Stronghold Kingdoms News

Set sail far and wide, my Viking warriors and shieldmaidens, for Viking Shores is now live!

All praises be to the All-Father for the time of war is now!

Hold fast to your axes and your allies. Everything you treaure is on the line in this brutal new world. Glory in this life and in Valhalla awaits for those true of heart and strong of will!

Viking Shores is a new world set in the Viking Era and uses the Era and Hi-Risk Hi-Reward Rulesets.

Viking Shores is now open to all!

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Happy New Year! After a launch that quite frankly exceeded all our expectations... We are pleased to announce that the first substantial gameplay update for Stronghold: Definitive Edition releases on Steam on February 13th! A simultaneous launch of free content and paid DLC, the Winter Update will be available to all players, while the Swine's Bay Campaign DLC will retail for $2.99, £2.49 or €2.99.

Feeling lucky? You could even win this DLC through a giveaway being run in the above development diary! Check it out to learn more and get the inside track on what to expect of Firefly in 2024 and beyond.



As announced before launch, we intend to support Stronghold: Definitive Edition with both free and paid post-launch content, releasing as two major updates. The aim of each DLC is to offer fresh missions, created by veteran developers for players who want to challenge their two decades of castle sim experience. While the free updates will bring a host of fixes and improvements, alongside extra missions designed to compliment the main story.

Releasing on February 13th, the Swine's Bay Campaign DLC follows the events of the main game and is narrated by returning series actor Christopher Kent. Players will be met with seven ruthless military combat scenarios across original maps, as they seek to retrieve the Jewel of the North from the clutches of the infamous slaver Captain Hogsfoot.



Releasing alongside this DLC, our free Winter Update will add a second economic campaign, voiced by another returning Stronghold actor in Jay Simon! These missions are designed to test players’ strategic skills beyond the warfront, with a series of resource production and management challenges. Kingdoms may be crushed by warriors, but they can only be raised by those with the vision to build.

Looking forward to the future we are actively engaged in a number of projects, the most prominent of which is the as of yet untitled ‘Stronghold Unreal’ project, built using Unreal Engine 5. Needless to say, witnessing the love for mechanically deep, passionately made strategy games like Stronghold: Definitive Edition has lit a fire under our little studio and the team can’t wait to share more!

In the meantime our Swine's Bay Campaign is available to Wishlist, ahead of its release on February 13th:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2727990/Stronghold_Definitive_Edition__Swines_Bay_Campaign/

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Greetings sire! Your stronghold awaits you. The ultimate version of our first ‘castle sim’ is now available on Steam with upgraded visuals, new missions, Steam multiplayer support and more. We are incredibly excited to be launching our first 2D Stronghold game with new content for over 20 years and even more thrilled by your warm response to the game over the past few months.



When we were in the planning stages for Stronghold: Definitive Edition we had faith in the demand for new 2D isometric strategy games, but could never be 100% sure. Your overwhelming support, feedback and love for our series’ 2D roots made this project possible and we cannot wait to hear what you think of it. This game has been a labour of love for the team, both for Stronghold 1 itself and also a bygone golden era of isometric 2D strategy. We hope that shines through, as we continue to improve it with updates and new content into early 2024.



As a way of saying ‘Thank you!’ on the community side, please enjoy our launch trailer scored by series maestro Robert L. Euvino with a brand new Castle Jam inspired composition. The man himself was kind enough to compose this new piece for today's trailer, a roaring tribute to your favourite Stronghold song, celebrating the launch of a project that is dear to us.



Stronghold: Definitive Edition comes packed with updated graphics made using the original source art, a new 14 mission single player campaign, 10 mission historical castle trail, remastered audio, returning voice actors, community requested features, gameplay modernisations, Steam multiplayer, Workshop support and more.

It is out now on Steam with a 10% launch week discount!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2140020/Stronghold_Definitive_Edition/

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Our final pre-release update for Stronghold: Definitive Edition is a big one... As we reveal our post-release plans for the game!

