The RTS genre will never be mainstream unless you change it until it's 'no longer the kind of RTS that I want to play,' says Crate Entertainment CEO

GamesRTSThe RTS genre will never be mainstream unless you change it until it’s ‘no longer the kind of RTS that I want to play,’ says Crate Entertainment CEOWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

Art for Grim Dawn’s Fangs of Asterkarn expansion.(Image credit: Crate Entertainment)

Image for The RTS genre will never be mainstream unless you change it until it�s �no longer the kind of RTS that I want to play,� says Crate Entertainment CEO

Crate Entertainment has been working its way through some very ‘PC gaming’ game genres: First it made an action RPG,Grim Dawn, then it made town builderFarthest Frontier(which is scheduled to leave early access sometime this year), and now it’s also working on a real-time strategy game. Unlike some of its contemporaries, however, Crate isn’t trying to crack the code to making a mainstream RTS megahit: Real-time strategy is a “nerd genre,” Crate Entertainment CEO Arthur Bruno joked in a recent interview with PC Gamer, and he accepts the limited audience that implies.

The idea that classic-style RTSes don’t appeal to the biggest possible audience today is widely accepted as common knowledge; it’s the reason game publishers have been somewhat RTS averse since the golden age of the ’90s and 2000s. During our chat, Bruno recalled how his plans to make a new RTS game were met with groans during a meeting with a certain well-known holding company.

“Maybe two years ago, I had a meeting with Embracer Group, who were kind of feeling us out for an acquisition,” said Bruno. “I honestly wasn’t really interested, because I don’t want to work for anybody else in any capacity, but it’s often educational.

(Regarding thestate of Embracer Group today, Bruno laughed and replied, “I think I dodged a bullet there.")

The biggest companies are leaving genre gaps for smaller developers like Crate Entertainment to fill, in other words. Bruno thinks that’s because big publishers are hoping for lightning-in-a-bottle hits that return 10 times their investment—“When you’re operating at that scale, you want to build something that has the potential to sell 30 million copies,” he said—and he doesn’t think the RTS genre is ever going to produce that kind of success. If it did, he’s skeptical the game in question would really be an RTS as he defines it.

“I look at interviews now with people who are working on RTS games at these other companies, and a lot of them are trying to figure out how to make RTS more mainstream,” said Bruno. “And to me, I just feel like RTS is never going to be that mainstream. I mean, sorry to say it, but as much as I love it, it’s a nerd genre, there’s only a limited portion of the population that is ever going to be interested in that kind of game unless you change it to such an extent that it’s no longer the kind of RTS that I want to play.”

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals

That’s not to say RTSes can never be any kind of hit: StarCraft 2 sold many millions of copies, Bruno noted, and Crate Entertainment only needs to sell a million to make “an OK return,” he said. The series has also been an esports phenomenon. But for a company like Blizzard, he doesn’t think that’s enough anymore, which is why the developer stopped making new RTSes, or at least seems to have for now.

Crate Entertainment’s upcoming RTS hasn’t been announced in a formal way—they’ve just let people know that they’re working on it—and contrary to speculation that Bruno says he’s encountered in certain Steam reviews, its development has not pulled resources away from town builder Farthest Frontier, which is set to get optimization improvements, a new tech tree, and other changes before its 1.0 launch sometime later this year.

During our wide-ranging discussion, Bruno also said he’s encountered misconceptions about the size of Farthest Frontier’s development team—it’s not a big team, which of course is why Crate doesn’t have to aim for tens of millions of sales—andexpressed some frustration over comparisonshe’d seen to the “solo developed” Manor Lords.

More about rtsFormer Age of Empires developer says the RTS genre’s stuck in a rut: ‘you’re still playing the same game’Creeper World IXE breaks the RTS mold and adds a dash of Noita’s alchemy to the gooey warLatestToday’s Wordle answer for Saturday, January 11See more latest►

More about rts

Former Age of Empires developer says the RTS genre’s stuck in a rut: ‘you’re still playing the same game’Creeper World IXE breaks the RTS mold and adds a dash of Noita’s alchemy to the gooey war

null

Former Age of Empires developer says the RTS genre’s stuck in a rut: ‘you’re still playing the same game’

Creeper World IXE

Creeper World IXE breaks the RTS mold and adds a dash of Noita’s alchemy to the gooey war

LatestToday’s Wordle answer for Saturday, January 11See more latest►

Latest

Today’s Wordle answer for Saturday, January 11

Wordle answers

Today’s Wordle answer for Saturday, January 11

See more latest►

Most PopularPiranha Games will lay off employees after Mechwarrior 5: Clans ‘performed below projections’Marvel Rivals’ latest update quietly killed the game’s burgeoning mod sceneSorry everyone, Minecraft 2 is cancelled, and it might be our faultTeam Fortress 2 just had the single biggest trade in its history, with ‘the absolute best hat you can get’ going for around $40KIs the new RTX 5070 really as fast as Nvidia’s previous flagship RTX 4090 GPU? Turns out the answer is yes. Kinda.Elden Ring: Nightreign is getting a closed network test, and I’m totally not fuming because PC players aren’t invited to the party, or anythingIf you’re a content creator and gamer looking for a CPU upgrade, this Ryzen 9 9900X deal will get you $90 offAMD is now reportedly making all-American Ryzen 9000 CPU dies at TSMC’s Arizona fabI tried a sim racing rig that generates ‘wind’ at CES 2025 and it’s claimed to help keep VR nausea at bayFinal Fantasy 14 communities panic as it turns out change to blacklisting, meant to help reduce stalking, also lets players use mods to track their altsTikTok’s time in the US may be ticking to a close as it makes a last stand in the Supreme Court, though Trump now says he ‘opposes banning’ it

Most Popular

Piranha Games will lay off employees after Mechwarrior 5: Clans ‘performed below projections’

Marvel Rivals’ latest update quietly killed the game’s burgeoning mod scene

Sorry everyone, Minecraft 2 is cancelled, and it might be our fault

Team Fortress 2 just had the single biggest trade in its history, with ‘the absolute best hat you can get’ going for around $40K

Is the new RTX 5070 really as fast as Nvidia’s previous flagship RTX 4090 GPU? Turns out the answer is yes. Kinda.

Elden Ring: Nightreign is getting a closed network test, and I’m totally not fuming because PC players aren’t invited to the party, or anything

If you’re a content creator and gamer looking for a CPU upgrade, this Ryzen 9 9900X deal will get you $90 off

AMD is now reportedly making all-American Ryzen 9000 CPU dies at TSMC’s Arizona fab

I tried a sim racing rig that generates ‘wind’ at CES 2025 and it’s claimed to help keep VR nausea at bay

Final Fantasy 14 communities panic as it turns out change to blacklisting, meant to help reduce stalking, also lets players use mods to track their alts

TikTok’s time in the US may be ticking to a close as it makes a last stand in the Supreme Court, though Trump now says he ‘opposes banning’ it

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review4Ikea Utespelare desk review5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

A bunch of the best Steam Deck accessories on a blue background.

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review

Thank Goodness You’re Here review

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review

Thank Goodness You’re Here! review

2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review

Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review

3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

4Ikea Utespelare desk review

Ikea Utespelare desk review

5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals#

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals