Command & Conquer (C&C) is a real-time strategy (RTS) video game franchise created and originally developed by Westwood Studios and currently owned by Electronic Arts. The first game was one of the earliest of the RTS genre, itself based on Westwood Studios' influential strategy game Dune II and introducing trademarks followed in the rest of the series. This includes full-motion video cutscenes with an ensemble cast to progress the story, as opposed to digitally in-game rendered cutscenes. Westwood Studios was purchased by Electronic Arts in 1998 and closed down in 2003. The studio and some of its members were absorbed into EA Los Angeles, which continued development on the series.

After Westwood Studios developed the critically acclaimed Dune II, Computer Gaming World reported in 1993 that the company would not use the Dune license for Westwood's next strategy game "mostly because the programmers are tired of sand". The magazine stated that it would have "new terrain and enemies", and that "the design team is serious about doing a multi-player version".

Command & Conquer was released worldwide by Westwood in 1995. The plot is set sometime in the near future where the Earth becomes contaminated by a mysterious substance known as Tiberium. A global war ensues between the UN-formed Global Defense Initiative to contain it and the cult quasi-state revolutionary Brotherhood of Nod, led by the enigmatic Kane, which seeks to harness it. Highly successful, it was followed by Command & Conquer: Red Alert in 1996 which is set in an alternate universe where the Soviet Union wages war with the Allies. Developed as the prequel to the original, the Red Alert series eventually became a separate, lighthearted and comic series, while the original game and its sequels became known as the "Tiberium" series, retaining its science fiction and serious tone. The first game is sometimes referred to as Tiberian Dawn as a result.

The original game was followed by Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun in 1999 and its expansion pack Firestorm. In 2002, Westwood Studios released Command & Conquer: Renegade, a first-person shooter. Renegade was praised for its online features. A spin-off game in 2003, Command & Conquer: Generals, set in a more realistic near-future and featuring the United States, China and the Global Liberation Army was followed by an expansion pack, Zero Hour. Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars was released in 2007 and followed by the expansion pack Kane's Wrath. Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight, released in 2010 as the conclusion to the Tiberium saga, received mixed reviews because of its deviation from traditional gameplay and story. The Red Alert series was continued by the 2000 title Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2, its expansion, Yuri's Revenge and Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 in 2008, which introduced a third faction, the Empire of the Rising Sun, which resembles Japan with futuristic robotic technology.

The series is primarily developed for personal computers running Microsoft Windows, although some titles have been ported to various video game consoles and Apple Mac. Other games for platforms such as iOS and web-based have also been developed. As of July 2010, the Command & Conquer franchise consists of eleven games and eight expansion packs. The first three games of the series have been released as freeware to promote the successors. A free-to-play game, entitled Command & Conquer, was in development with the studio Victory Games. It was set to be the next game in the series and was expected to be released in 2013. However, after a short alpha period the game was cancelled, and Victory Games disbanded by EA. The Command & Conquer series has been a commercial success with over 30 million Command & Conquer games sold as of 2009.

The Command & Conquer titles are real-time strategy games, with the exception of the first-person shooter Command & Conquer: Renegade. A staple of the series is the parallel campaigns of various different factions to one central storyline. Games in the series also offered multiplayer game options, via LAN and modem connection. All games in the series have also offered online play, as well as "skirmish" matches in which players can face AI enemies.

All Command & Conquer real-time strategy games except Command & Conquer: Generals and its expansions have featured the "side bar" for navigation and control as opposed to many other similar games where the control bar is located on the bottom of the screen.

Command & Conquer gameplay typically requires the player to construct a base and acquire resources, in order to fund the ongoing production of various types of forces with which to assault and conquer the opponent's base. All available structures of the faction chosen by the player are constructed on-site at so-called "construction yard" - which typically begin as large-sized vehicles capable of deploying themselves into the aforementioned construction yards, called MCVs or Mobile Construction Vehicle. When a construction yard has finished building a new structure, the player can select a spot near to a preexisting structure in order to place it, where the prefabricated building will rapidly unfold in a distinctive manner.