Strategy and Wargaming

The seventh chapter of the Axis Operations series begins to loom

Matrix Games has announced Panzer Corps 2: Axis Operations – 1944, the latest DLC for Panzer Corps 2. The Axis Operations – 1944 DLC Campaign is the first DLC that offers two entire campaigns that are completely separate and independent from one another.

In the historical campaign, prepare to face the brutal realities of the decline of the German Wehrmacht as it struggles to survive the Allied onslaught battering it from all directions.

In the ahistorical campaign, continue your success that has secured the Caucasus region for Germany as you defend your extensive conquests from familiar and totally new challenges.

To properly explore the historical battles and ahistorical events in the 1944 DLC, Axis Operations 1944 has grown to provide the largest amount of content a DLC has yet to have.

The vast 20 scenarios count offers the best glimpse at exploring the historical realities of devastating battles fought on the Eastern Front during 1944, especially during Operation Bagration.

The ahistorical campaign is a fully fleshed out and realized campaign with well-researched potential successes, and setbacks, the mighty German Wehrmacht may have faced even after it emerged as the victor from the Battle of Kursk.

New features:

• Two playable campaigns
• New 20 huge scenarios
• A new set of objectives, classified as Elite Objective
• Import your core forces completed the previous Axis Operations1943 East campaign
• Field Marshal Erwin Rommel returns!

More information is available at the official Panzer Corps 2: Axis Operations – 1944 webpage.

By Blood Alone Add-On Includes Plane Designer and New Alternate Histories

Paradox Interactive’s best-selling grand strategy wargame Hearts of Iron IV gets even grander and more strategic today with the release of By Blood Alone, a new expansion pack that adds new ways to explore the limits of your military genius and long-term planning.

The centerpieces of By Blood Alone include the much requested aircraft designer, allowing you to build the fighters and bombers of your imagination, and three new national focus trees, carving out room for an even wider range of diverging alternate histories, whether you successfully repel European conquest as Ethiopia or foment a communist revolution in wartime Italy.

Features of Hearts of Iron IV: By Blood Alone include:

• New Italian Focus Tree: Alternate histories of Fascist Italy, including a socialist revolution.
• New Ethiopian Focus Tree: Defy the odds to defeat the Italian invader or resist the conqueror from abroad using unique Government in Exile abilities.
• New Swiss Focus Tree: Surrounded by France, Germany and Italy, the mountain nation of Switzerland finds strength in its neutrality, balancing competing factions and overtures from the great powers.
• New Peace Conference Options: Demilitarize zones of the map or entire nations, bid on the capital ships of defeated powers, or claim control of enemy resources or factories as reparations.
• Aircraft Designer: Design and build your own planes, from nimble interceptors that prioritize speed to durable bombers crafted to unload tons of destruction from high above.
• Unit Medals: A log of each division’s accomplishments lets you track their performance, and even allow you to award medals to those that have performed well.
• Embargo Interaction: Embargo your enemies with a new diplomatic interaction, preventing them from trading with you if they have generated enough world tension.
• New Unit Models: More than 20 new pieces of unit art for Italian, Ethiopian and Swiss armies.
• New Plane Models: 67 new plane models.
• 12 New Music Tracks

As usual, the release of By Blood Alone will be accompanied by a major update to Hearts of Iron IV, available for free for everyone who owns the game.

Hearts of Iron IV: By Blood Alone is available now for a suggested retail price of $19.99/£15.49/€19.99.

For more game information please visit the official Hearts of Iron IV website.

For the 40th anniversary of the Falklands War, Command Modern Operations is pleased to announce a new DLC that will bring you back to 1982. Command Falklands contains fifteen scenarios and two bonus missions that put you in charge of the most significant units during the war between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the Falkland Islands off the coast of South America.

Watch the Command Falklands announcement trailer HERE.

Take command of the Argentine forces or the British task force assembled in 48 hours to fight the Argentine invasion, manage units previously taken out of service in bonus scenarios such as the HMS Ark Royal, Buccaneer and Phantom Fighters long-range attack planes, and the aircraft carrier CVA-01.

