A feature of the game is the ability to easily 'queue' the many commands for a unit or group of units, with types of commands including patrolling a route, constructing a defensive group of structures and attacking enemy units. Every unit belongs to a level of technology (tech level) the higher the level, the more advanced the unit and the more resources and thus time required to construct it. Construction is governed by the possession of the game's two unlimited resources, Metal and Energy, and can be undertaken by factories or mobile construction units. The Commander is a powerful and irreplaceable unit that has a number of unique abilities such as a destructor weapon that vaporizes anything it hits, the ability to use cloaking and become invisible, and the ability to travel through bodies of water. When starting a new game, the player normally begins with a lone Commander. Battles take place against AI in a story-driven campaign, with the option of playing against other players in a skirmish mode. The player is also concerned with gathering resources, reconnaissance and stealth, and evaluation of units and terrain. The efforts of the player are centered on constructing a defensive base and an offensive force, and conquering opponents.

Total Annihilation is set in the far future in the midst of a galactic war, with battles taking place on the surface of planets and moons.

In July 2013, Wargaming bought the Total Annihilation franchise from the Atari bankruptcy proceedings. Other ex-members of Cavedog, including Total Annihilation 's game engine developer Jon Mavor, later went on to develop Planetary Annihilation in 2014, another game in the same vein as Total Annihilation. The Total Annihilation 3D project began in 2006.

The creators of XTA, a mod for Total Annihilation, independently developed the open-source 3D graphics Spring game engine. Former lead designer Chris Taylor went on with Gas Powered Games to create Supreme Commander in 2007, considered the ' spiritual successor' of Total Annihilation. Total Annihilation is no longer officially supported, due to the closure of Cavedog. After the closure of the Cavedog Entertainment in 1999, the intellectual property fell to Infogrames (now Atari). Two expansion packs were released, The Core Contingency on Ap and Battle Tactics on June 30. Total Annihilation is a real-time strategy video game created by Cavedog Entertainment, a sub-division of Humongous Entertainment, and was released on Septemby GT Interactive for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS.

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