real-time strategy

American  

[ree-uhl-tahym strat-i-jee, reel] / ˈri əlˈtaɪm ˌstræt ɪ dʒi, ˈril /

noun

Digital Technology.

1. a genre of video games in which a player battles enemies, faces environmental challenges, or achieves a goal while other player characters and nonplayer characters are playing simultaneously, without sequenced turns or rounds of play (often used attributively). RTS

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Etymology

Origin of real-time strategy

First recorded in 1980–85

Example Sentences

“It’s a real-time strategy game which mimics real-world problems more closely,” Wünsch, now retired from competitive “StarCraft,” told MarketWatch.

From MarketWatch • May 23, 2026

The trailer showed off a top-down real-time strategy game with elements of resource management and questing.

From BBC • Aug. 21, 2024

Under Kotick, many Blizzard staff members with experience developing real-time strategy games left the company.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 13, 2023

I know I’m not the only one with a special place in my heart for the Age of Empires franchise, but it’s been too long since we’ve had an honest real-time strategy to celebrate.

From The Verge • Nov. 25, 2021

They include sports-based titles, like Madden as well as real-time strategy games, fighting games or first-person shooter simulations.

From Washington Post • Aug. 26, 2018