Goose step it on back to Germany ya fascists
The first Steel Division was tantamount to a dream come true for World War II military history enthusiasts such as myself. Boasting detailed recreations of European cities where major battles took place, as well as historically accurate armed forces groups, Steel Division: Normandy 44 was all I could have asked for in concept. In execution, it left a few things to be desired but overall the complete package was well worth the minor frustrations.
One of my grievances was that the game solely focused on the invasion of the Western front by the Allies in the Spring and Summer of 1944. Granted, when you make a game that is so detailed, developers are going to have to hone in on a small part of the larger war and let’s be honest, if you’re going to do any part of the European theater, why not do the part where America contributed the most? But what about the other regions where the Allies turned the tide against the Nazis? Eugen Systems is rising to the challenge and bringing strategy gamers to the Eastern front in Steel Division II.
As well as bringing us more real-time tactical strategic gameplay, Steel Division II will attempt to improve upon the base game’s mechanics with a new turn-based campaign mechanic. This new mechanic will take place out of the regular real-time battles and have you moving divisions along your front lines. You get a glimpse of the map in action from about 0:18 – 0:26 in the newest trailer above.
Along with the gameplay additions, there will be changes made to the division deck-building aspects as well as the art style with the aims of creating a more realistic and immersive experience. Returning are the online 10v10 battles as well as the historic attention to detail for over 600 units across 18 different divisions from both the Soviet and German armed forces.
While no release window is planned yet, I suspect this will be available sometime in early 2019. This is also going to be the first game Eugen plans to self-publish, a nice little milestone for the RTS veterans.