Features:

• 15 Scenarios plus 2 Bonus Scenarios including units not present or available during the war.
• Scenarios designed by a retired Royal Navy officer and Falklands veteran, who served on HMS Plymouth
• Management actual and previously taken out of service units
• Air, surface and underwater combat
• Guide your Forces to victory in a multi-sided campaign.

Are you ready to counter the invasion?

Find out more about Command: Modern Operations – Falklands at the games official webpage.

Matrix Games and 2by3 announce the first DLC for War in the East 2.

Gary Grigsby’s War in the East 2 was last year’s best-selling and most praised wargame. The simulation improved every aspect of its predecessor, effectively rebooting the series and giving it new life. Since its release, Gary Grigsby and his team have been working hard to improve gameplay with various upgrades. Simultaneously, 2by3 Games started work on the game’s first DLC, Steel Inferno. This expansion puts the spotlight on several major offensives that influenced the course of the war in the East. It is also expanding the gigantic map further by opening new areas throughout eight new Scenarios and two new Campaigns.

Steel Inferno covers Operations in Yugoslavia in 1944 for the first time and adds several German scenarios, such as the attack into the Caucasus. The addition of hypothetical scenarios and two new full map campaigns offer countless extra gameplay hours in historically detailed settings and what-if alternatives.

The Steel Inferno DLC includes:

Two complete Campaigns:
• 1943 Campaign – 3 Jul 43 – 6 Jul 45 — an entire Campaign starting with the German Operation
• 1944 Campaign- 11 May 44 – 4 Jul 45 — an entire Campaign that begins with the Soviets readying for the start of their massive Summer 1944 offensives.

Nine Scenarios:
• Operation Kutuzov – 12 Jul 43 – 3 Oct 44
• Road to Karelia – 22 Jun 41 – 11 Oct 41
• Army Group A – Part I – Race for the Caucasus – 25 Jul 42 – 20 Nov 42
• Case Blue Phase II 42-43 – 25 Jul 42 – 5 Mar 43
• Case Blue Phase II 43-43 – Alternate – 25 Jul 42 – 5 Mar 43
• Army Group A – Part II – Kuban Bridgehead – 1 Feb 43 – 10 October 43
• AG C – Kutuzov to Bagration 43-44 – 12 Jul 43 – 2 Apr 44
• Western Ukraine 43-44 – 3 Nov 43 – 25 Apr 44
• Drama on the Danube 44 – 20 Aug 44 – 5 May 45

More information about Gary Grigsby’s War in the East 2: Steel Inferno can be found on the games official webpage.

New Baltic Themed Expansion for Europa Universalis IV Available Now

For almost a decade, Europa Universalis IV has encouraged players to explore new and exciting alternate histories of the early modern world. In the newest immersion pack, Lions of the North, dramatically different pasts can unfold before your eyes. Denmark can keep its hold on its northern subjects. The Teutonic Order can retreat to its past crusader glories. Gotland can become a pirate haven.

All of these dramatic “what ifs” are now available in the new Baltic Sea themed add-on to Europa Universalis IV. With branching missions, new government options for major players and even new military units, Lions of the North is packed with variety and excitement. Make your enemies hear your roar!

Highlights of Europa Universalis IV: Lions of the North include:

• Expanded Branching Missions: Decisions taken along some mission trees will determine what options are available to you in the future, allowing you to follow distinct and dramatically different alternate paths.
• New Mission Trees for Denmark: Maintain power in Scandinavia while expanding your influence over the northern German cities.
• New Mission Trees for Sweden and Norway: Break free from Danish dominance, and turn a foothold on the continent into the base for a northern empire.
• New Mission Trees for Teutonic Order, Livonian Order and Riga: Follow a path of religious zealotry or secularize your realm with an eye on the future.
• New Mission Trees for Poland, Lithuania and the Commonwealth: Vast lands on the border of East and West present unique challenges for ambitious rulers.
• Other Mission Tree Changes: Pirate kings of Gotland, unique options for a united Scandinavia, a free Finland, and a powerful Danzig.
• New Government Reforms and Estate Privileges: Some regional powers will have unique government options and new ways to court the favor and influence of local estates.
• New Units: The Swedish Carolean Infantry and Polish-Lithuanian Winged Hussars will be available for recruitment.
• New Unit Art: 35 new army sprites for regional powers.
• New Music: 3 new pieces of Scandinavian music, plus 3 other Baltic themed songs.

