CnCSaga website

For thirty years, CnCSaga has been chronicling the history of Command & Conquer™. Launched in 1996, a few months after the release of the first instalment, the site has grown alongside a franchise that has become a benchmark in real-time strategy gaming.

We’ve followed every announcement, every new instalment and every expansion. We have taken part in several beta-testing programmes, covered international events organised by Westwood Studios and later Electronic Arts, visited the development studios in Los Angeles and met the creators of the series (see the events section).

But the story of CnCSaga is, above all, that of a community of enthusiasts: volunteers and players who help to keep alive, preserve and pass on the legacy of Command & Conquer™.

This page traces the key milestones of this journey.

1996 - The beginnings

When the first Command & Conquer™ was released in 1995, the internet was still in its infancy. Communities were forming around personal websites, forums and IRC chat rooms, where enthusiasts exchanged tips, maps and discoveries.

It was against this backdrop that, in September 1996, Tchutch’s first website was launched, entirely dedicated to Command & Conquer™. Its aim was simple: to bring together, in French, all the available information on a series that was revolutionising real-time strategy gaming at the time.

The site initially consisted of a few HTML pages created out of passion: unit profiles, tips, maps, downloads and information gathered from specialist magazines or the first American websites.

Without realising it, this initiative laid the foundations for what would become, nearly thirty years later, the world’s oldest website dedicated to Command & Conquer™ still in operation, as well as one of the last remaining examples of the golden age of fan sites from the 1990s.

1998 - A passion recognised by Westwood

In 1998, it adopted the name Pillbox Français 2, and Westwood Studios gradually recognised the site as an official fansite thanks to the support of VirtualTed, the community manager.

This recognition gave us access to exclusive information and previously unseen visuals.

Buoyed by this trust, the team grew and the site expanded its content with feature articles, translations and original analyses. For the first time, we felt we were making a full contribution to the Command & Conquer™ community.

2000 - First exclusive behind-the-scenes access to the series

In the early 2000s, the site joined the JeuxFusion network under the name RedAlertFusion. This new infrastructure enabled it to broaden its editorial coverage and gradually establish itself as a leading French-language resource.

At that time, Westwood Studios was developing Command & Conquer™: Renegade, the first instalment in the series designed as a first-person shooter. We took part in the multiplayer beta, got to try out the game before its release and provided direct feedback to the developers.

A few months later, we were also invited to test Patch 1.025, a major update to the multiplayer mode. This new collaboration cemented the relationship of trust we’d built with the development teams.

Following Westwood’s integration into Electronic Arts, we were among the few international fan sites selected to take part in the closed beta for Command & Conquer™: Generals. Representing the French-speaking community within this exclusive circle was a true recognition of the work we had put in.

These beta-testing programmes are not limited to early access: they enable us to engage with the developers, report issues, suggest improvements and convey the expectations of French-speaking players.

This period marked the beginning of a special relationship with the studios, which would enable CnCSaga to follow the development of each new instalment for over a decade.

2002 - The birth of CnCSaga

In 2002, the closure of the JeuxFusion network marked a first turning point. Rather than joining a new platform, we chose to create a completely independent project: CnCSaga.

This name change reflected a new ambition: to bring together in one place all the latest news on Command & Conquer™, as well as guides, features, downloads, translations, mods and discussion forums.

In February 2003, we were invited by Electronic Arts to the European launch party for Command & Conquer™: Generals in Cologne. There, we met producers and developers, got a behind-the-scenes look at the game and conducted our first exclusive interviews.

Over the years, the site has expanded to include new sections and has become a veritable knowledge base dedicated to the series, whilst the forums have taken centre stage in the life of the community.

Competitions, collaborative projects and the arrival of new volunteers have accompanied this evolution. Beyond the latest news, CnCSaga also set itself the task of archiving information, preserving interviews and documenting the history of the franchise in order to keep its memory alive.

This new identity paved the way for recognition that would soon extend beyond the boundaries of the French-speaking community.

2008 - At the heart of Command & Conquer’s development

By the mid-2000s, CnCSaga was recognised as one of the leading international fansites for Command & Conquer™. Electronic Arts regularly invites us to cover major events dedicated to the series and to preview new games ahead of their release.

In 2006, we attended the Leipzig Games Convention to preview Command & Conquer™ 3: Tiberian Wars, before returning two years later for Red Alert 3. These trips allowed us to test the games in advance, interview their producers and share reports, photographs and analyses produced on site with the French-speaking community.

Between 2006 and 2008, we were also invited on three occasions to the Electronic Arts studios in Los Angeles, alongside the leading international fan sites. There, we gained a behind-the-scenes look at the development process, tested versions still in production and spoke directly with producers, artists, programmers and designers. These meetings also gave the developers the opportunity to gather feedback from the communities before the games were released.

Throughout these events, we’ve had the privilege of meeting many key figures from the series, including Louis Castle, Mike Verdu, Aaron Kaufman, Greg Black, Jim Vessella, Amer Ajami, Chris Corry, Harvard Bonin, Greg Kasavin, Peter Larsen, Samuel Bass, Keith Schieffel and David Silverman. These interactions gave rise to numerous interviews and features which now form part of the CnCSaga archives.

During this period, the community continued to grow. Competitions, tournaments and collaborative projects became a regular feature of the site, which gradually established itself as much more than just a source of information: a meeting place for all Command & Conquer™ enthusiasts.

Today - Preserving a legacy, shaping the future

From 2009 onwards, the franchise entered a period of transition. The CommandCom events organised by Electronic Arts enabled CnCSaga to continue its dialogue with the development teams and the main international communities.

In 2013, we were among the communities invited to a preview of the new Command & Conquer™ developed by Victory Games. Whilst its cancellation marked a pause for the franchise, it did not put an end to our commitment.

Whilst news has become less frequent, CnCSaga continues its mission: to publish new content, expand its databases, preserve its archives and support community initiatives. The release of Command & Conquer™ Remastered Collection breathes new life into the series, and we’re supporting this by creating the box art.

“Now, some of you may recognise the box art adorning these physical versions, which is also being used today in many of our shop and website materials. As some of you know, this design was created following our announcement in 2018 by long-standing C&C community member Pierre "Tchutch" Maindron from CnCSaga. When I first saw the design back then, I fell in love with it, and felt it captured everything that made the community’s support for the project so special. So a few months ago, I got in touch with Pierre – whom I’d known from our Community Summits over ten years ago – and asked if we could commission the design from him for official use on the project. Pierre was incredibly supportive, and we are so humbled that a community-created design has become the key art and box cover for the Remastered Collection." – Jim VessellaToday, CnCSaga is at once a place of remembrance, a space for discussion and a testament to thirty years of Command & Conquer™ history.

Our greatest source of pride is not merely having taken part in beta tests, visited the development studios or met the series’ creators. It lies, above all, in the trust placed in us for nearly three decades by the players who read our articles, enrich our discussions and keep this community alive.

As CnCSaga celebrates its thirtieth anniversary, one thing has never changed: the passion that drives us.

Because, beyond the games,Command & Conquer™ has always been about the community.

The story continues.