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Command & Conquer will be a faster paced reimagining of Generals

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The upcoming free-to-play Command & Conquer from Victory Games will offer much shorter match times than previous games in the series. The RTS, which will be based in the near-future Generals universe, will reduce average session times from over an hour to around forty minutes. 

Talking to Polygon at Gamescom, general manager at Victory Games Jon Van Caneghem said: “We’ve been noticing since the original Generals, the preferred play session has gone done from an hour plus to 30 to 45 minutes, so we’ve changed the pacing [of Command & Conquer] to deal with that.”

Van Caneghem stresses that whilst the average game may clock in at a lunchtime friendly duration, the team plans to include selectable options to increase the length of matches for fans of long-game strategy.

The first content release for Command & Conquer will be based in the Generals universe, first seen in 2003. The units involved will be a collection of classics from the original, redesigned troops and tanks, and a group of newly designed ones. As with the original game, terrorist forces will make up the GLA faction, but this time less focussed on the Middle East. “It’s radical groups from around the world,” Van Caneghem said. “Any insurgent types in any country we looked at them as a possible general. It’s a worldwide thing now, every country has groups like this.”

Players will be able to purchase different generals through the microtransaction side of the game, or unlock them through play. As with the original game, generals will offer different abilities and tactics.

Command & Conquer will launch as a public beta this autumn.