102 articles
DEFCON (video game)
DEFCON (DEFCON: Global Thermonuclear War) is a 2006 real-time strategy game by Introversion Software, inspired by WarGames, in which up to six players wage nuclear war on a vector world map; Metacritic 84.
Defense of the Ancients
Defense of the Ancients (DotA) is a 2003 Warcraft III custom map by Eul, expanded by Guinsoo and IceFrog, that defined the MOBA genre and led to Valve's Dota 2.
Dota 2
Dota 2 (Defense of the Ancients 2) is Valve's free-to-play 5v5 MOBA, successor to the Warcraft III DotA mod, released July 2013; 126 heroes, denies and teleport scrolls distinguish it from League of Legends, and The International once held a $40 million crowdfunded prize pool.
Dune 2000
Dune 2000 is a 1998 real-time strategy game by Westwood Studios and Intelligent Games, a remake of Dune II for Windows and PlayStation (1999), with Atreides, Ordos, and Harkonnen houses, spice harvesting, and Westwood Online multiplayer; never digitally re-released.
Dune II
Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty (also Dune II: Battle for Arrakis) is Westwood Studios' 1992 MS-DOS real-time strategy game published by Virgin Games, set on Arrakis with Houses Atreides, Harkonnen, and Ordos, regarded as the first modern RTS.
Empire Earth
Empire Earth, historical real-time strategy series by Stainless Steel Studios (Rick Goodman, ex-Ensemble), Sierra-published 2001; 500,000 years, 14 epochs, five resources; GameSpy 2001 GOTY, 2M+ sales, fan-revived multiplayer.
Empire: Total War
Empire: Total War (aka Total War: EMPIRE), Creative Assembly/SEGA, 4 March 2009, fifth Total War game set from 1701; first in series with 3D real-time naval battles, trade theaters, Warpath Campaign expansion, Metacritic 90.
Europa Universalis
Europa Universalis is Paradox Interactive's grand strategy series, adapted from a 2000 board game, covering early modern history from 1337 onward; entries include EU4 (2013) and EU5 (November 2025).
Europa Universalis IV
Europa Universalis IV (EU4) is Paradox Development Studio's 2013 grand strategy game covering 1444-1821, with hundreds of playable nations, monarch power, trade nodes, and over 30 DLC expansions; succeeded by Europa Universalis V in 2025.
Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel
Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel, also called Fallout Tactics, is a 2001 Micro Forté and 14° East squad-based tactical combat game for PC, the third Fallout-universe game, first with multiplayer, non-canon except pivotal events.
Hearts of Iron
Hearts of Iron, also HOI4 (Hearts of Iron IV), is Paradox Development Studio's World War II grand strategy wargame series; the 2016 fourth installment lets players lead any WWII nation with alternate-history paths, deep supply and production systems, and 32-player multiplayer.
Hearts of Iron IV
Hearts of Iron IV (HoI4) is Paradox Development Studio's World War II grand strategy wargame, released 6 June 2016; it sold 500,000 copies by 2017, holds Metacritic 83, supports 32-player multiplayer, and receives ongoing expansions like Götterdämmerung and No Compromise, No Surrender.
Heroes of Might and Magic III
Heroes of Might and Magic III, subtitled The Restoration of Erathia, is a 1999 turn-based strategy game by New World Computing, published for Windows by 3DO.
Heroes of Newerth
Heroes of Newerth (HoN), a 2010 DotA-based MOBA by S2 Games on the K2 engine, sold to Garena 2015, run by Frostburn Studios, shut down 2022, revived as HoN: Reborn in 2025.
Heroes of the Storm
Heroes of the Storm (HotS) is Blizzard Entertainment's free-to-play 5v5 MOBA, launched June 2, 2015, known for shared team experience, talents instead of items, and multiple battlegrounds; revived at BlizzCon 2026 with hero Xal'atath.
Homeworld
Homeworld is a 1999 real-time strategy game developed by Relic Entertainment and published by Sierra, pioneering fully 3D space battles and regarded as a genre classic.
Honor of Kings (王者荣耀)
Honor of Kings (王者荣耀), also known internationally via Arena of Valor, is Tencent TiMi's 5v5 mobile MOBA launched in China in 2015, with 100+ heroes, 100 million daily active users in 2020, and repeated top-grossing mobile game revenue.
Imperator: Rome
Imperator: Rome is a 2019 Paradox Development Studio grand strategy game set after Alexander the Great's death, spanning Iberia to Tibet, with pops, characters, and trade; reworked by the 2.0 Marius update and later community patches.
Into the Breach
Into the Breach is a 2018 turn-based tactics game by Subset Games (FTL creators Matthew Davis and Justin Ma) in which three mechs defend cities from Vek on 8x8 grids, with all enemy attacks telegraphed one turn ahead.
League of Legends
League of Legends (LoL), Riot Games' free-to-play MOBA since 2009, born from the DotA Allstars mod: 5v5 Summoner's Rift matches, 170+ champions, 100M+ monthly players, franchised esports, and the Netflix series Arcane.
Master X Master
Master X Master (MXM, 全职大师) was NCSoft's free-to-play dual-hero action MOBA for PC, released June 21, 2017; its Tag System let players swap two Masters mid-combat. Servers closed January 31, 2018 after about seven months.
Medieval II: Total War
Medieval II: Total War (Medieval 2) is a 2006 Creative Assembly/Sega strategy game, fourth in the Total War series, set 1080-1530 with 10,000-troop real-time battles, 17 factions, the Kingdoms expansion, and a major modding scene.
Men of War
Men of War (В тылу врага 2: Лис пустыни) is a 2009 WWII real-time strategy game by Best Way and DigitalMindSoft, sequel to Faces of War, known for Direct Control, per-soldier logistics, and destructible battlefields.
Might & Magic Heroes VII
Might & Magic Heroes VII (MMH7) is a 2015 Limbic Entertainment turn-based fantasy strategy game published by Ubisoft for PC, set in Ashan; Metascore 67, user score 4.9, buggy launch, community 7.5 mod, succeeded by Olden Era.
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (决胜巅峰, MLBB) is a free-to-play mobile 5v5 MOBA by Moonton, released 2016, with 1.5 billion installs, 110 million monthly users, and record-setting M Series esports.
Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord
Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord, also called Bannerlord, is TaleWorlds Entertainment's sandbox action-RPG/strategy game set in Calradia, a prequel to Warband; Early Access March 30, 2020, full release October 25, 2022, War Sails naval expansion 2025.
Multiplayer online battle arena
A multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA), also called action real-time strategy, is a video game genre where each player controls a single hero and teams compete to destroy the enemy base.
Napoleon: Total War
Napoleon: Total War (Total War: NAPOLEON) is a 2010 Creative Assembly/SEGA PC strategy game, a standalone follow-up to Empire: Total War covering Napoleon's Italian, Egyptian, Peninsular, and Grand Campaigns with historical battles like Waterloo.
Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare
Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare is PopCap's 2014 class-based third-person shooter on Frostbite 3, with four plant and four zombie classes, Garden Ops co-op, and 12v12 Gardens & Graveyards and Team Vanquish modes.
Real-time strategy
Real-time strategy (RTS) games, also called estrategia en tiempo real, are continuous-time strategy video games defined by Dune II (1992), which coined the name; Warcraft, Command & Conquer, Age of Empires, and StarCraft defined the 1990s boom and esports.