Strategy and Wargaming

Broken Arrow values its community loyalty, engagement, and continuous feedback. To strengthen this mutual commitment, Slitherine and Steel Balalaika are opening the PTE to the public, giving everyone the opportunity to experience upcoming features early and contribute meaningful input on improvements that are not yet part of the live game. This approach allows us to collaborate more closely with players, using their insights to refine mechanics, balance gameplay, and guide future updates. Community feedback gathered through the PTE will play a direct role in shaping what comes next. On this branch, players will be able to test a wide range of gameplay improvements, balance adjustments and new systems designed to deepen strategy and dynamics before they are implemented into the game.

Such as:

• Game Mode Changes: A new Conquest mode has been introduced with multiple score thresholds (500, 1000, 1500). Points are gained or lost based on zone control, with a fixed tick rate per objective. Destruction points remain unchanged, and phase-based WP compensation has been removed.
• Income Changes: Income is now calculated non-linearly based on the number of deployed units, with a cap of 1500 pts. The system is designed to improve early-game dynamics, encourage smaller and lighter armies (including air playstyles) and the ability to extend an army.
• General Changes: A new anti-overkill system has been added. Infantry transport vehicles now carry supply crates as an ability that can resupply and heal infantry. Ground units have custom respawn timers visible in their stats. Damage for automatic weapons in the unit info panel is now displayed as damage per second. New map layouts have been introduced, and infantry now inherit stress from destroyed transports.
• Recon Units, Infantry, Vehicles, Support Units, Anti-Air, Helicopters, Aircraft and much more….

To access PTE go on the Steam Page at 5 P.M. CEST and click on the last news: players can find there clear instructions.

This year, Crusader Kings III will add new threads to the rich medieval tapestry players can weave. Today’s launch of Chapter V reveals the upcoming plans for Paradox Interactive’s celebrated grand-strategy role-playing game, including two expansions that highlight major new playstyle options and greater depth and historical flavor as well as a music pack and cosmetic pack that are available Today. Today, Crusader Kings III is also getting a major free update, adding new ways to find information about your game, with an improved ledger and other stat tracking, as well as more shortcuts, changes to the interface, new sound cues and more.

Crusader Kings III Chapter V Reveal Trailer

The two upcoming expansions, By God Alone and Silk & Silver, focus on aspects of the medieval world that the wider Crusader Kings community has wanted to see explored in more depth. By God Alone deepens the religious themes of the game, with more attention to the evolution of Christianity in Europe and how medieval secular rulers competed with the religious orders for power and wealth. Silk & Silver opens up merchant republics for play, letting you take the position of a medieval merchant rising to power through shrewd trading, political office, or noble patronage.

Crusader Kings III: Chapter V is available now, and it includes:

• Symbols of Authority: This clothing pack offers new crowns and headwear for European characters, including crowns inspired by some of the most glamorous heads of history. Available Today, this pack is instantly unlocked upon purchase of Chapter V.
• Songs of the Realm: Out now, this new Crusader Kings III Music Pack offers a wide variety of musical accompaniment to your empire-building and dynastic scheming. Songs of the Realm offers thirteen songs, a mix between remasters of Crusader Kings classics and adaptations of traditional European music. This Music Pack is the perfect soundtrack to while away the hours as you plot your next big move to secure your family’s hold on destiny.
• By God Alone: This Core Expansion for Crusader Kings III focuses on the religious life of your characters, with a special emphasis on new systems for Christian characters. Guide your dynasty through religious developments as the tenets of the faith evolve over the centuries, avoid or embrace heresies, navigate Schisms and Synods and watch your characters struggle with the demands of their religion. Coming later this year.
• Silk & Silver: This Major Expansion for Crusader Kings III focuses on medieval trade and the merchant families that ruled or financed great empires. Play as a merchant family with a mansion to maintain, earning gold through the trade of exotic goods. Compete for power in a merchant republic, where gold is more important than blood, or set up shop in a landed kingdom and finance its expansion. Push rival families out of the most valuable markets, establishing monopolies on important routes. Coming later this year.

Crusader Kings III: Chapter V is available now on for the suggested retail price of $43.99/ ￡36.99/€43.99. More information about Crusader Kings III is available on the official Crusader Kings III website or on the games Steam page.

