Already my favorite RTS this year, Tempest Rising is going full Command and Conquer by adding superweapons

The next Tempest Rising update is taking what was already my pick for the best RTS of 2025 to a new level. The Slipgate Ironworks game has clearly pulled plenty of inspiration from the iconic Command and Conquer series; you need only look at its leading factions to see that. But while the international peacekeepers of the GDF and the revolutionary Tempest Dynasty are both very well-equipped to battle each other in the war for resources and control, they've been missing one of the most essential pieces of C&C history: superweapons.

Right back to the 1995 original, Command and Conquer has long been synonymous with weapons of mass destruction. Whether it was the raw horror of the Brotherhood of Nod's nuclear weapons, or the more sci-fi devastation of the GDI's Ion Cannon, fired from a satellite in orbit, they were the ultimate ambition of any C&C player worth their salt. Much like the rest of Tempest Rising, Slipgate has taken the spirit of these iconic tools but put its own twist on proceedings with a pair of structures that will be joining the roster in the next major update.

Given that Tempest Rising plays out in the aftermath of a nuclear war, simply repeating that might feel a little too one-note. Instead, we get the Drone Strike Station for the GDF and the Excavator Platform for the Tempest Dynasty. They might not sound too imposing at first, but bear with me, because they might have those classic C&C offerings beaten.

The Drone Strike Station is the ultimate apex of the GDF's communications network, capable of calling in orbital strikes through its established satellite constellations. Simply building it grants you a huge vision radius around the structure; any good RTS player will tell you that map knowledge is the biggest single factor in winning a match, so this is already a great start.

Once fully charged, however, you're able to call in the station's devastating drone strike. This bombs a designated spot on the battlefield with a Helldivers-style drop of nine tungsten Drone Turrets, with the initial impact already capable of obliterating nearly everything in its path. Anything that manages to run clear, however, will have to face the wrath of those auto-turrets, which stay online for a full minute. Each can also deploy up to three respawning combat drones while they're active, so nothing will survive your wrath.

The Tempest Dynasty doesn't have quite such fancy tech, but its Excavator Platform is "a show of pure force and a monument to their industrial fury." Think of it as a burrowing siege engine that uses giant drills to send both troops and shockwaves through the very terrain around you. It's basically the Zerg's Nydus Worms from StarCraft combined with a precision earthquake generator.

This means the Excavator Platform has two functions. The first is the Strike Team Drill Pod, which lets you load up to 18 units into the structure and then have them burrow underneath enemy forces and fortifications to pop up for a surprise attack. Add in the 'medical kits' perk and any damaged infantry you load into the pods will have their health recovered as well.

If you'd rather take a more vicious approach, a fully charged platform can use its Combat Excavator to designate an origin point and fire out concussive waves "that liquefy armor and turn enemy units and structures to dust." Oh, and once it's done this it can also unload a stored garrison of your troops from the epicenter to clean up anything that survived. Don't say you weren't warned.

"We've put a lot of work into bringing these superweapons to the game, and we feel they add a whole new dynamic way to play each faction," Slipgate Ironworks writes. "We are very excited to see the creative ways you use them in multiplayer. That's all for today, although the team does tease that it has "some other exciting news to share with you very soon regarding future content for Tempest Rising." I can't wait.