Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3

Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3

Developers
	EA Los Angeles
macOS (OS X)	TransGaming
Publishers
	Electronic Arts
Engines
	SAGE 2.0
Release dates
Windows	October 28, 2008
macOS (OS X) (Cider)	March 24, 2009
Reception
Metacritic	82
IGDB	75
Taxonomy
Monetization	One-time game purchase, Subscription gaming service
Microtransactions	None
Modes	Singleplayer, Multiplayer
Pacing	Real-time
Perspectives	Bird's-eye view
Controls	Multiple select, Point and select
Genres	RTS
Themes	Asia, Europe, North America, Sci-fi
Series	Command & Conquer

Warnings

The macOS (OS X) release of this game does not work on macOS Catalina (version 10.15) or later due to the removal of support for 32-bit-only apps.

GameSpy online services have been shut down (see Network for solutions).

Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 is the third mainline Red Alert game in the Command & Conquer franchise. It is a RTS with both singleplayer and multiplayer being prominently featured. The campaign mode can be played solely in co-op mode, either with a pre-determined AI commander for that mission when offline, or with a second player when playing online (but not in LAN).

Attempts to make a third Red Alert game go as far back as December 2004, but the iteration that eventually got released started pre-production in 2007, during or after the completion stages of Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars, with which it shares the engine core. The Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath expansion and initial copies of Command & Conquer 3: Deluxe Edition included beta keys for Red Alert 3, with the beta stages taking place in late summer of 2008. Two beta builds are known and were distributed through FilePlanet, but the first one was short-lived and quickly replaced by beta 2 for yet unknown reasons. The game was completed in approximately 18 months, but with a reduced team size compared to Tiberium Wars.

Post-release support included 13 patches in total (12 of which during the initial support cycle), as well as a map editor (Worldbuilder) and mod SDK. Despite the efforts to improve and expand multiplayer features compared to prior games in the series, the maximum number of players has been reduced from 8 to 6; modified maps can include more, but only AI-controlled with predefined factions, as there is no UI support for player/faction selection beyond player 6.

Despite not requiring the disc to run and merely using it to install the game, Red Alert 3 made use of SecuROM 7 DRM with an activation limit of 5 installations per serial key, using up an activation even if the same system had major hardware changes. Patch 1.05 modified the auto-run/control panel menu to include the "Deauthorize" button to free up the current machine's activation slot, disabling the game on said machine until reinstalled.

The game was the first in the franchise to be released on Steam, debuting on the platform on January 8, 2009. Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions exist, but offer no content unavailable on PC.

After the last retail patch (1.12) from July 2009, several game-breaking issues persist, some of them even able to crash the player's computer. They can be fixed with a custom injector (see Essential improvements section in this article). With the GameSpy servers being shut down in 2014, players can use C&C:Online or RA3 BattleNet to play in multiplayer, with this now being the only methods to play the co-op campaign with live players. A small multiplayer scene is active on GameReplays.org, playing on a set of maps modified to include bug and crash fixes (dubbed the unofficial 1.12.x patch). On February 27, 2025, the Steam and EA App versions received bonus maps from pre-orders.

The retail version still use serial keys for activation, but the Steam/EA App versions do not.

General information

Modding support repository

Official franchise forums

C&C:Online - fan-hosted multiplayer server replacement (Windows version only)

RA3 BattleNet - fan-hosted alternative multiplayer server replacement (Windows version only, predominantly Chinese-speaking)

Red Alert 3 on CNC.community

Red Alert 3 section on CNCNZ.com

Red Alert 3 section on GameReplays.org

Steam Community Discussions

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Retail		SecuROM 7, SecuROM PA, and SecuROM DFA DRM. Five machine activation limit. A De-Authorization Tool is available, and an in-built option is available as of patch 1.05. Can be redeemed on Origin through the client. Disc not needed to run the game.
EA app		Bundled as part of Command & Conquer: The Ultimate Collection. Included with EA Play.
Steam		Bundled as part of Command & Conquer: The Ultimate Collection. Included with EA Play (Steam).
EA app (unavailable)
(unavailable)
Humble Store (unavailable)

Demo

A free demo version is available from Steam, GameFront, and CNCNZ.com.

Monetization

Type	Notes
One-time game purchase	The game requires an upfront purchase to access.
Subscription gaming service	Available via EA Play.

Essential improvements

Patches

Retail Windows Red Alert 3 patch v1.12 can be downloaded in many languages from CNCNZ, GameFront or Patches-Scrolls.

The Steam and EA App versions are one version ahead (v1.13).

