OpenRA is a free and open-source real-time strategy engine that rebuilds classic Westwood games — Command & Conquer: Tiberian Dawn, Command & Conquer: Red Alert and Dune 2000 — on a modern, cross-platform codebase. Instead of emulating the 1990s originals it reimplements the game logic from scratch in C# with an OpenGL renderer, so you keep the familiar gameplay while gaining widescreen resolutions, working online multiplayer and a scripting API for custom game modes. Three official mods ship with every download, and the original game assets can be fetched automatically on first run or taken from your own game discs.

Key Features

• Three classic games — Tiberian Dawn, Red Alert and Dune 2000 are included as official mods, with their original missions, units and factions.
• Integrated online multiplayer — built-in lobbies and matchmaking, plus replays and an observer interface designed for streaming.
• Modern controls — choose right-click or the classic left-click scheme, with overhauled sidebars supporting hotkeys and production queues, Attack-Move orders and unit stances.
• Modern rendering — an OpenGL renderer with native high-resolution and widescreen support, smooth zoom, and no emulation layer or hacks.
• Gameplay refinements — fog of war, capturable tech structures and unit veterancy bring the originals closer to contemporary RTS design.
• Built-in map editor — the same editor the developers use for the official maps ships with the game.
• Genuinely cross-platform — runs natively on Windows, Linux, macOS and BSD from a single codebase.
• Actively developed — regular tagged releases, the most recent being 20250330 (March 2025), with a large community contributing maps, mods and balance updates.

Why Use OpenRA?

The original Command & Conquer titles are awkward to run on modern hardware — they need unofficial patches, compatibility shims and resolution workarounds before they will even start. OpenRA gives you the same factions and campaigns on a codebase that understands today’s systems, with multiplayer that simply works. The project is 100% free: no account, no store, no subscription, and no advertising.

Use Cases

• Playing Red Alert or Tiberian Dawn multiplayer online, with the classic gameplay and balance intact.
• Revisiting the original single-player campaigns on a modern desktop without emulators or compatibility hacks.
• Building custom maps, mods and total conversions using the bundled map editor and the engine’s mod API.

Platform

Windows · Linux · macOS · BSD

Licence

Open source — GNU General Public License v3.0 (GPL-3.0). The OpenRA engine is free software; the original Westwood game assets are obtained separately.

Alternatives

• Warzone 2100 — open-source real-time strategy with a 3D engine and a long single-player campaign
• 0 A.D. — free, open-source historical RTS spanning ancient-era civilisations

Website

openra.net — source code at github.com/OpenRA/OpenRA