Lions of the North is accompanied by a major update to Europa Universalis IV, free for all players.

Europa Universalis IV: Lions of the North is available for a suggested retail price of $14.99/£11.39/€14.99.

More info is available and you can purchase Lions of the North on Steam.

Eagerly awaited by many players and strategy game enthusiasts, the upcoming sequel to the acclaimed RTS franchise Men of War II will launch in 2023. The decision to reschedule the original 2022 release date was made in order to accommodate new features and content suggested by its fans and improve the game itself, which would not be possible due to delays caused by the war in Ukraine.

The Ukrainian studio Best Way was based in Severodonetsk and had to help its staff and their families relocate after the events of February 24th, 2022, during which period the development was put on hold. Despite this, the Best Way team has eagerly returned to development in the last several months, and with the help of the supportive community of fans surrounding the franchise, already ran several rounds of closed playtests and the participants were satisfied with the combination of classic Men of War gameplay and new features like the Frontline, Direct Control, and much more.

However, thanks to player feedback gathered through these tests, the development team plans to make the game bigger and better than anyone originally imagined. Realizing this vision will require more development time, but both Best Way and Fulqrum Publishing agreed that it would be well worth it to make the best and biggest Men of War game yet.

This extra development time will allow the Best Way team to add a lot of new content, such as the much requested standalone campaign for the Third Reich and new missions for other factions, improve upon many gameplay features such as the Dynamic Campaigns, significantly upgrade the user interface, and much more. More information will be coming soon about all the new features and improvements for the game, but in the meantime, discover a new epic trailer for Men of War II!

Experience World War II real-time strategy gameplay like never before! Men of War II, the new chapter in the evolution of the top-rated RTS franchise, brings you more units with different specializations to lead, pinpoint historical accuracy, and new levels of visual and audio excellence, all combined with the series’ original heart-pounding action. Lead your troops in intense real-time battles on the Western and Eastern Fronts and overwhelm your opponents in epic narrative single-player campaigns and skirmish modes, before then diving deep into the multiplayer action.

Utilize sophisticated military strategies, lay ambushes, or use brute force to show your ability as the greatest military leader of all time. Attain full command of different roles: from Air and Armor to Infantry and Support in fast-paced battles packed with action. Men of War II brings significant visual improvements, destructible environments, and an advanced AI, to create the classic real-time strategy game fans have been waiting for.

Men of War II will be available for PC via Steam, Epic Games Store and other digital stores in 2023. For more information, visit the official Fulqrum Publishing website or follow them on Steam.

Frontier Foundry, the games label of Frontier Developments plc, unveiled today The Great War: Western Front, a thrilling take on the real-time strategy genre that allows players to experience World War 1 through the eyes of both Theatre Commander and Field Commander, launching on PC in 2023.

Developed by Petroglyph who boast a heritage of genre-defining strategy games, in collaboration with games label Frontier Foundry, The Great War: Western Front invites players to experience an authentic WW1 RTS. In this immersive new title, players must step back in time to take charge of difficult choices, as they opt to either relive or redefine one of the most fundamental conflicts in modern history.

The Great War: Western Front Official Reveal Trailer

Commanding either the Allied Nations or the Central Powers, players will make tactical and strategic decisions with repercussions that will resonate throughout the entire Western Front, one of the main theatres of war during WW1. Offering unparalleled levels of strategic depth, they’ll take on the dual role of Theatre Commander and Field Commander to master both turn-based grand strategy and real-time battles.

