Command and Conquer style RTS Fractured Alliance has the ideal newcomer faction

In lieu of an official new Command and Conquer game, Fractured Alliance joins the likes of Tempest Rising and 9-Bit Armies to take its place, and it's one we've been watching with keen interest. Drawing inspiration from CnC, Red Alert, and Supreme Commander, developer Tense Games wants "to make the nostalgic players feel like they did in around the year 2000." But if you're feeling a bit older and your brain doesn't want to deal with all that high-speed multitasking, or perhaps are a relative newcomer to the genre, Fractured Alliance has the answer: its third playable faction, The Collective.

From Starcraft to Age of Empires, the best RTS games have traditionally placed quite high demands on your ability to manage multiple things at once. New Fractured Alliance faction The Collective is a direct response to this conundrum from Tense Games, which describes it as the "least 'classic-RTS faction' we have." It makes nods to Warhammer 40k's Tau as a futuristic group built around automation. You can see it in action below, courtesy of a fresh video from the developer that shows how its Swarm Drones work.

"The Collective is a faction for RTS newcomers primarily," Tense Games says, "or people who just don't enjoy multitasking that much." When controlling them, you can focus largely on your building placement and overall strategy. Your drones will automatically stockpile and aren't controlled directly, although you're able to toggle them between automatic, stockpile, defend, or attack modes as you choose.

Instead, they'll automatically produce the units needed, organize their groups, and seek out nearby threats to neutralize as they determine necessary. Likewise, you're able to put down repair plants to maintain and fix your structures, letting you get involved without too much micromanagement.

Tense says it "will be adding a few units and abilities that give the player some more agency" in the future, so you'll gradually be able to ramp up the control you have if you like. Prefer to take full charge? Don't worry; the other two factions, the United Federation and Eastern Alliance, are very traditional RTS-brand groups that will keep you satisfied.

Much like the other factions, The Collective will have their own story-driven campaign, so there's no fear you're getting a 'watered-down' experience should you choose to use them. Indeed, they should even provide a fun challenge to veteran players, tasking you with manipulating a force that you don't directly take charge of. As someone who poured hours into the likes of Majesty growing up, I'm eager to figure out how to make The Collective work for me.

There's no release date for Fractured Alliance yet, but you're free to wishlist it on Steam if you want to stay up to date with its development progress.

In the meantime, we've picked out the cream of the crop with the best strategy games in 2025, alongside the best classic PC games you can still play today.

What's your favorite RTS faction of all time? Tell us in the PCGamesN community Discord server, where you'll find plenty of fellow tactics enthusiasts.