Prevent online crash-inducing bugs

The game suffers from multiple bugs which crash the game, some even rendering the system unusable until rebooted.

An open-source tool was made to remedy this. It is a DLL injector which needs to be running while the game's process is active.

Tested with Steam and Origin versions, but may also work with the retail release.

Skip intro videos

Delete or rename movie files
Go to <path-to-game>\Data\Movies. Delete or rename RA3_EA_logo.vp6, RA3_Gameplay_720p.vp6, and RedAlertLogo.vp6.

Speed up loading (retail only)

Upon launch, the game attempts to look up an EA server which used to distribute relevant news for the game. Since it has been offline since the late 2010s and the timeout is relatively long, loading the game may take a while.

As of February 27, 2025, the Steam and EA App versions of the game no longer need this, as the check was removed.

Use the RA3 Quickloader
Go to <path-to-game>. Make a backup of RA3.exe. Download the fixed version from this page and replace RA3.exe.

Game data

In-game general settings.

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
Windows	%APPDATA%\Red Alert 3\Profiles\<user-id>\
macOS (OS X)
Steam Play (Linux)	<SteamLibrary-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/17480/pfx/

Save game data location

System	Location
Windows	%USERPROFILE%\Documents\Red Alert 3\Profiles\<user-id>\ %USERPROFILE%\Saved Games\Red Alert 3\
macOS (OS X)
Steam Play (Linux)	<SteamLibrary-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/17480/pfx/

Save game cloud syncing

System	Native	Notes
EA app
OneDrive		Requires enabling backup of the Documents folder in OneDrive on all computers.
Steam Cloud		Added on February 22, 2024.

Video

In-game video settings.

Graphics feature	State	WSGF	Notes
Widescreen resolution			For unlisted resolutions, see Widescreen resolution.
Multi-monitor			Position affects gameplay. Disable non-primary displays to fix black screen on startup.
Ultra-widescreen
4K Ultra HD
Field of view (FOV)		Use Flawless Widescreen.
Windowed		Use -win parameter.
Borderless fullscreen windowed		Use -win -fullscreen parameters, and -xpos 0 -ypos 0 if window is off screen.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Anti-aliasing (AA)
High-fidelity upscaling		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Vertical sync (Vsync)
60 FPS and 120+ FPS		Frame rate is capped at 30 FPS, with game speed tied to frame rate.
High dynamic range display (HDR)		See the glossary page for potential alternatives.
Color blind mode		See the glossary page for potential alternatives.

Widescreen resolution

Set custom resolution
Go to %APPDATA%\Red Alert 3\Profiles\<user-id>\ Open options.ini. Change Resolution xxx xxx to the desired resolution.

Input

In-game key map settings.

Keyboard and mouse	State	Notes
Remapping
Mouse sensitivity		For scroll speed.
Mouse acceleration
Mouse input in menus
Keyboard and mouse prompts
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support

Audio

In-game audio settings.

Audio feature	State	Notes
Separate volume controls
Surround sound		Only supports Stereo audio.
Subtitles
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost
Royalty free audio

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English
Simplified Chinese				Fan translation by MYCNC and ALI213.
Traditional Chinese
Czech
French
German
Hungarian
Italian
Korean				Retail and Steam only. A low quality translation. Subtitles are completely out of sync. Somewhat fixed in 1.07 patch, but issues still remain. A fan made patch is available to improve the translation.[citation needed]
Polish
Russian
Spanish
Brazilian Portuguese				Fan translation by GameVicio; download.
Thai				Retail and Steam only.
Vietnamese				Fan translation by SITUVN; download. Version for demo also available.

Network

In-game network settings.

Multiplayer types

Type	Native	Players	Notes
LAN play		6	Versus Regular PvP/PvE only; campaign co-op requires online.
Online play		6	Versus, Co-op Official GameSpy servers have been shut down. Replaced with C&C:Online and RA3 BattleNet.
Asynchronous multiplayer
Crossplay

Connection types

Type	Native	Notes
Matchmaking
Peer-to-peer
Dedicated
Self-hosting
Direct IP

Ports

Protocol	Port(s) and/or port range(s)
TCP	80, 3783, 4321, 6660-6669, 28900, 29900, 29901
UDP	6515, 6500, 13139, 27900

Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) support status is unknown.

Issues fixed

Missing skirmish options

Under certain circumstances (possibly related to switching to and from mods and/or map pack removal), the skirmish menu appears "empty", i.e. without selectable maps or players.

Delete and force auto-generation of configuration file
Go to the configuration files location. Delete Skirmish.ini. Run the game as administrator to ensure the file is automatically recreated.

