In Episode 34 of Critical Moves, Al, Jack, and Tim take a trip back to the golden age of real-time strategy to figure out what made that era so special and why we haven’t seen anything like it since. They reminisce about the peak of RTS, from base-building to faction design, and examine what set those classic games apart from today’s offerings.
Why It Felt Like a Golden Age
RTS games exploded in popularity during the late ’90s and early 2000s, and the crew delves into what made that period so great. Jack highlights how tight the design loops were—base-building, economy, and combat were clearly defined, balanced, and didn’t overwhelm the player. It was simple yet engaging, with no sandbox systems or overly complicated mechanics. You were in, you built your base, and you fought.
Tim adds that clarity was a huge part of the appeal. Everyone knew what a Zerg Rush was, or what Tiberium was for. The genre had its own language, and fans became fluent quickly. The games ran smoothly, had LAN multiplayer, and packed in chunky campaigns with distinct factions.
For Al, it was all about identity. Each faction had character. You didn’t just play blue team vs red team – you played as Soviets, GDI, Protoss, UEF. They didn’t just look different; they played differently.
The Games That Defined It
The episode covers the titles that helped define the golden age of RTS.
Why It Faded
The conversation then shifts to why RTS began to fade. Tim asks the obvious question: what happened?
The crew agrees on several key reasons. The shift to consoles played a big part—RTS never quite translated well to a console format. Then came the rise of other genres, like MOBAs, battle royales, and deckbuilders, which offered quicker dopamine hits and more persistent progression. These genres began pulling in players who were looking for something faster-paced or more continuously rewarding.
Al points out that RTS development became more expensive. Balancing asymmetric factions, creating meaningful campaigns, and supporting multiplayer required big budgets, and big studios stopped taking the risk.
Jack adds that burnout was also a factor. The golden age gave us dozens of excellent games, but after a while, it felt like we were playing remixes of the same formula.
Is There Still Hope?
The crew agrees that while the golden age may be over, there’s still hope for the genre, albeit in a different form.
Jack highlights indie developers like the team behind Beyond All Reason, who are building the kind of large-scale RTS games that used to define the genre. Al brings up Sanctuary: Shattered Sun and Tempest Rising as modern attempts to bring back base-building and faction design with a clear lineage to the classics.
Tim argues that while we might not see a second golden age, that doesn’t mean it’s all over. What we have now are the remnants and riffs made by people who still remember what made RTS great in the first place.
The Memory of the Golden Age
While the golden age of RTS might be behind us, the genre’s best ideas still cast a long shadow. Whether you were there for the LAN parties or you’re discovering these games for the first time, the influence of that era is still very much alive.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or Amazon Music. Or find us on your preferred podcast service by searching Critical Moves Podcast.

RTS games exploded in popularity during the late ’90s and early 2000s, and the crew delves into what made that period so great. Jack highlights how tight the design loops were—base-building, economy, and combat were clearly defined, balanced, and didn’t overwhelm the player. It was simple yet engaging, with no sandbox systems or overly complicated mechanics. You were in, you built your base, and you fought.
Tim adds that clarity was a huge part of the appeal. Everyone knew what a Zerg Rush was, or what Tiberium was for. The genre had its own language, and fans became fluent quickly. The games ran smoothly, had LAN multiplayer, and packed in chunky campaigns with distinct factions.
For Al, it was all about identity. Each faction had character. You didn’t just play blue team vs red team – you played as Soviets, GDI, Protoss, UEF. They didn’t just look different; they played differently.

The episode covers the titles that helped define the golden age of RTS.
- Command & Conquer and Red Alert set the tone with cinematic, mission-based gameplay, with a clear and campy style.
- StarCraft refined the formula, adding asymmetric design but keeping everything balanced.
- Total Annihilation and later Supreme Commander took things to the next level with massive scale, physics-based projectiles, and giant units.
- Warcraft III was seen as the bridge to MOBAs, introducing hero units, base-building, and RPG-style progression.

The conversation then shifts to why RTS began to fade. Tim asks the obvious question: what happened?
The crew agrees on several key reasons. The shift to consoles played a big part—RTS never quite translated well to a console format. Then came the rise of other genres, like MOBAs, battle royales, and deckbuilders, which offered quicker dopamine hits and more persistent progression. These genres began pulling in players who were looking for something faster-paced or more continuously rewarding.
Al points out that RTS development became more expensive. Balancing asymmetric factions, creating meaningful campaigns, and supporting multiplayer required big budgets, and big studios stopped taking the risk.
Jack adds that burnout was also a factor. The golden age gave us dozens of excellent games, but after a while, it felt like we were playing remixes of the same formula.

The crew agrees that while the golden age may be over, there’s still hope for the genre, albeit in a different form.
Jack highlights indie developers like the team behind Beyond All Reason, who are building the kind of large-scale RTS games that used to define the genre. Al brings up Sanctuary: Shattered Sun and Tempest Rising as modern attempts to bring back base-building and faction design with a clear lineage to the classics.
Tim argues that while we might not see a second golden age, that doesn’t mean it’s all over. What we have now are the remnants and riffs made by people who still remember what made RTS great in the first place.

While the golden age of RTS might be behind us, the genre’s best ideas still cast a long shadow. Whether you were there for the LAN parties or you’re discovering these games for the first time, the influence of that era is still very much alive.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or Amazon Music. Or find us on your preferred podcast service by searching Critical Moves Podcast.