On EA Play today, we unveiled Command & Conquer™: Rivals, but the road to EA PLAY started at Redwood Studios two years ago.
Redwood Studios was founded by a group of passionate games with the goal of making great strategy games for players around the world. There are several strategy games in development at EA. My team is currently working on a great real-time strategy game for mobile. We decided to make a familiar RTS experience that we all love; a game that brings to life the experience of commanding an army.
Once we set our goal, we knew we could realize our vision with Command & Conquer. For many, Command & Conquer is the definition of real-time strategy games. But if we wanted to make something for mobile, we knew we had to rethink the gameplay. We needed to take full advantage of the features of mobile devices, such as the touch interface, screen size and the ability to play on the go. So we laid out the essential components of an RTS battle: building an army, controlling units and reacting to the opponent.
Rivals gives players full control of all their units at all times. We think this adds a new and refreshing layer to the gaming experience. Many developers in the industry think this is too much for players, but we disagree. Players are sophisticated and looking for this level of control and the strategies it provides.
Rivals delivers an RTS experience focused on competition, skill and strategy. This includes putting your skills as a commander to the test in intense, live, one-on-one battles that take place over several minutes. Every victory is due to your skills as a commander. We want every game to be fun, fair and competitive. That’s when our game is at its best.
We believe we are well on our way to making a great RTS experience, but this is just the beginning. As a development team, we really enjoy playing this game and competing against each other. And now it’s your turn.
Today our Pre-Alpha kicks off, and we need your help! The pre-alpha is open to Android users in the US and Canada. Go to the Google Play Store and search for “Command & Conquer: Rivals.” Then tap “Reserve” on the description page. Starting today, we are allowing players in waves to play the game and provide feedback.
We need your help to get enough feedback. Two of our goals for the pre-alpha are to test combat balance and matchmaking, as both are essential for fun, fair and competitive games. We will immediately update our gameplay and matchmaking systems based on feedback from our players from the pre-alpha and later stages of development.