Local multiplayer "CD key is already in use"

Screenshot of Red Alert 3 Steam bug

The Steam version no longer correctly sets the serial key in the registry, preventing local multiplayer from working. When a second Steam copy attempts to join a game hosted by the first, they are prevented with a dialog reading:

Could not join game - your CD key is already in use. Each player needs a unique CD key in order to play LAN matches.

Steps to fix

Set environment variable

The launch script attempts to set the key from the %CDKEY% environment variable, but this variable is usually unset. Fix the issue by setting it to a unique value. Search the Windows Control Panel or Settings app for "Environment Variable" Open the Environment Variables window: From Settings, select "Edit environment variables for your account" From the Control Panel, select "Edit the system environment variables", then click the "Environment Variables..." button In the "User variables for [your username]" section, click New... Set the name to CDKEY and the value to any string, as long as it is different from the other computers that are playing. Click OK to save and close all windows. Restart the computer for the change to take effect.

Alternate fix: open source utility
Download from https://github.com/ozanyasindogan/Ra3CDKeyFix This utility monitors the registry and instantly replaces the placeholder key with a unique key. Launch it first and leave it running while the game starts.

Other information

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
Direct3D	9.0c
OpenGL		OS X only.

Executable	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
Windows
macOS (OS X)			This 32-bit-only macOS game does not work on macOS Catalina (10.15) or later.

Middleware

	Middleware	Notes
Cutscenes	On2 VP6
Multiplayer	GameSpy	Shut down in 2014.

Command line arguments

Command	Description
-win	Runs the game in windowed mode
-fullscreen	Runs the game in fullscreen mode. Combine with -win for borderless windowed mode.
-xres [number]	Sets resolution width
-yres [number]	Sets resolution height
-xpos [number]	Sets horizontal offset of the window
-ypos [number]	Sets vertical offset of the window
-ui	Opens the autorun feature otherwise called by inserting the game disc
-replayGame [filename]	Plays replay file
-modConfig [filename]	Runs the game with selected mod (has to point to its .skudef file)
-noaudio	Disables game audio
-noAudioMusic	Disables game music
-silentLogin	Forces the game to immediately log in to a multiplayer account
-getPatch	Forces check for official updates; currently useless as EA's FTP servers which hosted patches have been shut down
-runver [number]	Forces running a specified game version (1.0, 1.1, ..., 1.12); appropriate ra3game.dat files for several older versions missing from digital releases

Worldbuilder (map editor)

There is a "standard version" (2.0) for most users, available from CNCNZ, ModDB and CnCLabs.

A separate, significantly larger version, is meant for use with the official mod SDK, available from CNCNZ, ModDB and CnCLabs.

Maps created with either Worldbuilder are not meant for the Uprising standalone expansion pack and may result in broken terrain.

As of 2024, Steam and EA App versions of the game include the "standard" (2.0) Worldbuilder.

Worldbuilder crashes

The Worldbuilder is prone to crashing on present-day systems, most likely due to poor memory management.

Method 1: Apply the 4 GB (Large Address Aware) patch on Worldbuilder.exe

Method 2: Reduce the LOD (Level of Detail) in the Worldbuilder's main display window
Open the Worldbuilder, preferably on a new and empty map. Go to the View tab, then the Set LOD option. Set the LOD to "Very Low" or "Low".

Map packs

Official map packs for various special editions, pre-order bonuses and store-specific purchases can be found on Digiex and CNCNZ.com.

The community map pack 1.12.x series includes standard and custom maps with multiple important bugfixes. The latest stable version is 1.12.8.

Mod SDK

Official modding tools were released, available from CNCNZ, ModDB and CnCLabs.

Modifications

Upheaval - features units and maps backported from Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 - Uprising, allowing them to be used in multiplayer

The Red Alert - recreation of Command & Conquer: Red Alert

Generals Evolution - recreation of Command & Conquer: Generals

Corona

Eastern Loong

Uprising Reborn

Condition Red

Tiberian Fallout

System requirements

Windows

macOS (OS X)

Windows
	Minimum		Recommended
Operating system (OS)	XP		Vista
Processor (CPU)	AMD Athlon XP 2200+ Intel Pentium 4 2.2 GHz		AMD Athlon XP 2800+ Intel Pentium 4 2.6 GHz
System memory (RAM)	1 GB		2 GB
Storage drive (HDD/SSD)	10 GB
Video card (GPU)	ATI Radeon X1800 Nvidia GeForce 6800 DirectX 9.0c compatible