The '90s are back, baby: RTS games based on Stargate and Terminator are in development

This is a good time to be a fan of licensed real-time strategy games based on sci-fi licenses. At The Game Awards last week, Funcom announced a new RTS based on Dune, and today publisher Slitherine showcased not one but two others it has in the pipe: Terminator: Dark Fate – Defiance, and Stargate: Timekeepers.

Stargate: Timekeepers was first announced back in May, but Slitherine revealed a first look at gameplay during its Home of Wargamers event earlier today on Twitch. Set in the SG-1 universe, Timekeepers is a small-scale tactics game with a 14-mission campaign that sees Commander Eva McCain and her team supporting the unit in its battle against the forces of Anubis. Later in the campaign, they'll also help the Jaffa Resistance, lead a strike against Moloc, pursue an alliance with the Unas, and get stuck in a time loop—all of which will likely sound familiar to SG-1 fans.

As McCain, players will lead a team of specialists, human and otherwise, each with distinct sets of skills that enable different approaches to problems. The choices you make will matter, according to Slitherine. Stargate: Timekeepers has "multiple potential outcomes," although in keeping with the nature of the source material, alien technology will enable you and your team to travel back in time and have another go should things not work out.

Here's what it looks like:

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Terminator: Dark Fate – Defiance, on the other hand, is a reveal of a larger-scale strategy game. As commander of human forces in the unhappy future, you must lead the resistance against Legion, the head of the machine army in the Dark Fate timeline. But that's not your only problem: Even greater threats may emerge from other human factions, who you'll have to deal with as you rally forces to your flag. Along with the singleplayer campaign, Terminator: Dark Fate – Defiance will also support PvP multiplayer for up to four players.

There are fewer details on this campaign—it was just announced, after all—but Slitherine revealed a flyover teaser of a future battle in Oklahoma City. It certainly looks suitably grim.

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A handful of new screens provides a closer-to-the-action view of gameplay:

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Terminator: Dark Fate - Defiance — (Image credit: Slitherine)

Slitherine's on a real tear with licensed sci-fi RTSes: It's also working on a game based on Starship Troopers, which was announced back in 2019. Composer Kejero also appeared in today's livestream to talk about the role of music in the game and show off a little gameplay.

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Starship Troopers: Terran Command is set to launch on Steam on March 31. Stargate: Timekeepers and Terminator: Dark Fate – Defiance do not have release dates, but they are "coming soon."

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.