We can now commit to two major updates for the game, with a new economic campaign and second castle trail planned alongside new maps and the usual mix of smaller features and fixes. These two updates will release early next year and arrive at the same time as one of two paid DLC military campaigns, which will each cost $2.99, £2.49 or €2.99.



It gives us great pleasure to confirm these today alongside a recap of community driven features added since our most recent public demo, which now include (optional) auto-trading and selectable team colours in all game modes! During our two public demos and player surveys thousands of you told us that post-launch support and paid DLC were both of interest, so we made plans to release these in early 2024.

Featuring a new story designed by series creator Simon Bradbury, our second economic campaign will involve the work of rebuilding a kingdom nearly shattered by the warring exploits of The Rat, Snake, Pig and Wolf. Narrated by OG Stronghold voice actor Jay Simon, you will travel north to restore peace and order to homelands ravaged by the conflict of the military campaigns over the course of seven unique missions as part of our larger Winter Update.



Following on from this our Spring Update will include a second Castle Trail, which will feature a ‘greatest hits’ mix of old and new historical castles to besiege and defend. As with the base game trail we’re looking at including at least 10 historical castles, with Polish strongholds making their long overdue debut.

Each of our two paid DLCs will release with these updates and come in the form of two new military campaigns, each offering 7 military missions. ‘Swine’s Bay’ and ‘Valley of the Wolf’ will feature the return of two popular series antagonists and lead directly on from the 14 missions included in the Stronghold: Definitive Edition base game. You can expect the difficulty to scale up, some formidable new win conditions and a true challenge for series veterans!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2140020/Stronghold_Definitive_Edition/

[h2]Developer Diary - Episode 2[/h2]
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In our second Stronghold: Definitive Edition dev diary we discuss the genesis of the game, while delving into changes made as part of this new edition. Join Stronghold series veterans Simon and Paul, as they provide insight into the creation of our latest game from their unique perspectives.

We discuss the aims of Stronghold: DE and goals for everything from new single player content, all the way down to the smallest quality of life enhancements. Starting with the initial project pitch, then leading to questions of the scale of changes and finer elements like the actual difficulty of the new content, the road to release has been carefully considered.

It also gives us great pleasure in this video to confirm some of these changes and a few entirely new ones! In response to player feedback we have increased troop and building limits across all game modes, allowing for up to 3000 units and 2000 buildings at a time. By doubling these limits from the original game, we hope to provide you with more epic Stronghold sieges than ever before.

[h2]Developer Diary - Episode 3[/h2]
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We then round off our trio of behind-the-scenes videos by adding production expert Dave to the mix! It's time to talk Steam multiplayer, Workshop and the other improvements coming to your favourite game modes. What to expect from Workshop support, more details on multiplayer in DE and planned improvements to Free Build mode are all touched on, with extra insight into the development process of this unique game.

Making Stronghold more accessible has always been a key goal of the Definitive Edition and bringing our amazing multiplayer community - as well as the awesome maps they've created over the course of two decades - front and centre within Steam is how we're hoping to accomplish that. Thousands of fan creations can soon exist within Steam Workshop and be easily accessible for future generations of Stronghold players, with an improved set of multiplayer options to support years of continued play.

Add to this a few choice improvements to Free Build - everyone's favourite cozy game mode - and you have plenty to look forward to come release. In the meantime please check out our recent Free Build Q&A and Campaign Gameplay videos, where we confirm new features like Rally Points and discuss the series' 20 year legacy:

[h2]Free Build Q&A[/h2]
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[h2]Campaign Gameplay[/h2]
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Stay tuned for more updates between now and release as we process all your valuable feedback and incorporate as many changes as we can before launch. Thank you once again for your continued support and we hope you join us on November 7th by wishlisting the game on Steam!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2140020/Stronghold_Definitive_Edition/