Here's our exclusive first peek at massive-scale RTS Ashes of the Singularity 2 in action, and would you look at the size of this thing

Strip away the impressive tech and Ashes of the Singularity's main hook is that it's big. Big wars, big battles, big weapons. Ashes of the Singularity 2's hook is that it's even bigger, with planet-wide wars featuring thousands of machines and humans—split into three factions—duking it out across multiple fronts.

Cast your eyes above and you'll see it in action for the first time.

Quite large, right?

When the camera zooms out and we get to see the battle in all its glory, with countless red and blue units colliding, turning vehicles into burned out husks, transforming forests into infernos, it's enough to give me little shivers. The same shivers I got when I first saw Total Annihilation in action, and then Supreme Commander years later.

If you're going to invent a fictional war, you might as well make it ludicrously massive.

As well as being bigger, Ashes 2 promises more persistent destruction, with vehicles, trees and flora, and terrain all taking a beating. Developer Oxide has also thrown a new faction into the mix, as a coalition of NATO, China and Russia (The United Earth Forces) attempt to take back Earth from AI-powered foes. That's who you'll be playing as in the campaign, but you can play as the returning factions in custom skirmishes, co-op comp stomps and competitive team or solo battles.

The little soldiers running around really emphasises the ridiculous scale of these wars. And it's something that Oxide and publisher Stardock say is only possible now. In the first game, the scale meant the team focused on wars between machines, but now tiny, vulnerable humans can get in on the action.

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I quite like the sound of the new recruitment system, too. It lets you automate stuff like rally points and replacing lost units, filling up the ranks without making you slam those hotkeys, which is normally a bit of a pain when you're busy trying to win a battle.

I'm a bit less convinced by the procedural map system, where Ashes 2 generates both small and large maps with different environments. My favourite RTS maps are always hand-crafted, full of little human touches that help improve the flow of battle. And there's great joy to be found in mastering these maps—learning their ins and outs, figuring out where the best ambush spots are and what units work best. At this scale, though, I suppose there's not as much emphasis on the little details. It's worth noting, however, that Ashes 2 will still support prebuilt maps.

A fancy new RTS on the horizon is exciting, though it continues to be a tough time for the genre. We got a couple of corkers this year, but one of them, Dawn of War, was a fairly simple remaster, and the other, Tempest Rising, was equally driven by nostalgia. When it comes to real-time strategy, if you're not pandering to middle-age gamers, you're outta luck.

But that might be a good thing for Ashes 2. While Oxide and Stardock are keen to emphasise the new tech that makes this behemoth possible, ultimately it's trying to take advantage of the love armchair generals have for SupCom and TA. And it's working on me.

Ashes of the Singularity 2 doesn't have a specific release date yet, but it's expected out in 2026.