The Great War: Western Front features authentic trench warfare in detail never-before-seen within the RTS genre. Each vantage point provides its own unique mechanics with which to gain the advantage over the opposition, whether attacking or defending. Players must consider strategy at every level, carefully allocating resources and choosing which locations to fortify in a war won by inches. Researching new technologies, from poisonous gas to state-of-the-art tanks, will also provide the upper hand that could turn the tide of the war.

Battles take place in a living, persistent world, with existing battlefields holding the scars of previous battles and deteriorating as players revisit them, while changing weather conditions will provide additional challenges for each unit.

With the impact of every decision underpinned by an evocative soundtrack from award-winning composer and audio director Frank Klepacki, The Great War: Western Front is a deep, atmospheric take on real-time strategy. Battle by battle, players must consider the weight of choices great and small to earn victory and change the outcome of the war.

The Great War: Western Front is available to wishlist on Steam and Epic Games Store now, and will be launching on PC in 2023.

Visit playthegreatwar.com for more game information.

Dominate the Baltic in Upcoming EU4 Immersion Pack

Rich in natural resources and medieval trading cities, the Early Modern Baltic is fertile ground for a rising empire. Whoever controls the western passage can dictate access to lands ripe for development, exploitation and conquest. Old ways and ancient allegiances are quickly giving way to new ambitions. On 13 September, you will have your chance to be one of the Lions of the North.

Lions of the North is a new immersion pack for Europa Universalis IV, Paradox Interactive’s best selling historical grand strategy game set in the dramatic centuries of the early modern world. In Lions of the North, you will find a host of new National Missions and unique content tailored for the great and middle powers of the Baltic and Scandinavian regions. Preserve or undermine the Kalmar Union between Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Revive the Teutonic Order as a Crusader state. Build an island pirate kingdom to threaten thriving commercial centers. Dozens of new alternate historical paths are open to you.

Europa Universalis IV: Lions of the North – Release Date Announcement Trailer

Highlights of Europa Universalis IV: Lions of the North include:

Expanded Branching Missions: Decisions taken along some mission trees will determine what options are available to you in the future, allowing you to follow distinct and dramatically different alternate paths.
New Mission Trees for Denmark: Maintain power in Scandinavia while expanding your influence over the northern German cities.
New Mission Trees for Sweden and Norway: Break free from Danish dominance, and turn a foothold on the continent into the base for a northern empire.
New Mission Trees for Teutonic Order, Livonian Order and Riga: Follow a path of religious zealotry or secularize your realm with an eye on the future.
New Mission Trees for Poland, Lithuania and the Commonwealth: Vast lands on the border of East and West present unique challenges for ambitious rulers.
Other Mission Tree Changes: Pirate kings of Gotland, unique options for a united Scandinavia, a free Finland, and a powerful Danzig.
New Government Reforms and Estate Privileges: Some regional powers will have unique government options and new ways to court the favor and influence of local estates.
New Units: The Swedish Carolean Infantry and Polish-Lithuanian Winged Hussars will be available for recruitment.
New Unit Art: 35 new army sprites for regional powers.
New Music: 3 new pieces of Scandinavian music, plus 3 other Baltic themed songs.

Lions of the North will be accompanied by a major update to Europa Universalis IV, free for all players.

Europa Universalis IV: Lions of the North will be available on 13 September 2022 for a suggested retail price of $14.99/£11.39/€14.99.

More info available and you can add to your wishlist on Steam.

Italian Themed “By Blood Alone” Set for Late September

Explore new alternate histories of humanity’s most titanic struggle in By Blood Alone, a new expansion for Hearts of Iron IV, Paradox Interactive’s grand strategy wargame about World War II. Adding three new major National Focus Trees, By Blood Alone offers a series of tantalizing what-if stories, where the player writes new histories of ideological and military struggle.

Now scheduled for a 27 September release, By Blood Alone centers the political and military fortunes of Italy. The historical path, as always, is open to those who want to relive the dramatic years before and during the war. Alternatively, players can engineer the end of Mussolini’s rule through a socialist revolution or a strong monarchy.

