Strategy lives on
Real-time strategy fans got something new to look forward to today. Stormgate is a new free-to-play RTS from Frost Giant Studios, with a beta coming in 2023.
During today’s Summer Game Fest stream, a cinematic introduced the world of Stormgate. The two factions shown so far seem demonic on one side, and futuristic human resistance on the other. A little of Terrans vs. the Forces of Hell, so to speak.
During the stream, a developer from Frost Giant confirmed that Stormgate will be free-to-play, but they’re conscious of concerns. That means no pay-to-win and no NFTs. There’s campaign co-op, as well as versus multiplayer for three-on-three or traditional one-on-one.
New giants
Frost Giant is a new studio of former Blizzard developers, so this one has some pedigree behind it. According to the Steam page, it seems to be going for all the trappings of classic Warcraft and StarCraft. Big story missions showing the war between Earth’s defenders and invading demonic Infernals, a competitive ladder with tournament options, and a free-to-play model that avoids pay-to-win. A big draw to my eye is the custom map editor. Those user-made maps made up a hefty bulk of my time in old Blizzard RTS games, and I’m hopeful to see some wild tower defenses and such on there.
We’ll see what they have in store in 2023, when Stormgate is planned to head into open beta. Popularity for the beta is pretty high, as shown by the Frost Giant site has been dipping in and out as I’m writing this. But once the site is back up, you’ll be able to sign up for the beta at this link. Until then, you can still wishlist on Steam and gawk at some screenshots.
