Headquarters: World War II News

[p]We’re excited to announce that on September 9th, we’ll be releasing a completely free update for Headquarters: World War II - Urban Warfare, which includes 6 expertly designed urban battlegrounds maps.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Whether you prefer flanking maneuvers, long-range duels, or brutal close-quarters engagements, Urban Warfare offers fresh tactical challenges that will test your command skills like never before.[/p][p][/p][p]What’s Included:[/p][p][/p][p]Flankpoint
Fight for control in a small city center filled with pocket parks and flanking routes. Elevated positions provide key advantages for defenders holding critical objectives.[/p][p][/p][p]Riverpoint
A strategic city split by a meandering river and dominated by two opposing hills. Expect tough battles across chokepoints and shifting control over the central urban sprawl.[/p][p][/p][p]Greenline
Tight urban alleys and narrow lanes explode into sudden skirmishes. A wide park at the heart of the map opens up unique opportunities for infantry to shine—and vehicles to struggle.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Operation Deepline
Forests, streets, and waterways combine for layered tactical depth. Use natural defenses to plan stealthy approaches or to fortify against enemy advances.[/p][p][/p][p]Ridgeline Conflict
Prepare for a brutal mix of verticality and urban warfare. This map blends long sightlines with cramped interiors, perfect for commanders who think on their feet Navigate the broken streets of a devastated metropolis. Alleyways, open intersections, and contested control points make this a map where positioning is everything.
[/p][p]Shattered City [/p][p]Players must navigate the shattered streets of a sprawling city. Narrow alleyways and open spaces create constant challenges for capturing and holding key control points, demanding tactical precision.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Whether you're jumping into Skirmish or Multiplayer, Urban Warfare is designed to shake up your strategy and keep you guessing at every turn. [/p]

[p]Yesterday, we celebrated this anniversary live with our CMO Marco A. Minoli, CEO Ian McNeil, Lead External Producer Neil McKenna, and Executive Producer David Sharrock. [/p][p]If you missed the event, you can watch the full recording here:  [/p][p][/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p][/p][p]To celebrate the 25 years of Slitherine, Headquarters: World War II receives a special update![/p][p][/p][p]Customize your army like never before with new insignia, unit colors, and camouflage options — all inspired by a quarter-century of strategy gaming excellence. [/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Anniversary Update v1.04.03[/p][p]• New insignia, colors & camoflauge added for unit customisation, celebrating 25 years of Slitherine Games [/p][p][/p][p]AI Improvements: [/p][p]• AI just got smarter: it now utilizes transport units to move infantry more efficiently across the [/p][p]battlefield. [/p][p]• Several improvements to the PBEM mode — the AI now responds more intelligently to player [/p][p]actions and actively captures control points. [/p][p][/p][p]Fixes: [/p][p]• Multiplayer just got more stable — fixed several issues that were causing crashes to ensure a [/p][p]smoother experience. [/p][p]• Fixed an issue that caused the game to crash on first launch, ensuring a smoother start for new [/p][p]players.[/p][p][/p][p]This update is our way of saying thank you to the community that’s been with us every step of the way.[/p]

[p]Hi everyone - We have just released the latest Headquarters: WWII update.[/p][p][/p][p]This has a number of fixes and tweaks, but importantly, it has some more fixes and updates for the Skirmish AI, that a number of people have flagged has issues, in regards to the AI taking points and battling you.[/p][p][/p][p]This is an ongoing update to AI that we are doing on the Headquarters engine, so expect more AI improvements (mainly focused on Skirmish & MP).[/p][p][/p][p]The AI changes consist of the AI now not getting stuck behind its own units meaning it is more able to move forward on the attack, as well as now being able to use Headquarters skills (Artillery Barrage, Recon, Reinforcement, etc).[/p][p][/p][p]There are also some crashes and bugs that have been fixed.[/p][p][/p][p]Here are the fixes and changes in this latest version:[/p][p][/p][p]Version 1.04.02 - 09.06.2025[/p][p]AI Improvements:[/p][p]• Improved AI Pathfinding. The AI now ignores blocking units to provide better movement over maps.[/p][p]• AI now uses HQ skills.[/p][p][/p][p]Fixes:[/p][p]• Updated error message text to indicate what potential error could be. Notably, logging on to PBEM games[/p][p]• Change client validation to allow for special characters to be used in passwords.[/p][p]• Fixed a number of crashes on some given missions.[/p][p][/p][p]See you on the Battlefield.[/p]

Hi everyone - Version 1.04.01 update just released.

There is a new update just released for Headquarters: WWII. This includes some tweaks and fixes for the game, and also preparation for the new tournament that begins on Friday 12th May.

This fixes a crash that had been occurring due to a auto-camera issue.

Please update to this new version before starting the tournament (to avoid any issues).

Here is the changelog:

Headquarters:WWII Changelog
Version 1.04.01 - 14.05.2025

Improvements:
• All HQ skills now start on cooldown in all skirmish and multiplayer games. (No changes in campaigns). This change is aimed at avoiding the use of artillery / naval artillery / tactical bombers during both players' initial deployment, and to give players time to deploy AA units.
• Slightly changed the flags' positions on the skirmish map “The Falaise Pocket: The Breakout” to put both players in a more equal position.
• Added “Total cost” line in Skirmish and Multiplayer games final statistics.

Fixes:
• Fixed incorrect terrain data on several tiles on the map “The Battle for Hill 112”.
• Fixed tournament points calculation on maps that had more than 2 player slots. (4-player maps with 2 players)
• Fixed a crash issue that could occur on some maps. (We encountered it on “The Battle for Hill 112” and it could have been avoided by disabling the auto camera before that fix. Now, there is no need to do that.)

See you on the Battlefield!

A new Headquarters: World War II tournament is starting soon, using some of the campaign maps recently incorporated into Skirmish & Multiplayer.

We are excited to announce that a new Headquarters: World War II Leaderboard will begin with this tournament. The Leaderboard ranks tournament players in the game across upcoming tournaments. These use an ELO-rated system for placement. So if you want to be on the Leaderboard, sign up and play.

To celebrate the new Leaderboard, we are awarding prizes to the top 3 players in this tournament:

1st Place: $50 Slitherine discount coupon
2nd Place: $30 Slitherine discount coupon
3rd Place: $20 Slitherine discount coupon

These coupons can be used as discounts on both Slitherine and Matrix Games websites

The Tournament begins on 16th May, so please sign up before then.
Sign up here.

Tournament Details:
There are 4 rounds, with each round being 16 days.
Round 1 - Allied Invasion
Round 2 - Operation Aubery
Round 3 - The Falaise Pocket: The Trap
Round 4 - The Falaise Pocket: The Breakout

Victory conditions:
1) Time
Turn limit: 0/25
If none of the other win conditions is met by turn 25 - the player with the highest in-game Score wins
2) Control the flag
Victory points - 50 (80 on 4 players map with 2 closed slots - The Falaise Pocket: The Trap)
Reach the designated number of Victory points to win the game. Victory points are gained at the start of every turn based on the total number of flags under your control.
3) Conqueror
Capturing the enemy HQ (starting) flag results in immediate victory.
4) Wipe them out
Eliminating all enemy units results in immediate victory.

HQ skills available*:
Rally
Reinforcement
Air Recon
Artillery Bombardment

*In the new update HQ skills will be on cooldown at the start of a Skirmish or Multiplayer game.

The tournament will be using the next update (version 1.04.01) which will have a couple of required fixes, so an update will be required before you start any tournament games.

Good luck, and see you on the battlefield!