Watch the Pre-Order Trailer for Hearts of Iron IV: By Blood Alone

Other features of Hearts of Iron IV: By Blood Alone include:

New Ethiopian Focus Tree: Defy the odds to defeat the Italian invader or resist the conqueror from abroad using unique Government in Exile abilities.
New Swiss Focus Tree: Surrounded by France, Germany and Italy, the mountain nation of Switzerland finds strength in its neutrality, balancing competing factions and overtures from the great powers.
New Peace Conference Options: Demilitarize zones of the map or entire nations, bid on the capital ships of defeated powers, or claim control of enemy resources or factories as reparations.
Aircraft Designer: Design and build your own planes, from nimble interceptors that prioritize speed to durable bombers crafted to unload tons of destruction from high above.
Unit Medals: A log of each division’s accomplishments lets you track their performance, and even allow you to award medals to those that have performed well.
Embargo Interaction: Embargo your enemies with a new diplomatic interaction, preventing them from trading with you if they have generated enough world tension.
New Unit Models: More than 20 new pieces of unit art for Italian, Ethiopian and Swiss armies.
New Plane Models: 67 new plane models.
12 New Music Tracks

As usual, the release of By Blood Alone will be accompanied by a major update to Hearts of Iron IV, available for free for everyone who owns the game.

Hearts of Iron IV: By Blood Alone will be available on 27 September 2022 for a suggested retail price of $19.99/£15.49/€19.99.

For more game information please visit the official Hearts of Iron IV website.

North African Operation Revealed, Play it Now for Free via CompanyOfHeroes.com

Relic Entertainment, Inc and SEGA® Europe Limited are excited to announce that Company of Heroes™ 3, the next instalment in the beloved RTS franchise, releases on PC via Steam on November 17th, 2022. Company of Heroes 3 will bring fans and newcomers to the series with the biggest and deepest single player experience in the franchise’s history. CoH3 will offer four playable factions at launch and two unique single-player experiences, with the Italian Dynamic Campaign and the North African Operation.

Those eager to get their hands on Company of Heroes 3 won’t have to wait until November to play it. Head over to CompanyOfHeroes.com now and sign up for Relic’s community feedback program, COH-Development, to gain access to one mission from the newly revealed North African Operation. Players can try out the Mission Alpha and take command of the infamous Deutsches Afrikakorps (DAK) as they attempt to repel the British from their entrenched positions. The Mission Alpha is free to play on Steam for one week from Tuesday July 12 to July 19.

While the previously announced Italian Dynamic Campaign offers a branching, open-ended experience, the North African Operation is a more classically designed, narrative-led single-player experience. A wealth of new mechanics has drastically changed the battlefield in North Africa, where tank-riding enables coordinated rapid-strike assaults that overwhelm the enemy. Powerful Italian units can be called upon in Mission Alpha, such as the Guastatori combat engineers and the L6/40 Light Tank. Players can also enjoy new core gameplay innovations like side armour, enemy vehicle recovery and vehicle-towing, which lets you reposition your hard-hitting artillery like the German Flak 36 and British 17-Pounder.

Pre-order offer
Players can pre-order Company of Heroes™ 3 at CompanyOfHeroes.com and receive some awesome bonus items at launch. The Digital Premium Edition comes with the Devil’s Brigade DLC Pack, containing cosmetics based on the first elite commando units of World War II. The Physical Premium Edition includes the Devil’s Brigade DLC Pack, Service Medal, Pocket Compass, Collector’s Book and much more. Both the physical and digital Premium editions will give players access to CoH3’s first expansion – coming to Steam in 2023. A full breakdown of all available pre-order content can be found on CompanyOfHeroes.com.

Mission Alpha Access
Players that have installed any of the previous two Pre-Alpha builds will see the Mission Alpha automatically appear in their Steam Library. New players can sign up to CoH-Development and follow the instructions on the website to gain access to Mission Alpha and provide important feedback about CoH3 to the Relic development team. To find out more about Company of Heroes™ 3, head over to CompanyOfHeroes.com.