The recent release of a new campaign for Warcraft 3, the first in 23 years, highlights a growing trend of developers revisiting classic real-time strategy (RTS) games with fresh downloadable content. This approach offers a compelling way to engage players with beloved titles that continue to hold significant popularity.
A Nostalgic Resurgence
The enduring appeal of older games is evident across genres, with titles like The Witcher 3 and Baldur's Gate 3 remaining relevant long after their initial release. This longevity makes them prime candidates for future DLC, a strategy already seen with additions like "Songs of the Past" for The Witcher 3. Similarly, Quake has received new content, and Nightdive Studios is preparing a new campaign for a remastered Thief.
However, the prospect of new expansions for RTS games holds particular excitement. The genre has experienced a period of stagnation, making any new content for established titles a welcome event. Blizzard's "Forsaken Kingdom" expansion for Warcraft 3 Reforged, despite the remaster's mixed reception, signifies a potential shift. This contrasts with more distant promises, such as a rumored 2030 StarCraft open-world game, which feels more speculative.
The Age of Empires Playbook
Microsoft's Age of Empires series serves as a prime example of this strategy's success. Age of Empires 2 continues to outperform the more recent Age of Empires 4 in popularity, demonstrating the sustained interest in older installments. This suggests that developers can leverage the existing player base of classic RTS titles.
Relic's Dawn of War: Definitive Edition, a budget-priced remaster of a two-decade-old game, achieved impressive sales figures, selling 750,000 copies. This success indicates a strong market for new, affordable content such as additional factions and missions, especially given the continued popularity of community-created mods for the game.
Unlocking Forgotten Franchises
Other RTS franchises could benefit from a similar approach. A hypothetical remaster of Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2, for instance, never materialized, but a 2020 remaster of the original Command & Conquer and Red Alert offered a taste of what could be. Introducing new content, such as a campaign focused on the giant ant missions from Red Alert's Counterstrike expansion, could reignite interest in these titles.
This model of re-release coupled with new content is well-suited for games like Rise of Nations, Supreme Commander, Dune 2, and Star Wars: Empire at War. When the core gameplay of older RTS titles remains perfectly playable on modern PCs, the addition of new material provides a strong justification for a repackaged release.
While the creation of entirely new RTS games remains a challenge, with recent titles like Company of Heroes 3, Stormgate, and Homeworld 3 failing to meet expectations, the RTS genre has a strong historical foundation. By ethically tapping into player nostalgia with new DLC for established classics, developers can potentially find a profitable path forward, learning from the successes of Age of Empires and Blizzard's recent Warcraft 3 campaign. This approach acknowledges that for many fans, the most exciting RTS experiences are still rooted in the games of the past.