Command & Conquer
OpenRA · originally by Westwood Studios
A free real-time strategy engine that reimagines Command & Conquer, Red Alert and Dune 2000, and fetches EA's freeware game files itself on first run.
- Source
- OpenRA/OpenRA
- Site
- www.openra.net
- License
- GPL-3.0
- Stars
- 17.6k
About
OpenRA is a libre, open-source real-time strategy engine for the early Westwood classics. It ships three mods: reimaginings of Command & Conquer: Tiberian Dawn, Command & Conquer: Red Alert and Dune 2000. It is a clean-room implementation built by reverse engineering the game files, with no code from the original executables.
It is deliberately not a clone. OpenRA rebalances the factions and units, adds fog of war, modern right-click controls (classic controls are an option), Lua-scripted missions and a built-in map and mod resource centre. EA has not endorsed and does not support it.
This is the one entry in the catalog where you supply nothing up front. EA released Command & Conquer and Red Alert as freeware, and on the first run OpenRA offers to download the stripped-down set of game files each mod needs, or to copy the full set, including music and videos, from your own installed copy or disc image.
- Tiberian Dawn, Red Alert and Dune 2000 in one download
- Downloads the freeware game files itself; nothing to find
- Modern RTS controls, fog of war, rebalanced factions
- Online multiplayer with a built-in server browser
- Windows, macOS and Linux
What you need
The port contains none of the game. These come from your own copy and stay on your machine.
Game files for each mod (OpenRA downloads them)
EA released Command & Conquer and Red Alert as freeware, so when you first start a mod OpenRA downloads the base game files it needs (around 15 MB per game) from the project's own mirrors. Dune 2000 is handled the same way. Music and full-motion videos are optional; to get them, OpenRA can copy the complete assets from your own copy of the game: the Ultimate Collection on Origin or Steam, the Remastered Collection, or a disc image of the freeware or First Decade releases.
You do not need to own anything to play. Only the optional music and videos need your own copy of the original game. Source of these fingerprints
Setup
- 1
Run the downloaded installer, or extract the portable archive into a folder of your choosing. On macOS open the disk image and drag OpenRA to Applications; on Linux mark the AppImage executable and run it.
- 2
Start OpenRA and choose a mod: Red Alert, Tiberian Dawn or Dune 2000 (on Linux each mod is its own AppImage).
- 3
When the mod asks about game content, choose the quick install to download the freeware files, or use Manage Content and Detect Disc or Installation to copy everything from your own copy of the game.
- 4
Play. Multiplayer and the map resource centre are built in.
Questions people ask
- Is the OpenRA download safe?
- Yes, as far as provenance and integrity can be proven. The download on this page is OpenRA's own GitHub release (release-20250330), pinned to a SHA-256 in Recompiled's public lockfile, so you can confirm the file you received is byte for byte what the project published. OpenRA is open source, so anyone can read what the program does. Hash the file on the Verify page before you run it.
- Is OpenRA legal?
- Yes. OpenRA is an open-source reimplementation of the game's engine, and the download contains none of Command & Conquer: it reads the game from a copy you already own. What is not legal is obtaining a ROM or disc image you do not own, and Recompiled never hosts or links to one.
- Do I need the original game to play Command & Conquer with OpenRA?
- Yes. OpenRA contains none of Command & Conquer, so you need a copy you already own: Game files for each mod (OpenRA downloads them). The What you need section says exactly what to supply. Nothing you supply leaves your machine.