balanced RTS game, and other power brokers in the industry are scrambling to catch up. Everyone waved.Remember Ubisoft’s End the war? Or EA Command and conquer? Or, hell, Nintendo’s Pikmin? Without the flagship RTS, any issuance portfolio is incomplete; shareholders ask us to click and drag boxes on the sporadic casual walkers.

You may know the story here. Starcraft II Arrived in 2010, with dazzling, suffocating reviews.It was followed by two campaign sequels, which ended in victory in 2015 Legacy of the Void, Then, somehow, the signal disappeared. The new RTS game seems to be discontinued overnight. The giants of the genre have dried up.Last new Command and conquer Getting started is a freemium mobile game, we are all waiting for the next one Earth Empire For nearly two decades. Gas Powered Games, it gave us the incredible orgasm mentioned above Supreme Commander, Appeared in the store in 2018. Ensemble Studios has won our favor Age of Empires The series did not survive until 2009.Damn it, Blizzard hasn’t released a new one yet Starcraft Game-real-time strategy or other-in Six years. During the ecstatic climax of Brood War, this reality is unimaginable. now? This is just a sign of the times.

I am a lifelong RTS fan.One of the first games I fell in love with was Red Alert 2, I can feel lost for people who are always underestimated The world in conflict. I think my life will always be dotted with new RTS games; in the economics of PC development, this genre will still be an unwavering priority. So when they disappeared from the map, I became more and more confused.Why Have done Has everyone stopped making RTS games? One of the most sacred game modules-this sacred form gave us the first official e-sports league and a series of historical classics-how was it kicked to the side of the road? Fortunately, some veterans of RTS production have given the answer.

“There is a very stable group of players around Starcraft II,“ Said Tim Morten, who worked on RTS games at Electronic Arts and Activision Blizzard from 2014 to 2020. [multiplayer online battle arenas], Or Battle Royale, or any other type. RTS has not broken through to these levels. But it continues to be very healthy. I have seen the internal mechanism to promote the new RTS. For large listed companies, they hope to bring maximum value to shareholders. This is just business, they will focus on the things that generate the greatest return,” he said.