Stronghold Kingdoms News

Since revealing Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition in January's Real-Time Strategy Fest, you have responded to our rally war cry in full force! With over 150,000 wishlists, 130,000 demo downloads and more than 6,000 helpful responses to our in-game player survey... Let's just say the granary is full, my Lord.

While you wait for our July 15th release, we hope this collection of updates from the team here at Firefly helps bring you up to speed about what you can expect from the final game, before we march back to the desert fortresses and arid plains of the past.

Please enjoy these updates and subscribe to Firefly Studios on YouTube for more reveals!

🎨 Artists Niall, Darrin, Jorge and Tom dive into the recreation of Crusader: DE's new visuals! Discover the extra animals and features coming to Crusader from our talented art team.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTLaSzli2aQ

🏰 Studio Head Nick provides a general breakdown of our new expanded remaster of the classic Stronghold title. What is it exactly?! What's changed? Find out all this and more.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGQWSeQ4KqA

💬 Scouring the web for your most pressing questions, we present the Crusader: DE Community Q&A! From Discord to Reddit, Sak covers as many topics as he can.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbz4Psdk3r4

👾 Aaron and Josh play through our Ascalon scenario, as featured in the first Crusader: DE playable demo. Enjoy this dev commentary and give us tips in the comments!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vA__DBPWTQw

🎵 Masterfully composed by the legendary bard of Stronghold himself, we are proud to present ‘Caravan 2025’. Produced exclusively for Crusader: DE by Robert L. Euvino!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usMbeJ2-hMQ

Like what you see? Then wishlist Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition now ahead of the game’s July 15th 2025 release!

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

[h2]Greetings Sire! The new Crusader States world is now live![/h2]

[h3]Venture into the fractured political landscape and monumental upheaval of the ancient holy land.

With an entirely new map, Crusader States calls everyone from the highest lord to the lowest peasant to choose a side and rally to its banner.

Forge alliances, gather resources, lead an army and start your quest to victory![/h3]

[h2]Crusader States is NOW LIVE![/h2]

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
Snarls Soon you will see what it means to wage real warfare! That is... In our final instalment of the Stronghold: Definitive Edition 'Jewel' campaign! Valley of the Wolf extends the base game with seven new missions and extra achievements. Under the tutelage of the wise Sergeant, finish the fight by rescuing Sir Longarm's captured kin once and for all, when this new DLC releases for $2.99, €2.99 and £2.49 on April 30th.

This final chapter of 'The Jewel' campaign pits players against the greatest rogue of them all... The vicious Wolf! To safely retrieve the Jewel of the North and put an end to The Wolf's insidious scourge, players must plunge directly into the belly of the beast and bring the fight to his borders. Against great odds in unfamiliar territory, survival alone demands that nothing is held back.



Also arriving on April 30th as part of our 'Spring Update' is a second castle trail of 10 siege scenarios. This new 'Noble Trail' will arrive alongside additional maps for Multiplayer, Free Build and Siege modes, with the exciting (and long overdue!) introduction of our first ever Polish castles to be featured in a Stronghold game.

Malbork, the fortress erected by the Teutonic Order to signify their Prussian conquest, Biskupin, an ancient stronghold built at the dawn of Rome, and Niedzica, a daunting gothic castle that Dracula himself would be proud of, will all be found in the new castle trail, while another castle, Ogrodzieniec, will be playable as a standalone map through Siege mode.



We would like to thank our Polish fans who suggested these epic citadels online and in person last year, at events like Gamescom and EGX. Your support for Stronghold: Definitive Edition has been incredible and we hope to bring demos of future Stronghold games to events in Poland. So please keep an eye on our socials for the latest news!

Be sure to return on April 30th and check out our full patch notes at release. These will include a run down of other minor features, fixes and improvements coming to the game as part of the Spring Update in version 1.3.

Thanks for playing!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2728000/Stronghold_Definitive_Edition__Valley_of_the_Wolf_Campaign/

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!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
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/