If there's one thing that World War 2 has taught us, it's that you should never fight a war on two fronts. Also that you should find your craziest haired citizens and put them to work doing science. But what about fighting a war on three fronts? That's just crazy enough to work, and Relic are certainly fighting a war of sorts: against the solid, but not stellar reception to Company of Heroes 2. Their three-pronged assault combines Steam Workshop support, a free multiplayer update, and new DLC for the Theatre of War mode.

I can put my feet up now, and let a platoon of trailers explain what's going on. First up, a brief look at Theatre of War expansion Southern Fronts...



...And an accompanying development diary...



It's a ten level update, bringing a selection of solo challenges and AI battles, and costing 3/$5.

A recent, and free update also introduces new content: the multiplayer maps Hill 331 and Dong River. In addition, numerous balance challenges have been made, which are explained in this video:



Finally, Steam Workshop support has arrived, creating a home for any maps created through the recently released World Builder tool. You can see the new maps available here.

Now, for no other reason than they look quite striking, here's a reinforcement of Southern Front screenshots.

Earlier this week, we detailed the planned fixes and features of the free Company of Heroes 2 update, Turning Point. Now, Relic have announced Victory at Stalingrad, a DLC pack that will launch alongside the update, bringing new co-op and solo challenges, and three AI battles. Set in the Winter of 1942, it covers the Soviet counter-attack battles of Operations Uranus and Little Saturn. And yes, I've only highlighted those names in a crass attempt to encourage comment thread jokes.

"Take command of the Red Army in a series of scenarios, challenges and battles based on this historic victory. Your strategic decisions will lead the Soviets from the jaws of defeat to a crushing victory." Oh no! Not the crashing jaws of victory defeat!

Here's Relic's list of DLC content, which presumably is what these defeat jaws are victory crushing:


Co-Op Scenario: Kalach Pincer
70 kilometers west of Stalingrad, Soviet forces must move rapidly to secure key locations and resources about the town of Kalach before mounting the final attack on the vital bridge across the River Don.
Solo Challenge: Tatsinskaya Raid
The Red Army's 24th Tank Corps is headed deep into enemy territory to take the German airfield at Tatsinskaya and destroy the aircraft that keeps trapped German forces supplied in Stalingrad.
Solo Challenge: Bridge Defense
Forced to wait for air units to be ready, the Red Army has had to delay Operation Uranus at the last minute. Irregular and Partisan forces have already moved to secure a key bridge across the Don River and must now hold out against determined German attacks.
AI Battle: Winter Storm
The Wehrmacht has launched Operation Winter Storm in an attempt to relieve their Sixth Army in Stalingrad. Soviet forces must block this attack to prevent the fascists from escaping the city.
AI Battle: Stalingrad Resistance
The Soviets defend the blown out Stalingrad inch by inch, all the while looking to the skies as the German Luftwaffe drops bombs on any target they can find.
AI Battle: Stalingrad Encirclement
Months of bloody close-quarter fighting have led to a decisive turning point for control of Stalingrad. Most of the German 6th Army has been left cut off and surrounded in the city. The Red Army must repulse a breakout attempt by the exhausted German forces.


Victory at Stalingrad will launch 12th of November, and be priced at $9.99.

Relic have announced that they're reaching a Turning Point. Confusingly in this case, it's a Company of Heroes 2 update, and not a new commitment to make nice games about not ordering tiny men to angrily shoot each other. As well as more multiplayer maps, this update also puts the tools of battle in the hands of the soldiers, by giving the community a World Builder tool that will let them create and share their own battlefields.

The two new Relic-made maps are called Rails & Metal and Lazur Factory, the latter of which has received the trailer treatment.



Four new multiplayer commanders are also being made available, two of which were designed by community members. In addition, Theatre of War is being updated with new features, including public chat and co-op battles.

Company of Heroes 2's Turning Point update is due out on November 12th. You can find more details on the update's micro-site.

Video games produced in Russia and Eastern Europe are nothing new, what with the Stalker series and Metro: Last Light. For the first time, though, we could start seeing video games produced in part by the Russian government to teach players specifically about the glorious history of the Russian military.

“The main thing we expect from the producers of video games is the realistic and historically truthful representation of events,” said Arseny Mironov, aid to Culture Minister Vladimir Medinsky, according to Hollywood Reporter. Company of Heroes 2 has taken a lot of flak from angry Russians for its fictional-but-not-totally-made-up depiction of the Red Army fighting and dying on the Eastern Front. Despite the controversy, the game is popular among Russian gamers.

"A video game has to have not only an entertainment value, but it also has to teach and be conducive to patriotic education," Mironov continued. The Russian Military History Society is in currently developing the first government-funded game, which will follow the beginnings of Russian air power during World War 1. The government has not announced which local developer might be taking on that project.

Government-funded games are not a new concept, of course. Here in the United States we’ve got everything from Moonbase Alpha to America’s Army funded by the government to get young people interested in the kinds of adventures they could theoretically possibly probably never have if they decide to take a job with the government.

Things got decidedly more dystopian, however, when the culture ministry talked about their options for banning video games that “discredit the Russian soldier” and "distort historic facts." For Mironov, a "negative image of the Russian warrior" should not be allowed. At least for right now, though, all they’re doing is talking.

Thanks, Hollywood Reporter.

Even now, from the comfort of 2013, it seems callous to make pithy comments about World War 2. Maybe I should play it safe by sticking rigidly to the facts. Fact 1: Germany was one of the founding members of World War 2. Fact 2: Some would say that they played such a key role, that the war disbanded soon after they left in 1945. Fact 3: They are the focus of Company of Heroes 2: Case Blue, a DLC pack for the Theatre of War mode.



Set in June 1942, Case Blue is a series of challenges and scenarios that follow the titular offensive on the Caucasus region. The DLC pack offers one co-op scenario, two singleplayer challenges, and two AI battles - set on the two maps that were yesterday added as part of a free update to the game.

Case Blue is free to pre-orderers and Collectors Edition owners. For everybody else, it is now available for £7/$10.

Remember the good old days of a few months before the release of Company of Heroes 2? Life was simpler then. You'd visit your favourite PC gaming website, safe in the knowledge that Relic would have cooked up a new trailer for their RTS sequel, probably showing a Russian conscript looking sad. Here, we get to indulge in some early-2013 nostalgia, with a new CoH2 trailer, touring one of two free maps that have today been added to the game.

Rostov, the trailered battleground, is based on the 1941 Battle of Rostov, fought between Germans and Soviets around Rostov-on-Don and the Don river. Also added is the Kharkov map, based on the Ukrainian city, which was the setting for many battles during the war.

It's not just the multiplayer that Relic are working on. In this month's "Producer's Letter" to the community, Greg Wilson teased the unveiling of the first major update to Theatre of War mode, which will add a new "mini-pack", focusing on the Germans in 1942. The update will be made available for free to Collector's Edition owners, and as DLC pack for the standard edition. Further details are due later this month.

Wilson also notes that Relic are preparing for the release of the 1.0 version of their mapping tool, giving community modders the chance to create their own battlefields.