With the aid of his increasingly trusted adviser – a powerful psychic named Yuri, said to be Stalin’s prodigy – the USSR spends the intervening time rearming and strengthening itself while once more spreading Communism. Beneath the friendly façade and lip service to peace, however, the Premier is revealed to be an avowed Communist and deeply resents what the Allies had done to his beloved Motherland. On behalf of the Allied Nations, the United States had propped up a man named Alexander Romanov to ultimately lead a seemingly defanged Soviet Union. 20 years have passed since the end of World War II and the death of Josef Stalin. This is in part due to how it all but defined the franchise as it’s remembered to this day.įollowing the precedent of using “good guy” outcomes as canon, the game takes place in broadly the same timeline as Red Alert 1’s Allied ending, the gist of which is first conveyed through the rather creative installation screen. Not only would it become a classic in its own right, but also become among the most defining titles in RTS and PC gaming at large.

Before long, though, it would rival if not usurp its classic predecessor. Mainly developed by Westwood Pacific in collaboration by the main branch – the latter at the time busy with various other projects – it built upon the popularity of the first game.

That entry is Command and Conquer: Red Alert 2, released on October 2000. It wasn’t until 2000, however, following the releases of Tiberian Sun and its expansion Firestorm, that a proper sequel to Red Alertwas revealed to the public. This marked a new chapter in the history of those developers and the Command and Conquer franchise. Eleven days before the release of Red Alert: Retaliation in 1998, Westwood Studios, along with sister/subsidiary company Burst Games (AKA, Westwood Pacific) were acquired by EA from Virgin Interactive.

Black screen on skirmish red alert 2