Relic Entertainment is excited to announce Company of Heroes 3: Dare & Destroy, a new Battlegroup DLC launching May 14, 2026, on PC via Steam for $24.99 USD £19.49 GBP | €22.99 EUR. The DLC introduces four new Battlegroups, alongside new cosmetics and a general game update, expanding Multiplayer and Co-Op/Skirmish vs A.I. gameplay with new tactical options, powerful units, and distinct playstyles.

Company of Heroes 3: Dare & Destroy Announce Trailer

Each Battlegroup introduces new ways to approach the battlefield, offering players greater strategic depth through specialized units, unique abilities, and all-new playstyles. Building on the series’ legacy systems, Battlegroups act as supplemental forces that enhance your army and open up new tactical possibilities in every match.

Four New Battlegroups

US Forces – Free French Battlegroup:

Establish a resilient defensive line and stall enemy advances before unleashing a decisive counterattack.

French Rifle Sections, Bastions, and Tourelle defenses anchor your position, while Railway Artillery and the Char B1 Heavy Tank turn the tide and force a breakthrough.

Wehrmacht – Siege Breaker Battlegroup:

Break through fortified enemy positions with siege tactics and overwhelming firepower.

Flame Halftracks and enhanced infantry weaponry pressure enemy lines, while Siege Specialists and the Sturmtiger Heavy Tank shatter even the most entrenched defenses.

British Forces – Special Services Battlegroup:

Disrupt and weaken the enemy through precision strikes and resource denial.

Commandos, Snipers, and fast raiding vehicles harass from unexpected angles, while Scorched Earth tactics punish overextension and drain enemy resources.

Deutsches Afrikakorps – Elite Forces Battlegroup:

Field a highly advanced and experienced force designed to outmaneuver and overpower opponents.

Veteran infantry and vehicles, led by the Command 8Rad Armored Car, combine with Ace Stuka air support and the Tiger Ace Heavy Tank to deliver decisive battlefield dominance.

Sudden Strike 5, the highly anticipated Real-Time Strategy WWII game and latest instalment in the Sudden Strike series, is available once again as a playable demo on Steam. The development team has addressed player feedback received during the initial demo earlier this February, resulting in a range of performance and gameplay improvements prior to its full launch on April 23.

Watch the Sudden Strike 5 demo trailer HERE.

In this demo, command forces from the Soviet and Western Allied factions in two missions, “Attack on Monte Cassino” (Western Allies) and “Defense of Sevastopol” (Soviets). These reworked missions deliver feedback-specific game improvements including higher and more stable framerate, reduced frame drops during combat, reduced stuttering and improved frame pacing, improved pathfinding, and improved responsiveness of AI patrol units. At launch, Sudden Strike 5 will feature a massive 25 mission campaign, multiplayer modes, along with additional balancing, and final refinements.

Nestled in the heart of Europe, Czechoslovakia is a democratic bulwark, surrounded by autocratic neighbors. Rich in resources, industry and population, it is also an early target for aggression. Chart a new course for Czechoslovakia in the face of these threats in Peace for Our Time, a new Focus Pack for Hearts of Iron IV, Paradox Interactive’s grand strategic wargame about the conflict and politics of the Second World War. Created in collaboration with veteran modders Logan ‘Spicy Alfredo’ Calkins, Abbus Fung and Marijn ‘marijn211’ Vroegh, Peace for Our Time is the first Focus Pack to include new National Focus Trees and unique mechanics, presenting a new challenge to experienced desktop generals. It will be released next week, on 22 April.

Highlights of the Focus Pack Peace for Our Time include:

• Democratic National Focus Path: Surrounded by non-democratic nations, safeguard Czechoslovakia’s freedom by forging your own faction, leading a government in exile or pursuing independence as Slovakia.
• Communist National Focus Path: Spark a socialist revolution to replace the failed middle path, joining the Comintern or uniting the region under your own federation; whether through radical struggle or moderate reform.
• Monarchist and Fascist National Focus Paths: Rally nationalist forces to establish a new kingdom of Bohemia or embrace military dictatorship, expand your influence through allies or subjects, and decide whether to entrench authoritarianism or return to democracy once the crisis has passed.
• Manage your arms industry, become an industrial powerhouse, and shape conflicts across the globe by exporting weapons abroad.
• Engage with the Divided Nation mechanic to solve the challenges of governing a divided democracy.
• Army Readiness Balance of Power forces you to ensure you have the support of the military.
• New Art and Music, including two new music tracks, 3D depictions of the historical Prague Castle and Bojnice Castle, new equipment graphics and new focus icons and character portraits.

