Earlier today, THQ Nordic broadcast its digital showcase, giving gamers new looks at the company's already announced games. This included gameplay footage of a pair of upcoming medieval-set RTS games that the company announced at an earlier date. However, THQ Nordic surprised players by announcing a new game that takes its inspiration from the science fiction RTS games of the 90s and early 2000s. The upcoming game is known as Tempest Rising.
In the 1990s and 2000s, there was a healthy selection of RTS games to choose from. Some of the biggest names in the genre included Age of Empires, StarCraft, Warcraft, and Command and Conquer. Several of these franchises have installments that helped defined the RTS genre and have remained favorites among fans and critics. Unfortunately, as the 2000s and 2010s rolled on, publishers seemed less interested in the genre, but now it seems to be coming back in a big way.
During THQ Nordic's digital showcase, the company revealed its new RTS game, Tempest Rising. The trailer for the game features a voice-over from an unidentified leader who praises the player while encouraging them to take out their enemy. A metal song that sounds like something out of the controversial Doom Eternal soundtrack plays over the gameplay footage which shows classic base-building mechanics and enemies battling one another on foot, with guns, flamethrowers, and in tanks.
During the THQ Nordic showcase, the publisher gave players a better look at several upcoming games. This included but was not limited to the first official look at the Alone in the Dark reboot, a full trailer for the Gothic remake, and a co-op space simulator known as Space for Sale. Gameplay footage for the upcoming 5th Crusade-based strategy game, The Valiant, was also featured as was a new look at the medieval grand strategy game Knights of Honor 2: Sovereign. Tempest Rising, however, is the only RTS that takes place in a science fiction setting.
While Tempest Rising is described as a game that was inspired by prior RTS games, the primary inspiration seems to be the Command and Conquer games. Once considered to be one of the greatest RTS franchises of all time, the series began to fizzle out after EA acquired the IP. The last major installment in the series was the Command and Conquer remaster which was announced and released in 2020. The new THQ Nordic game takes place in a world devastated by war as the player chooses from one of three factions that try to restore order to the globe.
Tempest Rising currently does not have a release date but is expected to launch sometime in 2023.