Uploaded March 2022 | Updated September 2026, 3 hours ago

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You can check out my second channel for daily uploads here: youtube.com/c/giantgrantgamesarchives

I didn't have time to say it in the video, but competition isn't bad. But it is something that will naturally and organically arise through people engaging with, and enjoying, the game. Supporting it is good, forcing it is bad.

Timestamps:
0:00 - Intro
1:57 - The Playerbase
3:56 - Demographics
7:47 - Perception of RTS
9:26 - What Did Old RTS Do Right?
10:02 - Pillar 1 - The Engine
12:31 - Pillar 2 - Spectacle
16:13 - Pillar 3 - Development Tools
18:48 - Player Generated Content
22:57 - Conclusion

CITATION TIME!
-Headlines and Quotes Used-
nephest.com/sc2 - SC2 pulse player graphs
screenrant.com/starcraft-2-future-updates-blizzard-announcement - headline - Blizzard Ends Most StarCraft 2 Support, Future Of Franchise Unclear
https://allinfo.space/2017/01/14/blizzard-is-worried-about-decline-in-number-of-wow-subscribers/ - headline - Blizzard is worried about decline in number of WoW subscribers
wired.com/story/fall-and-rise-real-time-strategy-games - headline - The Fall and Rise of Real-Time Strategy Games
giantbomb.com/forums/general-discussion-30/is-rts-a-dead-genre-1816313 - comment - MOBAs are definitely eating the RTS piece of the gaming pie
quora.com/Why-aren-t-Starcraft-other-RTS-games-popular-anymore?share=1 - comment - RTS appeals to a very small segment of the gamer base
reddit.com/r/starcraft/comments/jl58vx/how_to_monetize_rts
reddit.com/r/truegaming/comments/aeuazx/why_has_the_rts_genre_fallen_so_much_out_of_favor
gamingsection.net/news/how-long-does-it-take-to-get-good-at-starcraft-2
pcgamesn.com/best-rts-games-pc
us.forums.blizzard.com/en/sc2/t/why-is-starcraft-2-so-hard/12882/19
quora.com/What-is-the-hardest-RTS-game
reddit.com/r/starcraft/comments/58iyuf/starcraft_is_like_chess
us.forums.blizzard.com/en/sc2/t/terran-is-the-least-micro-intensive-race/1864/18
us.forums.blizzard.com/en/sc2/t/how-90-of-terrans-think-sc2-works/11889
us.forums.blizzard.com/en/sc2/t/newb-player-look-for-advice/23981/6
ageofempires.fandom.com/wiki/Campaign#Age_of_Empires_II
steamplayercount.com/app/813780 - aoe2
usgamer.net/articles/starcraft-ii-legacy-of-the-void-pc-review-in-progress-once-more-unto-the-void- - coop menu from 2015
planetminecraft.com/mods/?order=order_downloads - minecraft mods
gamespot.com/articles/roblox-notches-202-million-estimated-monthly-users-an-all-time-high/1100-6490999 - headline

-Game Footage Used-
youtube.com/watch?v=qJgf_GGlrXs - Game of Thrones Genesis Failed RTS
youtube.com/watch?v=LB8bkOw_in8 - Red Alert 2 Weather Storm
youtube.com/watch?v=qUTZgOnSkRs - KSP Footage
youtube.com/watch?v=vXhKLgfNyu0 - Halo 3 Forge Footage
youtube.com/watch?v=yNaTZV8qS1I - Skyrim Footage
youtube.com/watch?v=eAvXhNlO-rA - Roblox Footage
Everything else was recorded by me.