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Games like Command & Conquer you can play free
Updated 1 November 2026
The quickest way to play a base-building RTS like Command & Conquer for free is in your browser. Firestorm runs in any browser with nothing to download, and Chrono Divide recreates Red Alert 2 in the browser if you have the original game files. For the classics themselves, OpenRA and EA's own freeware releases are free downloads for a computer.
| Game | Plays in | Cost | What you need | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Firestorm | Browser, phone or PC | Free | Nothing | A modern-combat RTS right now, solo against AI |
| Chrono Divide | Browser | Free | The Red Alert 2 game files | Red Alert 2 online with friends |
| OpenRA | Windows, macOS, Linux | Free, open source | A download | Red Alert, Tiberian Dawn and Dune 2000, modernised |
| The freeware classics, via CnCNet | Windows | Free | A download | The original games as they were |
| generals.io | Browser | Free | Nothing | Ten-minute online matches |
| C&C Remastered Collection | Windows | Paid | Steam or the EA app | The official remaster in HD |
The six, in more detail
1. Firestorm, in your browser
Firestorm is our own game, so judge it for yourself. It's a modern-combat RTS in the same mould: build a base, keep its power grid running, bring supply in from the field and send armies to break the enemy line. You command one of nine real nations, from the United States and China to India and the European Union. Each one fights its own way, with its own doctrine and a signature power from the first minute. All the units have invented names, and the art is our own.
There's a guided first match, a twelve-mission campaign, skirmish for two to eight commanders on eight maps, and a daily battle that's the same for everyone. It works with touch on phones and tablets, and there's no download and no account needed. It's single player against AI commanders for now.
2. Chrono Divide
Chrono Divide is a fan project that rebuilds Red Alert 2 to run in a web browser. It's written from scratch, so it uses your copy of the original game's files rather than shipping them. Its focus has been online multiplayer, and press coverage in late 2025 said the campaign was still being built. It's not an EA product.
3. OpenRA
OpenRA rebuilds the early Westwood strategy games for modern computers: Red Alert, the original Command & Conquer and Dune 2000. It adds modern controls and online play, and has an active multiplayer community. It's a download, not a browser game.
4. The freeware classics, through CnCNet
EA made the original Command & Conquer free to download in 2007, Red Alert in 2008 and Tiberian Sun in 2010. CnCNet packages them to run on current versions of Windows and keeps their online multiplayer going. If you want the games exactly as they were, this is the way.
5. generals.io
A minimalist online strategy game on a grid. You grow an army, spread across the map and capture the enemy general. There's no base building, but matches take ten to fifteen minutes and start instantly in a browser tab.
6. Command & Conquer Remastered Collection
The official 2020 remaster of the original Command & Conquer and Red Alert, with HD art and remastered music. It's not free, but it's the definitive way to replay those two.
Questions
- Can I play Command & Conquer in a web browser?
- Not the original games themselves, which are Windows downloads. Chrono Divide is a fan-made browser recreation of Red Alert 2 that needs the original game's files. Firestorm is a free modern-combat RTS in the same base-building style that runs in any browser, phones included, with nothing to download.
- Is there a free game like Command & Conquer?
- Yes. EA made the original Command & Conquer, Red Alert and Tiberian Sun free to download, and CnCNet keeps them playable online. OpenRA is a free open-source remake for Windows, macOS and Linux. Firestorm is free in the browser.
- Is Firestorm a Command & Conquer game?
- No. Firestorm is an original game made by Etheria. It shares the genre: base building, a power grid, harvested supply and armies. It has its own nine real nations, units with invented names and its own art. It is not affiliated with Electronic Arts.
Command & Conquer, Red Alert and Tiberian Sun are trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. Etheria and Firestorm are not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Electronic Arts. The other games named here belong to their makers. We list them because they're good, and we don't earn anything from the links.