OpenRA
Classic real-time strategy, rebuilt for the modern age.
The PlayBound Bar
OpenRA clears all five: genuinely free with no monetisation, stable and complete, actively developed, good enough to recommend at full price, and open-source under GPL-3.0 so nothing can take it away.
Genuinely free
No trial, no paywalled campaign, no pay-to-win, no cosmetic treadmill. Free means free, forever.
Finished enough to enjoy
Playable and satisfying start to finish today — not a promising alpha you should check back on.
Actively maintained
A release or meaningful commit within the last twelve months. Someone is still looking after it.
Stands on its own merits
Good enough that we would recommend it even if it cost money. Free is not the reason it is here.
Won't disappear
Open-source or self-hostable, so no shutdown, delisting or licence expiry can take it away from you.
OpenRA last verified against the bar on . Read the full standard →
About OpenRA
Electronic Arts has spent two decades not knowing what to do with Command & Conquer. OpenRA is what happened when volunteers decided to do it properly instead.
It is not a mod and not an emulator. OpenRA is a from-scratch open-source engine that runs Tiberian Dawn, Red Alert and Dune 2000 with modern resolutions, sane pathfinding, real widescreen support and multiplayer that works without port-forwarding gymnastics. Crucially, it does not simply replicate 1995 — build queues, unit control and production behave the way you always wished they had. Veterans should expect rebalanced skirmishes rather than a pixel-perfect recreation, and that is the point.
Each supported game ships as a separate mod with its own campaign, faction roster and map pool. Red Alert is the most popular starting point; Tiberian Dawn is the purist's choice. Total conversions like Combined Arms mix universes together, and the in-game map browser gives you thousands of community maps without leaving the client.
What separates OpenRA from most preservation projects is that it is genuinely alive. There is a competitive ladder with real people on it. Map pools rotate. Balance patches ship. For a franchise whose official custodian released one remaster and went quiet, having an actively maintained, actively played version is remarkable.
At roughly 350 MB it installs in minutes and runs on essentially any laptop made in the last fifteen years. There is no account requirement, no launcher telemetry and no store.
Why we picked it
Most classic-RTS revivals are nostalgia projects that stall out at 'technically playable'. OpenRA went the other way — it fixed the things the originals got wrong, kept everything they got right, and then built a competitive scene on top. It is the rare preservation effort that is better than the thing it preserves, and it costs nothing.
Who it's for
Great if you want
- Anyone who grew up on Command & Conquer or Red Alert
- Short, decisive matches rather than hour-long build-ups
- Competitive 1v1 with a real ladder and ranking
- Old or low-spec laptops — 350 MB and very light on hardware
- LAN parties, with no accounts or internet needed
Look elsewhere if
- You want a pixel-perfect recreation — unit control is deliberately modernised
- You prefer slow, economy-heavy strategy; matches here can end in minutes
- You want a single-player-only experience, since the community is the main draw
- You are looking for modern 3D visuals rather than updated sprite art
Features
System Requirements
Minimum
2 GHz dual-core CPU · 2 GB RAM · OpenGL 2.1 GPU · 1 GB storage
Recommended
3 GHz quad-core CPU · 4 GB RAM · Dedicated GPU · 2 GB storage
Frequently asked questions about OpenRA
Is OpenRA free?
Yes, completely. OpenRA is open-source under GPL-3.0 with no purchase, subscription, in-game currency or advertising. The original game assets it uses were released as freeware by Electronic Arts, so the whole package is legal and free.
Is OpenRA legal?
Yes. OpenRA is a clean-room reimplementation of the game engine, and the Command & Conquer and Red Alert assets it downloads were officially released as freeware by Electronic Arts. Nothing is pirated.
Which OpenRA mod should I start with?
Red Alert. It has the largest player base, the most active ladder and the most familiar faction design. Tiberian Dawn is the closer recreation of the 1995 original if that is what you are after.
Does OpenRA have single-player campaigns?
Yes. Each mod includes the original campaign missions alongside skirmish mode against AI opponents of varying difficulty. You never need to play online.
Is OpenRA still active in 2026?
Yes. Development continues, balance patches ship regularly, and the multiplayer ladder has an ongoing population. Live server and player counts are shown on the OpenRA servers page.
Can I play OpenRA on Steam Deck?
Yes. OpenRA runs on the Steam Deck, though it is a mouse-driven RTS so a trackpad or external mouse gives a much better experience than the sticks.
How is OpenRA different from the C&C Remastered Collection?
The Remastered Collection is a paid product that upgrades the original graphics while keeping the original engine behaviour. OpenRA is free and rewrites the engine, modernising unit control, pathfinding and multiplayer — a different design philosophy rather than a cheaper version of the same thing.
