Nuno, Al, and Jack talk about how modern real-time strategy has changed — and improved. Dawn of War: Definitive Edition shows the strength of classic design, while new projects like Tempest Rising and Broken Arrow push toward a leaner, more deliberate form of RTS. The conversation covers what recent games are getting right, where design has shifted, and why the future looks more promising than it has in years.

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Al, Tim and Joe come together to discuss the future of the Total War franchise ahead of Creative Assembly's December announcement on what to anticipate next from the studio. With a look at what games the hosts expect to see and which ones they would love to see, the conversation covers settings such as Star Wars, Warhammer 40K and Lord of the Rings, along side what Medieval III might look like, or if Total War: Empire 2 will see the series return to the era of colonialism, sailing ships and cavalry charges into line infantry.

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Asymmetry is one of the defining features of strategy games, but it’s also the source of endless arguments. Giving players different factions, units, or victory conditions creates tension and variety, but it also creates balancing headaches. Designers fight with trade-offs: too much asymmetry and one side can dominate, too little and the game turns bland. In historical wargames, asymmetry is unavoidable - real conflicts aren’t fair fights - and that raises the harder question of how much accuracy should be sacrificed for the sake of playability. This episode looks at faction design, uneven objectives, and the constant push and pull between theme, balance, and player experience.

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In this episode we brought in Ricky and Drexy from eXplorminate to correct the mistakes we made in episode 41 on the state of 4X. The discussion pulls apart what separates 4X from grand strategy, where games like Stellaris, Total War and Victoria 3 sit, and why the labels aren’t always useful.

We cover direct control versus large-scale influence, why Total War is neither 4X nor grand strategy, the failure of Humankind’s civ-swapping mechanic, and how Ara History Untold burned out with poor pacing and clumsy systems. We get into DLC bloat, feature creep, and how these games drive away new players while locking in the hardcore. There’s also a look at the economic side of strategy games and why most 4X titles still avoid it.

The state of 4X isn’t good. Innovation attempts usually collapse under bad execution, old titles feel dated, and sequels keep recycling the same template. Grand strategy keeps its audience, but only by demanding an enormous investment of time and patience.

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https://explorminate.org

Beyond All Reason (BAR) is a free open-source real-time strategy game based on Total Annihilation. In this episode we interview community manager PtaQ and our very own Timothy. Learn about RTS game development, community-driven gaming projects, epic-scale strategy battles with thousands of units, upcoming campaign mode, new faction releases, and Steam launch plans. This strategy gaming podcast episode covers BAR's 60,000+ Discord community management, volunteer-based game development, the "Ragnam Method" for redesigning legacy RTS mechanics, art and music coordination, and what makes this free-to-play strategy game unique in 2024. Perfect for RTS fans, strategy game enthusiasts, indie game developers, and anyone interested in community-driven game projects.

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Community supported games are the reason classics like Age of Empires 2, Company of Heroes, and Heroes of Might and Magic 3 are still played decades after release. In this episode of the Critical Moves Podcast, we look at abandoned strategy games, how modding scenes keep them alive, and why some titles survive long after developers stop updating them.

We cover Dawn of War and its Definitive Edition, the ongoing debate of Civilization 6 vs Civilization 7, and the communities behind Command & Conquer and StarCraft 2. We also talk about forgotten strategy gems like Bungie’s Myth and how total conversion mods can grow into full games, such as Beyond All Reason.

From mods that improve graphics and add factions, to community servers that replace official ones, this discussion explores what makes certain strategy games timeless. If you’re interested in RTS history, fan-driven projects, or the debate around when a game is truly abandoned, this episode is for you.

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Dawn of War 4 exists! We talk about what we know and what we expect.

The franchise has one good game, one mediocre sequel, and one disaster. Dawn of War 3 killed the series for eight years. Now KING Art Games and Deep Silver are taking another shot at Warhammer 40K real-time strategy.

We cover the confirmed details, the studio behind it, and the current state of RTS games. Dawn of War 4 needs to solve problems that Dawn of War 3 created while breaking new ground for a 2026 audience.

This isn't speculation. We stick to what's confirmed and what the evidence suggests about development and design direction. The 40K license prints money but that doesn't guarantee good games.

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What does long-term survival look like for an indie strategy studio?

In Part 2 of our interview, Chris McElligott-Park talks about:

– Sustaining Arcen Games through shifting trends

– Crowdfunding and community involvement

– Designing sequels without repeating yourself

– The challenges of predicting success in a saturated market

This is Part 2 of a two-part interview.

What does it take to make a critically acclaimed strategy game?

Chris McElligott-Park, designer of Heart of the Machine, joins the Critical Moves team to talk through:

– How Arcen Games started

– The design thinking behind AI War

– Making strategy games without traditional narrative

– Engineering AI opponents that can out-think players

This is Part 1 of a two-part interview.

We try to avoid Stellaris. We really do.

But if you're talking about the state of 4X games in 2025, it keeps dragging you back.

Al, Joe, and Tim take stock of a genre that’s running out of excuses. Innovation is rare. Pacing is broken. AI can’t keep up. And the line between 4X and grand strategy has nearly vanished.

Is anyone pushing things forward? Are we just reskinning old ideas? And why do most 4X games still fall apart by turn 100?