Herzog Zwei[a] (pronounced [ˈhɛʁtsoːk ˈtsvaɪ]; German for 'Duke Two') is a real-time strategy video game developed by Technosoft and published by Sega for the Mega Drive/Genesis.

Herzog Zwei combines the arcade-style play of Technosoft's own Thunder Force series with a simple, easy-to-grasp level of strategy.

It has been cited as an inspiration to the developers of Warcraft, StarCraft, Dune II, and Command & Conquer[1][2][3][4][5] and is also considered a precursor to the MOBA genre.

Vehicles follow their assigned orders (patrol, garrison, capture base) until they either run out of fuel or are destroyed.

The game partially offsets the AI's inherent weakness by increasing the armor and offensive damage of computer player side with each advancing level.

Herzog Zwei was not a huge commercial success, due to its lack of marketing, relatively early release on the Genesis platform,[1] and non-arcade genre on what was considered an arcade game console.

He noted that the command icons are "fairly easy to grasp" and concluded that it is a game that helps establish the Mega Drive as a "real" computer rather than "a machine for immobilized arcade players".

He described it as an "unusual product" and stated that "whether it's intended to get strategists to consider buying the console or to broaden the horizons of trigger-happy lunatics, I don't know.

[20] It is often found on several "best of..." lists of video games, owing to its precedence in the real-time strategy genre, as well to the increasing understanding of finer points of its mechanics.

[32] Herzog Zwei is considered a predecessor to the MOBA subgenre, also known as action RTS,[33] though a key difference is that Herzog Zwei has a fully customizable command unit with role-playing video game elements that the player has full control over, while commanding an army to go into battle with rather than mindless drones that respawn at set intervals.

[34] Herzog Zwei was re-released on Nintendo Switch as the final entry in the Sega Ages line of rereleases in Japan on August 27, 2020.

[35] It has online multiplayer, an interactive tutorial mode, widescreen with extra HUD support, difficulty options, and the ability to save replays.