What is the future of PC gaming for the strategy player.

It's the result of a general market shift, with loads of factors at play. 

• Perception of console market being more lucrative attracts developers to make games for those platforms, with obvious limitations for strategy games.
• RTS market has transitioned to 'niche' genre - rising global volatility and increasing development costs only attract funding to developers with low risk IP's or strong track record, such that investment from publishers assures profit. This way you see only a few prominent developers still producing games (mainly sequels) in the genre.
• Mobile market (iOS/Android) is growing rapidly and attracting developers to make new strategy IPs in this market, without strong funding requirements of publishers. Although control schemes may be limited, developers maintain total creative freedom and find ways to make compelling strategy experiences through innovative design and controls. For example, see the Shogun TW iOS version.

What is the future? Hard to say. If global economic volatility remains (which it most likely will - for a loooong time), we will still only see a limited number of games in the genre. However, there are some really exciting tecnological developments that may 'change the game' in this industry:

• SteamBox/Big Picture: Bringing Steam game libraries to TV's gives an opportunity for strategy games to flourish in the lounge room unlike they have been able to before.
• Kickstarter: New crowd-funding strategies gives truly innovative and risky IP ideas a chance to become reality, without the need to streamline for mass-appeal as a result of publisher pressure.
• Digital Distribution: This ties into the previous point a little bit, but in conjunction with Kickstarter and digital distribution marketplaces on all platforms (XBLM, PSN, SteamBox/Big Picture, etc.), developers have exciting opportunities to self-publish their games and free themselves from the shackles of publishers. The role of publishers will fade to nothing if this trend is effective, and, as I've alluded to, will alleviate the role of publishers like EA who churn out streamlined, mass-appealing FPSs and conservatively shape games and creativity to reduce perceived risk in making a particular game.

What is the future of PC gaming like for the strategy player? It could be bright. Problem is, it's probably going to get worse before it gets better. In the meantime, play with what you've got, and wander through past years to find strategy games you might have missed. Many of them age quite well.

Personally, a TW game about every couple of years is enough to satisfy me, as I play a load of other genres in between. But you've got to support these guys! Don't pirate. I always buy TW games on release because I know what I'm getting is quality and will provide me more gameplay than I could possibly want.