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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


Etymology

Origin of real-time strategy

First recorded in 1980–85


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

“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

Got some nostalgia for classic real-time strategy games?

From The Verge ● Jun. 2, 2022

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

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