The Hearts of Iron IV: Peace for Our Time Focus Pack will be available on 22 April 2026 on Steam for the suggested retail price of $5.99 / £4.99 /€5.99.

Kraken Studios, known for its WarPlan series and Kingdom Dungeon and Hero, is excited to announce that Total Victory: World Conflict 1939-1945 will soon be available on Steam. A new demo will be released on April 16th.

Total Victory Trailer

Take Your Place in a Global War from 1939 to 1945
Drawing inspiration from classic wargames like ADG’s World in Flames, SPI’s ETO, and others, Total Victory is the grand strategy wargame that enthusiasts have been eagerly waiting for. It combines moderate complexity and divisional-level strategy with historically inspired units and production. Play as any major nation from the Axis, Allies, or Comintern during World War II. Manage production, military units, and prominent historical commanders. Lead land, naval, and air forces against rival nations.

Real World Map with Tile System
Total Victory features a modified Mercator map with colorful silhouettes highlighting military units unique to each nation. A clutter-free interface lets you focus on strategy, not menus. Land units include infantry, armor, paratroopers, marines, and many more types. Air units include a variety of plane model types. Naval units include individual capital ships and groups of other units. Most military units have a unique set of attributes. Monitor your nation’s overall manpower and oil, as they could be crucial to the war’s outcome. Ore feeds the industry that makes war materials like weapons, tanks, planes, and support units. The automated supply system allows players to focus on play rather than micromanagement. Explore over twenty technological advances that unlock new units, combat enhancements, and intelligence.

Classic, Strategy-First Gameplay
Total Victory provides a challenging yet practical experience, led by an easy-to-use interface. Unlike the micromanagement found in other popular RTS games, Total Victory reduces the need for endless menu-clicking and unit upkeep with its automatic reinforcement mechanic, allowing you to focus more on making strategic decisions. It provides multiple ways to play: exchanging your latest moves through PBEM, pass-and-play on a single PC against a friend in Hotseat mode, or play solo against an AI opponent with adjustable difficulty settings.

New Demo Coming APRIL 16TH
Players interested in trying out Total Victory will be able to get a glimpse of the game when the Steam demo launches on April 16th. In the demo, players can get a feel for the land and air mechanics and play as Germany in the Blitzkrieg East Scenario, set in June-September 1941.

Game Features

• Play as any major global superpower during World War II
• Modified Mercator map with a tile-based hex system, easy to read at a glance
• Research 20+ technology slots for new combat units, modifiers, and intelligence
• Multiple play modes, including PBEM, Hotseat, and AI opposition

Wishlist Total Victory: World Conflict 1939-1945 on Steam to receive all future updates.

With ‘No Man Left Behind’, the Commandos squad steps back into the shadows. The new Commandos: Origins DLC deploys on April 28th, 2026, on PC (Steam, Epic Games Store), Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation®4|5.

This operation closes a critical gap in the main campaign: deep behind enemy lines in the Auvergne region of occupied France, the Green Beret is captured by German forces during a mission to extract an allied informant who possesses high-value intelligence. Players experience this story in the first mission firsthand as Jack O’Hara, the Green Beret.

In three additional new missions, Thomas “the Sapper” Hancock, Francis T. “the Sniper” Woolridge, and Rene “the Spy” Duchamp make their way across heavily fortified mountain facilities, dense forests, and a tightly secured construction site housing to rescue the Green Beret. On their mission, the Commandos must uncover crucial clues, sabotage a prototype of a deadly German superweapon, and piece together the intelligence needed to complete their objective.

The newly introduced Radio Operator represents a major tactical threat: eliminating this enemy type can trigger an instant global alarm. To maintain operational secrecy, the Commandos must locate and disable signal enhancers, severing enemy communications before striking. Precision, timing, and discipline are mandatory.

