King’s Command

King’s Command Review

King’s Command is a free-to-play mobile RTS simulation game from NDOORS and published by NEXON. While NEXON had already found success in mobile strategy with DomiNations, King’s Command takes a noticeably different approach during battles, leaning into classic RTS ideas like establishing production, managing a single resource, and moving your forces around the map in real time. At the same time, it also includes a separate kingdom management mode that mirrors the familiar base-building and raiding structure seen across many mobile strategy games. That split identity is both the game’s main advantage and its biggest source of unevenness.

A campaign built for quick sessions
The single-player content is extensive in terms of mission count, with the campaign broken into hundreds of bite-sized stages. The narrative framing is functional, giving you a reason to march across the continent and deal with rival factions, but it rarely becomes the main attraction. What matters more is how fast the missions are designed to be completed.

Most stages drop you onto a fog-of-war map, ask you to set up a small base, and then push toward a clear goal, typically destroying a key structure, wiping out specific enemies, or surviving for a set time. The pacing is tuned for mobile play, so missions often wrap up quickly. That makes the campaign easy to consume in short bursts, but it also limits how much long-form strategy can develop within any single stage. The more interesting RTS tension tends to appear later, and it shows up most strongly in PVP.

Touch-friendly RTS combat
In the Strategy Mode (campaign and real-time PVP), combat resembles a simplified, mobile-first take on the Warcraft 3 and Age of Empires style. You begin with a starting area where you place core structures, including production buildings and defensive options like watchtowers. Economy management is deliberately pared down, because wheat is the only resource you need, and it is gathered automatically through residences placed near wheat fields.

A key design choice is how units are handled. You can field up to three Commanders at once, and each Commander effectively leads a small squad of units that follows them. Rather than micromanaging every soldier, your attention is on positioning your Commanders, choosing targets, and using abilities at the right time. You can set the unit mix that accompanies each Commander (for example, leaning heavier on melee or ranged), and if you enable auto-production, losses are replenished as long as your economy supports it. It is not as granular as a PC RTS, but it is readable on a small screen and keeps battles moving.

Movement and targeting are straightforward. You tap to direct Commanders, use the “All” selection to regroup quickly, and focus fire by selecting enemy units or structures. Each Commander has a unique skill you place on the battlefield, ranging from area damage and support effects to utility-style tools like repositioning or brief survivability boosts. When both sides bring multiple Commanders, fights can pivot quickly around ability timing, spacing, and whether you can catch an enemy squad out of position. As you progress, additional unit types and more advanced structures (including siege options and evolutions) widen the tactical choices.

A second mode that follows the base-raid template
Realm mode is where King’s Command leans into the more standard mobile strategy formula. Here you build up a kingdom with production, storage, military buildings, and defensive placements, then take your army to attack other players’ settlements in asynchronous raids. Combat in Realm is closer to the “deploy and watch” rhythm, and the goal is either full destruction or extracting as many resources as possible before your assault collapses.

This side of the game is not especially distinctive, but it provides something the stage-based campaign cannot, long-term base progression and a broader sense of account development. Realm also supports competitive ranking, and the emphasis on siege tools and layout decisions gives builders and planners a reason to keep iterating on their kingdom.

Commanders, squads, and build variety
King’s Command includes 18 Commanders and 12 unit types, which is enough to encourage experimentation. Because you only bring three Commanders into Strategy battles, the choice of which trio to field matters, and the game rewards trying different combinations based on the map and opponent. Each Commander has their own stats and a signature ability, so a team can be built around survivability, burst damage, utility, or a mix.

Progression is tied to Merit, earned through story stages and PVP, and used to strengthen Commanders as well as upgrade units and buildings. Runes also play a role by boosting Commander stats, giving players another layer of optimization. In battle, advanced units can be unlocked by researching them through the appropriate structures, which adds a light tech progression feel that is familiar to RTS players. The result is a system with enough moving parts to keep matches from feeling identical, even if the controls are intentionally simplified.

Real-time PVP is where the design shines
After reaching Stage 12 in the campaign, you can enter real-time PVP in 1 vs 1 or 2 vs 2 formats (with the option to fill teams using NPCs). Matches start with both sides establishing their base in opposite corners and building toward a push. Because you need time to ramp production and defenses, the opening minutes are slower and resemble the setup phase of a traditional RTS.

Compared to the campaign, PVP tends to be longer and more deliberate, with matches often stretching far beyond what most mobile games expect from a single session. That length allows strategy to matter, scouting and timing become important, and coordinated pushes in 2 vs 2 can create genuinely tense fights. Upgrades and progression do influence outcomes, and matchmaking can feel uneven, especially if the player pool is limited. NPC teammates are also not consistently reliable. Even with those issues, the live PVP mode is the most compelling reason to engage with the game, and it provides meaningful rewards like gold, Merit, and Runes.

Cash Shop/In-App Purchases (IAP)
King’s Command monetization offers convenience and small power edges rather than an immediate hard paywall, but it can still tilt competition. Premium currency (Gems) can be used to obtain higher-tier Rune summons than those typically available through Merit, and Runes directly improve Commander performance in Story Mode and real-time PVP. The statistical advantage is not extreme, but it is real, especially when two similarly skilled players meet.

Gems are also used for various bundles and boosts, including daily currency packs, roulette tickets with mixed rewards, and Merit point boosts that accelerate upgrades for units and buildings. Realm mode has its own pressure points, because Gems can purchase protection that prevents your kingdom from being attacked for a period of time. Overall, it is playable without spending, but paying can smooth progression and provide minor combat advantages through better Rune access.

Final Verdict – Good
King’s Command is an interesting attempt to deliver real RTS sensibilities on mobile, and at its best, it succeeds. The touch controls are practical, Commander abilities create tactical moments, and the real-time PVP mode gives the game genuine depth. The downsides are also clear: the campaign stages are built to be brief and can feel shallow, the visuals are dated, and the free-to-play economy can create small advantages for spenders. Even so, for players who wanted something more interactive than typical base-raiders, King’s Command offered a surprisingly RTS-like experience on phones.

King’s Command Links

King’s Command Official Site
King’s Command Google Play
King’s Command iOS
King’s Command Official Facebook
King’s Command Shut Down Notice

King’s Command System Requirements

Minimum Requirements:

Android 4.0 and up / iOS 8.1 or later

King’s Command Music & Soundtrack

King’s Command Additional Information

Developer: NDOORS Corporation
Publisher: NEXON
Platforms: Android, iOS
Release Date: January 20, 2016

Shut Down: March 15, 2016

King’s Command was developed by NDOORS, the creators of Atlantica Online and Luminary: Rise of the GoonZu, and published by NEXON, a large Korean game company behind the mobile titles, Legion of Heroes and Pocket Maplestory. King’s Command began soft launch testing on November 3, 2015 in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Philippines, and Malaysia and then added the United States and Canada onto the list on January 20, 2016. King’s Command is NEXON’s second mobile strategy game after the huge success of their first strategy title, DomiNations. NEXON is also the publishers of the popular mobile RPGs, Mabinogi Duels and Fantasy War Tactics. On Febuary 16, 2016 it was announced that King’s Command would be shut down on March 15, 2016, less than two months after release.