Summary
The 2000s are widely regarded as an era during which some of the most iconic video games have released. Strategy games, in particular enjoyed a hay day, of sorts during the 2000s, with many studios coming up with some of the most popular and well-received strategy games in the genre’s history. From the cult classics likeWarcraft III: Reign of Chaosto challenging and memorable gems likeSupreme Commander, plenty of strategy games have been winning gamer hearts worldwide.
And there has been a resurgence of these games in recent years, with many of the most popular ones receiving remakes or remasters for modern systems. While the remasters are seeing limited success, complete reworks likeAge of Mythology: Retoldare well-received by players. The good thing is that plenty of strategy games from the 2000s could do with a modern remake on newer game engines.
WhileSupreme Commanderisn’t a game that received the same kind of recognition as theAge of EmpiresorWarcrafttitles that released in the 2000s, it’s recognized as a cult classic that set new standards and benchmarks for the Real Time Strategy genre through its sheer scale and complexity. Such was its technical brilliance that it was a challenging, CPU-intensive game that required a strong processor paired with a capable graphics card to run effectively, mainly because of the size of its battles.
Players could play God, and control large armies of units on expansive maps, and the tactical elements of the game were also complicated and had a learning curve. It was often compared to theStarcraftseries, but it operated on the scale of a turn-based strategy game like the Total War or Civilization series. Blending the best of both strategy subgenres, a modernized remake of theSupreme Commandergames would certainly be welcome in this day and age, especially with the advent of much stronger hardware being available, allowing the game to be experienced at its best.
TheCommand & Conquerseries is a long running sci-fi Real-time Strategy (RTS) series that gained popularity in the 2000s. While the original 90s game didn’t make waves,Command & Conquer: Generalsmanaged to break into the mainstream strategy scenewith its realistic factions: the USA, China, and the GLA, a fictional Middle-Eastern militia. By comparison, conventionalCommand & Conquer: Tiberium trilogyandCommand & Conquer: Red Alertgames are more fantasy-based, with alien factions and super-advanced technology being used.
EA sanctioned the studio to developCommand & Conquer: Generals 2, which was eventually canceled. While it didn’t make waves like some of the biggest RTS franchises releasing at the time,Command & Conquer: Generalswas widely regarded as one of the most enjoyable strategy games and has a loyal fanbase which hopes for a revival. Such a revival coming in the form of a modern remake wouldn’t be such a bad idea, especially considering the scrappedCommand & Conquer: Generals 2existed at one point, being developed on the Frostbite engine.
One of the most revered strategy games from the early 2000s,Rise of Nationsseamlessly blends the scale of grand strategy games like theTotal Warand theCivilizationseries, with fast-paced resource-management and base-building gameplay from conventional RTS titles like theAge of Empiresseries. What stands out about Rise of Nations is the manner in which it challenges the player to account for long-term planning like they would on a large scale turn-based strategy game while simultaneously indulging in immediate tactical activity to keep up with their opponents. Furthermore, it gives the player opportunities to explore diplomacy, governance and border management features and advance through the Ancient Age right up to the Information Age.
Rise of Nationsreceived an upgrade in 2014 with the release ofRise of Nations: Extended Editionwhich slightly improves visual quality while bundling theThrones & Patriotsexpansion and adding Steamworks support. It’s still relevant and playable on Steam in 2025, and a modern remake of this game would definitely perform well if its handled by Microsoft the wayAge of Mythology: Retoldwas.
Pretty much everyone knows theWarcraftseries, thanks to the phenomenon that isWorld of Warcraft. But the original strategy games remain cult classics that are appreciated by a large fanbase of nostalgic gamers around the world. It’s a series that played a catalytic role in Blizzard’s meteoric rise as a developer. With a deep lore that rivals some of the best fantasy stories out there and tight-knit gameplay with diverse races and unit types,Warcraftbecame so iconic that it inspired many similar games, as well as subgenres like MOBA games. In fact, DoTA, one of the biggest esports in this age was birthed as a custom game inWarcraft III: Reign of Chaos.
Blizzard releasedWarcraft 3: Reforgedin 2020 as a modernization with updated visuals and several new features. While it received mixed reviews from critics, fans of the series absolutely hated it, especiallybecause it lacked the extra features it promised, and the community felt the visual upgrades were worse than the original. Regardless,Warcraft 3: Reforgedproves one thing. A proper remake of the series would bring it back to its heyday.
The originalCompany of Heroes,released in 2006, remains one of the best-received strategy games in the genre’s history. Not only was it incredibly popular with hardcore strategy gamers, it also won PC Gamer’s Game of the Year award in 2006 and enjoyed success at LAN tournaments as a competitive strategy game. The way it delivered an etched-out and well-designed RTS game in a fictional World War 2 setting stood out the most.
The first game was so good, it spawned a successful franchise, which also included a film adaptation in 2013, and two sequels.While the sequels are fairly popular, neither of them holds up to the charm of the original. ConsideringCompany of Heroes 3released recently in 2023, a remake of the original using the latest sequel’s engine would be an excellent idea, akin to theMafiaseries.
The Real Time Tactics genre of games takes inspiration from grand strategy games and infuses elements of micromanagement and action into them.Soldiers: Heroes of World War IIis one of the best examples of this genre, being one of the first games to implement 3D visuals into the genre. While the game itself wasn’t as popular as mainstream strategy titles at the time, it went on to inspire some of thebest RTT titles likeMen of War: Assault Squad 2.
It drew many comparisons toCompany of Heroes,while being a lot more realistic in terms of World War 2 combat mechanics and individual unit control. WhileCompany of Heroesis much more of an RTS title with an emphasis on macro management and resource hoarding,Soldiers: Heroes of World War IIis a lot more hands on with its combat, but just as strategic in terms of resource management and tactics. Its sequels,Faces of WarandMen of Warended up enjoying a lot more popularity, but it would be nice to give the original game some recognition with a modern remake.
Building on the success ofRise of Nations, Big Huge Games developed and releasedRise of Nations: Rise of Legends,a unique Real Time Strategy game that infuses elements fromRise of Nationswith a steampunk theme. While it certainly didn’t receive the kind of attentionRise of Nationsreceived when it released, it had its own charm and was largely considered an underrated gem of an RTS by anyone who played it.
It had massive scale, with a unique integrated base-building system. It also did away with civilian units because of this, the base building aspect did not require them and instead relied on adding “districts” to the player’s city for additional research and military unit spawning. A single military unit was usually a group of soldiers, further expanding the scale of its battles. All of this backed by gorgeous visuals and an incredible soundtrack. With a strong marketing campaign and a remake on a modern game engine,Rise of Nations: Rise of Legendscould just end up receiving the love it so deserves.