Features

• The missing link: In Commandos: Origins DLC ‘No Man Left Behind’, you finally discover the events that led to the Green Beret’s capture, triggering the search for him and the rescue mission of the main campaign.
• Embark on four new missions to uncover crucial information leading to the prototype of a new German superweapon, being built in the seclusion of the French mountains.
• Your search for both information and your captured companion will take you across a huge, picturesque map of occupied French territory in the Auvergne, spanning nighttime forest operations and heavily guarded military structures scattered across the mountainous countryside.
• Encounter new characters, including the informant and fellow prisoners, and prepare to face a new enemy unit: the radio operator, who will call for reinforcements and trigger a global alarm if his line of communication is not cut before he is eliminated.

Matrix Games today announce the release of Command: Modern Operations – Tides of War, a new campaign DLC available now.

Set in the tense waters of the South China Sea, Tides of War places players in command of ASEAN forces as a regional crisis escalates toward open conflict. What begins as a multinational military exercise quickly deteriorates when Chinese maritime militia and coast guard vessels interfere with operations, creating the conditions for a broader confrontation across the theater.

The campaign includes six tightly focused scenarios, each representing up to 24 hours of operations. Players will navigate a structured escalation ladder, moving from gray-zone incidents and non-kinetic encounters to submarine interdiction, precision strikes, and ultimately large-scale air and naval engagements.

A key feature of Tides of War is its Continuous Loss System, where losses and damage persist between scenarios. Decisions made early in the campaign can have significant consequences later, making force preservation and operational planning critical.

Rather than focusing on individual platforms, the campaign emphasizes escalation management, joint operations, and long-term force preservation, offering Command players an operational perspective on crisis escalation in one of the world’s most sensitive maritime regions.

Tides of War is available now and requires the base game Command: Modern Operations to play.

Burghers and Bombards, the second DLC for Field of Glory: Kingdoms welcomes players in the new Advanced Economy, where the rise of the Burgher class, the growth of guilds, and the burden of inflation redefine how wealth and power interact. Gamers will experience the pivotal change of the war: the Age of Gunpowder, as bombards, handgunners, and cannon-armed galleys forever change the fate of empires.

Field of Glory: Kingdoms – Burghers and Bombards Gameplay video

What’s new:

• Two new Campaigns: The Late Campaign (1223-1470) where players take command of the Mongols after the victory over the Kievan Rus’, and The Mega Campaign (1054-1470), where players will experience transformations, expansion and changes from the Great Schism throughout four centuries of history.
• The Burgher Class: A new social force that generates wealth but challenges royal and noble power.
• Inflation: Prosperity has a price. Manage inflation or watch your realm’s coffers crumble.
• Guilds: Tier II and III buildings that unlock bonuses and unique events as urban industries grow.
• Gunpowder Mechanics: building new facilities to produce gunpowder, recruiting handgunners and bombards, modernizing fortresses to accommodate the new artillery.

And more. Discover all the new features in Field of Glory: Kingdom – Burghers and Bombards, out now on Steam.

The new DLC Baltic Battalion is out now and available for free.

You can download it today and immediately access all the new content included in this release, expanding your experience with everything listed below:

• New army specialization: Baltic Battalion, including more than 30 new units and many more customization options.
• New map: Kadaga Military base
• New solo+coop scenario “Welcome to Kadaga” that can be re-played in 6 different ways
• New Baltic Battalion AI preset for skirmish
• New profile customization
• 12 new music compositions have been added to the Original Sound Track (also available on streaming platforms)

To celebrate the launch, the Spring Sale discount will remain active until April 6th. Broken Arrow will be available at a 15% discount until then on Steam.

Broken Arrow: Baltic Battalion Cinematic Release Trailer

You can also enjoy the original soundtrack here and immerse yourself even further in the game’s atmosphere.

This DLC arrives alongside a range of highly anticipated and requested updates, including new features, improvements, gameplay changes, balance adjustments and bug fixes. Highlights include the addition of a Streamer Mode, a reduction in overall game size, performance optimizations, the new emergency airdrop feature and more enhancements designed to improve your overall experience.