I always thought of The Settlers (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Settlers_(1993_video_game) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Settlers_(1993_video_game) ) as

I always thought of The Settlers (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Settlers_(1993_video_game) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Settlers_(1993_video_game) ) as the first RTS game. It was published in June 1993, so a few months later than Dune, but both games were in development at the same time, so maybe it was a case of multiple "inventors" coming up with the same idea? The Settlers was apparently influenced by "God Games" such as Populous (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Populous_(video_game) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Populous_(video_game)) where the players has god-like powers (e.g. reshaping the landscape), but doesn't manipulate his "units" directly.