Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition News

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[h3]Good day, my liege! [/h3]After a few eagle-eyed players infiltrated the help files, Assassin style, in our Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition reveal demo, we thought it was time to pull back the curtain on our 8 new units. Today’s Feature Spotlight video brings with it new footage and juicy gameplay details for our Bedouin soldiers, expanding the original roster with fresh tactical options at launch on July 15th.


Inspired by the roaming Bedouin tribes of the Middle Eastern deserts, these eight new troops open up a whole new world of siege tactics (and hurt!) on your rival lords. Be they friends you played the OG Crusader with way back in the day or new Stronghold allies found in our official Discord server, enemy Lords and Ladies won’t know what hit them. From camel-riding lancers and bowmen, to sneaking fire-starters and demolition specialists, our expanded remaster adds plenty of new options for commanders in the art of medieval warfare.


In our latest Feature Spotlight we reveal exactly what these new units are capable of and how you might use them to your advantage in your next medieval conquest. So please check out the video, learn their strengths, weaknesses and let us know what you think in the comments below! Player feedback has been a huge part of the success of our Definitive Editions, so as always we’d love to hear your thoughts for this upcoming game and of course future titles.

[h3]Stay tuned for future videos to hear more about the updates and improvements coming to Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition and wishlist the game to be notified of the game's release at launch.[/h3]

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3024040/Stronghold_Crusader_Definitive_Edition/

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Greetings My Liege!

As the warmth and green of spring finally begins to break through (At least... Here in the UK!) we are marching ever closer to our July 15th release date for this long awaited expanded remaster of your favourite Stronghold.

We know July feels like a million miles away right now, but rest assured we are working hard to implement your feedback and suggestions before launch. This is thanks in no small part to the more than 6,000 of you who filled out our demo feedback form and the 150,000 potential future players who have wishlisted Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition!



With today's new video we thought... What better way to toast this new season and alleviate some of that wait than with a sneak peek at our deadly new AI opponents, awaiting you this summer! From the wily and dastardly to the blunt and brutish, each of these new characters embody different cultures, employing unique units, castles and battle tactics, resulting in a completely fresh challenge for new players as well as returning series veterans.



In today's Feature Spotlight we also touch on a few changes coming to the game's original 16 enemy Lords, inspired by your suggestions and feedback in the whopping 20+ years since the game's initial release in 2002. This is just a taste of things to come, so please look forward to future videos spotlighting other tweaks that bring Crusader up to date in 2025.

Let us know which of these opponents you’re looking forward to fighting first and be sure to stay tuned here on Steam for the latest news on Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition!

👇 Add to Wishlist 👇
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3024040/Stronghold_Crusader_Definitive_Edition/

[h2]Greetings, Sire! Following it's announcement, Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition soared straight up the charts of the Steam RTS Fest to become the one of the most played demos across the entire event. The anticipated RTS remaster has now already claimed a milestone achievement of 150,000 wishlists and 130,000 total demo downloads![/h2]

The fan reception and huge outpouring of support for Stronghold Crusader DE has been super uplifting for us. Not bad at all considering the original came out at the same time as The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Yu-Gi-Oh outside of Japan and Ben Affleck being voted Sexist Man Alive.

In celebration of this accomplishment, we’re taking a look at how our skilled art team has uplifted the game from its source files to create something that is not only polished but captures the essence of what made the original game so great.



With many pieces of the 2002 source material either built on archaic technology or completely absent, the art team had their work cut out for them. Not only did they have to recreate and render artwork to an elevated modern definition but to also match the essence of the original.

This goal, already difficult, even became contentious where key characters were concerned. However, whenever new assets or changes were made, the ever-present principle was to respect the original design and bring the definitive edition closer to the intended vision.

PSST: In case you missed it, we’ve also created a dev commentary video where Lead QA and Stronghold expert Josh shares exclusive tips and tricks for mastering Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition. Whether you’re a seasoned player or new to the series, Josh’s insights will help you dominate the battlefield!



[h2]Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition’s July 15th launch is rapidly approaching and we’ve got a lot more planned to give the game the best take-off possible, so stay tuned!
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[h2]Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition Demo V1.02 Update Notes:[/h2]

[h3]UPDATES[/h3]
- Additional Spanish and Italian speech
- Added SFX when rolling over the exit button
- Allow building sleep in post-tutorial
- Improvement to wall attack positioning


[h3]BUG FIXES[/h3]
- Stopped units from glitching (lagging) when flattening landscape
- Fixed apply options button appearing incorrectly
- Fixed Skirmish mini-map colours
- Fixed digging moat exploit
- Fixed visual depth sorting issue behind rocks
- Fixed invisible engineers
- Fixed mouse selection lag

[h3]We'd love to hear your insight on the demo! Every bit of feedback will help us make Stronghold games the best they can possibly be: https://forms.gle/p2JeRfSHFWAKMghW6[/h3]

[h2]Greetings Sire! Gird your loins and sharpen your steel because, 23 years after it first launched, we’re incredibly excited to announce Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition![/h2]

Travel back in time to the legendary crusades for the holy land in this new expanded definitive edition, releasing this year on July 15th 2025 with brand new content, elevated graphics and extensive player-requested features all rebuilt by game’s original developers!

This title is many people’s favourite old-school 2D RTS, so taking this cult favourite and elevating it for the modern player has been an endeavour of passion for us – one that is only possible because of the community’s clear desire for this kind of classic strategy experience. The best way we could think of thanking you for your support has been to go above and beyond, with new AIs, missions, modes and maps, as well as the Steam multiplayer and workshop integrations that the original could never have had.

We hope this collection of content helps bring you up to speed about what you can expect before you march back to the desert fortresses and arid plains of the past.

Wishlist Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition now ahead of the game’s full July 15 release!

[h3]--> Revealed during the Steam RTS Fest, this shiny new trailer showcases the depth of work and love poured into the remaster. We really hope you enjoy it![/h3]


[h3]--> Masterfully composed by the legendary bard of Stronghold himself, Robert L. Euvino, we’re proud to present ‘Caravan 2025’, produced exclusively for Stronghold Crusader DE.[/h3]



[h3]--> Firefly Studio Head Nick below provides a general breakdown of this new expanded remaster of the classic Stronghold title. What is it exactly? What are some of the things that have been changed? What are the new units based on? Find out all of that and more![/h3]



[h3]--> We’ve scoured the interwebs for your most pressing questions and we’re happy to present the Stronghold Crusader: DE Community Q&A! Whether it’s from the official Stronghold Discord, TikTok, subreddit, Twitter or elsewhere, we’ve tried to hit as many topics as we can while keeping things concise.[/h3]



[h3]Flex your might with 8 new playable units, 4 never-before-seen AI lords, a new co-op mode, larger maps, custom options for skirmish and many other improvements! Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition has been overhauled with new art, animations, audio, units, modes, missions, characters, larger maps and more.[/h3]






[h2]Revisit a reimagined strategy classic and play exactly the way you want to. Wishlist it now and be the first to know about future demos![/h2]