10 – Resilient
It was only a matter of time before we had zombies going back in time into the 17th century. Meet Resilient, a good-looking, gritty, post‑apocalyptic RTS where players must lead a colony of survivors in the aftermath of a 17th‑century zombie outbreak. The game looks like a mix between Manor Lords (in terms of city-building and art style) and They Are Billions in the best way possible, and those colonies players can establish look massive, so I cannot wait to learn more about it. What a promising start!
9 – Empire Eternal
As one of the biggest Empire Earth fans to have ever lived, I’m super excited at the prospect that I might actually get a good RTS that lets me relive my time experiencing those moments again. Enter MicroProse with Empire Eternal, a massive real‑time strategy epic that lets you guide a civilization from the dawn of humanity through 20+ eras, evolving from primitive tools to futuristic war machines. What makes it special is the same that made Empire Earth (and Rise of Nations) special: the game spans all of human history, in RTS format.
8 – Dust Front RTS
Dust Front RTS has to be one of the most visually striking games in this list. This gritty, diesel‑punk–tinged real-time strategy game merges classical RTS combat with a grand‑strategy “global map” layer and non‑linear campaign structure in a mix of formulas that sounds like an absolute blast to play. Imagine base‑building, resource gathering, tech progression, and army creation at the strategic level, then full‑scale tactical battles with tanks, infantry, aviation, and special weapons when conflict erupts. The game is fully embracing its post-apocalyptic world, where players will have to contend with rival factions, robots, and mutants, heck, the only thing I don’t think I have seen mentioned are zombies, but I wouldn’t be surprised if those show up too. What I absolutely love about this game is the way the animations look. I often tell people that if they want to spot quality in a strategy game, look at how animation is done, and in Dust Front RTS, those are some of the best I have ever seen in a strategy video game.
7 – Dinolords
As silly as this might seem, the idea of Age of Empires with Dinosaurs sounds like stupid fun. Enter Dinolords, the kind of game that has its developers on interviews laughing and smiling at its own goofy and childlike nature. This has the potential to be one of the most entertaining RTS of 2026. I know I’ll be buying and riding my raptor to a medieval battle. You’re free to join me.
6 – Sanctuary: Shattered Sun
On one hand, we saw one of the most silly premises yet with Dinolords; on the other, we see a game that might be capable of turning the RTS genre upside down with its sheer scale and quality. Sanctuary: Shattered Sun is set to become a next‑gen sci‑fi RTS built around one jaw‑dropping concept: full‑scale wars on the surface of a gargantuan Dyson Sphere that encloses a sun. That sounds cool and all, but the real catch lies in the fact that you can damage and destroy this sphere, meaning that the terrain is going to be constantly changing underneath you (literally), and thousands of units can be eliminated at once. Players can also influence the weather, allowing for entire regions of the map to be frozen solid (opening new, perilous avenues of attack over ice). Essentially, the game is built around the idea of terrain manipulation and destruction. If it lives up to the ambition, Sanctuary could redefine what modern RTS looks like in 2026 for players craving scale, spectacle, and variety, and for those players who really miss the golden days of Supreme Commander.
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