
Incremental RTS crosses an idle upgrade engine with an auto-battling strategy game. You choose factories and research paths, then watch automatically produced units collide while persistent upgrades soften the sting of defeat.
What is Incremental RTS?
The strategy here lives one level above the battlefield. Factories set the composition of your army, upgrades reshape its odds, and the units handle the running and shooting themselves. The current itch build documents 24 levels, roughly 100 upgrades, and 16 unlockable units, with continued play after the nominal campaign. Losing strips away factories but preserves upgrades and war points, turning each collapse into permission to rebuild with a different mix. Even the art follows the handmade-to-automated theme: the models begin as drawings on paper before being scanned into the game.
What you can do there
- Build factories that automatically produce units
- Choose upgrades and unlock new unit types
- Watch armies fight without direct micromanagement
- Rebuild after defeat while retaining long-term progress
Why we picked it
It trims away the click-heavy unit herding that often dominates real-time strategy and keeps the satisfying parts: compounding production, risky upgrade choices, and the spectacle of a plan becoming a swarm. The result is part strategy game, part ant farm with an economy degree.
How to get the most from it
Start with the factory panel on the right and the upgrade button on the left; U also opens upgrades. Drag with the mouse to move around, use the wheel or trackpad to zoom, and hold Ctrl or Command when buying several factories. Treat the first defeat as a reset with benefits, not a dead end.
Good to know
The project is still in development and offers browser, Windows, and macOS builds at a name-your-own-price amount. The creator warns that Safari saves do not work and that mobile is not optimized. The listing discloses AI-assisted code and text, and its frame policy requires opening the destination directly on itch.io. Live balance, performance, sound, saves, and accessibility were not tested.
Who made it, and when?
Dyrkabes is the credited creator or organization. The earliest supported launch date we found is February 2026. A documented update was recorded September 15, 2026.
Creator’s official page Open Incremental RTS