2.2 GB
Thousand-unit RTS battles that melt GPUs and minds.
Verified working 19 hours ago
Last updated
Beyond All Reason is a free rts game released under Open Source (GPL-2.0). It runs on Windows, Linux, needs about 2.2 GB of disk space, and requires no account, payment or trial. On a computer, the fastest route is the PlayBound Launcher. On a phone or tablet, use the official store or site instead.
Choose how to install
Install with PlayBound or download from the official source without the launcher.
Install the PlayBound Launcher, then find Beyond All Reason and press Install. The launcher downloads the official release and unpacks it. This is the fastest route and it never uses third-party mirrors.
Alternatively, download Beyond All Reason directly from the official site at https://www.beyondallreason.info. Always download from the official source — third-party mirrors of free games are a common malware vector.
Windows
Run the downloaded installer and follow the prompts. If Windows SmartScreen warns about an unrecognised publisher, that is normal for open-source projects without a paid code-signing certificate — choose More info, then Run anyway.
Linux
Check your distribution's package manager first, which is usually the easiest route. Otherwise download the AppImage from the official site, mark it executable and run it.
chmod +x *.AppImage && ./*.AppImageLaunch the game and look at the settings menu before your first session — resolution and control defaults are worth checking. Beyond All Reason needs roughly 2.2 GB of free disk space.
Minimum
3 GHz quad-core CPU · 8 GB RAM · GTX 960 · 4 GB storage
Recommended
4 GHz 8-core CPU · 16 GB RAM · RTX 2060 or better · 6 GB storage
Yes, entirely free and open-source. There are no purchases, no battle pass, no cosmetics for sale and no advertising. Development is funded by donations.
Both run on the Recoil engine and share maps and models. Beyond All Reason stays closer to Total Annihilation, with a more punishing economy and heavier reliance on player micromanagement. Zero-K deliberately diverges, with unit AI smart enough to command at a general level. BAR has the larger current player base; Zero-K has the smaller download and a Steam presence.
There is skirmish play against AI opponents, and the AI is strong enough to be worth practising against, but the game is built around multiplayer. There is no narrative campaign.
A 3 GHz quad-core CPU, 8 GB of RAM and a dedicated GPU are realistic minimums for comfortable play. Large late-game battles are CPU-bound, so a faster processor matters more than a faster graphics card.
Beyond All Reason is distributed through its own launcher from the official site. Zero-K, its close relative, is available on Steam.
It has one of the healthier populations among free open-source games, with team games filling readily at peak hours. Live server and player counts are shown on the Beyond All Reason servers page.
Yes. Beyond All Reason supports up to 16 players. You can join a public community server from the PlayBound server browser and host a game on your own PC. PlayBound Connect handles the setup: start a party with your friends, pick how you want to play, and everyone launches into the same game from the PlayBound launcher. It also supports a ranked ladder. There is no subscription and no paid multiplayer tier.