https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-OJ3EwsT50

Set to launch almost two decades since development started on the original Stronghold, our release date and new co-op mode were revealed exclusively as part of IGN’s Summer of Gaming event in a new multiplayer trailer!

At launch Stronghold: Warlords will include full multiplayer functionality, support for AI opponents and a unique co-op mode allowing two players to work together building, defending and besieging from the same castle. Multiplayer will include the ability to play in teams with friends and against the AI, but also the option to control a single castle cooperatively. Players in co-op can choose to handle the economy from the start or build up an army and focus on their military. During a siege one player could control defensive units like Fire Lancers and Archers, while the other triggers castle traps and puts out the inevitable fires!



Multiplayer will also feature the game’s new Warlord mechanic, with smaller AI powered castles dotted around the battlefield that can be conquered through force or diplomacy. Once captured players can team up with these characters, all of whom have their own unique archetype and abilities, to outnumber and encircle rival players. Upgrading them to unlock more powerful castles, armies and perks, Warlords can be used to boost your economy or crush opponents entirely with a decisive pincer movement.



The September 29th release date will be a worldwide simultaneous digital release on Steam. The game will be playable across multiplayer using Steam, as well as launching with full Steam Workshop support. This will allow the Stronghold community to create recreations of historic citadels, and upload custom maps and scenarios from day one.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/907650/Stronghold_Warlords/

Cast Your Vote on Discord - https://discord.gg/u3ms8MK

You herd correctly! Our new competition asks players to vote on one of four ill-fated animals to be used as the game's fourth trebuchet ammo type. Voting through the official Stronghold Discord, players will be able to decide which of the four deceased creatures can be used to spread disease in enemy castles when Stronghold: Warlords launches later this year.



Sometimes high walls, food and clean water just aren’t enough to survive a siege. Throughout history many a Lord has foolishly turtled up, believing they have the supplies to outlast their enemy’s military resources and patience. That is of course until they hear the distant sound of a trebuchet loading up and firing a different type of ammunition. Is it a horse? Is it a water buffalo? You decide!



Real medieval sieges could take months, with besiegers launching all manner of objects over enemy walls with the aim of spreading disease and panic. Our in-game spin on this siege strategy involves launching one of four departed animals over enemy walls and into their castle. Creating a temporary cloud of disease upon impact, the chosen animal type will affect the size and spread of disease within the enemy castle. Players will have to keep their soldiers and peasants well away from the affected area, with disease able to damage units and even shut down parts of their castle economy.



While Stronghold has always allowed for some manner of diseased, deceased animal to be flung at your enemies, until now they were limited to European and a few Middle Eastern creatures. With Warlords however the series has broadened its horizons to include water buffalo, a hoarse horse, former caged tigers, and the bactrian camels of Mongolia. Players can vote on their preferred animal ammo type by joining the official Stronghold Discord server and reacting to the trebuchet vote post in the #announcements channel.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/907650/Stronghold_Warlords/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kK-Ue_sssbg
Join the Stronghold Discord - https://discord.gg/u3ms8MK

The latest episode in our 'Soldiers of Warlords' series finally takes us to feudal Japan, as we reveal the first Japanese troop type coming to Stronghold: Warlords. With the ability to charge down enemy units foolish enough to stand in their way and eliminate high profile targets like enemy Lords, the Samurai makes for a unique addition to your medieval army. True to their historical roots and long history in games, we've tried to do justice to these disciplined feudal fighters with interesting attributes and a powerful unit ability.



We also return once more to ancient China with the reveal of two additional Imperial troop types, namely the mace-wielding Guardsman and almost unstoppable Imperial Warrior. Expensive to recruit and powerful once mastered, these Imperial troops will make a serious dent in any enemy siege force. With the Guardsman's ability to deal area damage when he swings his Heavy Mace and the high damage output of the thickly armoured Warrior, we expect Imperial troops to feature in the later stages of the single player campaign and online multiplayer.



We hope you enjoy today's video and look forward to even more unit reveals as we approach launch later this year! With 16 troop types and even more siege equipment, we're aiming for Warlords to provide players with more tactical siege options than ever. In bringing back classic siege weapons, features and making the most of our new setting with all-new troop types, Warlords is being designed as the definitive 3D Stronghold.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/907650/Stronghold_Warlords/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgHaRbd9WkY
Join the Stronghold Discord - https://discord.gg/u3ms8MK

Now that Stronghold: Warlords is deep into development and approaching launch later this year, we thought it would be a great time to reveal 100 small but interesting facts about our upcoming castle sim. Taking the form of a new rapid-fire Q&A, today Firefly's community team answers as many Stronghold fan questions as possible in under 20 minutes!



Tackling these 100 questions are Natasha and Nick, who take them all on in quickfire fashion. Covering everything from core mechanics and design to a possible beta version and even the game's final price, we attempt to provide as much information as possible at this stage in development. While we can't answer every question for a variety of reasons, be they design, technical or otherwise, we can be open and transparent about the development process about each new title. So if your request or question wasn't answered today rest assured it will be in later videos or even future entries in the Stronghold series.



During the last year we've released countless trailers, gameplay videos and development diaries, with the goal remaining to keep you informed and entertained. Each update brings with it a flood of new requests and questions, so if you don't find the answer you're looking for in today's video then worry not! Simply head on over to our official Stronghold Discord (link above) and put it in our 'Warlords-Questions' channel.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/907650/Stronghold_Warlords/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1tv4y3GBK4
Join the Stronghold Discord - https://discord.gg/u3ms8MK

Today we're has revealing three new siege weapons coming to Stronghold: Warlords! Ranging from classic Siege Towers to new-to-the-series fortification destroyers like the Korean Hwacha and Chinese winged rockets, our latest entry in the series will allow you to infiltrate, decimate and obliterate castle walls however you choose.



For this game we're seeking to balance explosive siege weapons inspired by Chinese, Korean and Mongolian history with fan favourites recreated from past Stronghold games. Players will use gunpowder weaponry to protect their castle walls and eliminate enemy forces, but also rely on series classics to win the day.



From the humble fire lance to the deadly Hwacha, with more siege weapons to be revealed closer to launch, these weapons of war changed the course of military history. While these new tools will be balanced against other units and gunpowder-less siege weapons, players will also have options to enable stronger castle walls as a means of further tweaking the game balance.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/907650/Stronghold_Warlords/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jO308gbCg8Q
Join the Stronghold Discord - https://discord.gg/u3ms8MK

In today’s video Firefly Studios developers Matt and Paul walk us through the last three months of production, covering everything from campaigns to code. These two senior members of the team were kind enough to take some time out of their day to reflect on recent builds, design decisions and advances toward release. This is followed up by a lengthy FAQ featuring the ten of the most commonly asked community questions covering a possible beta demo, graphical improvements, easter eggs and more!



Rest assured we will continue release more Stronghold: Warlords video updates over the coming weeks and months, while taking into account new social distancing guidelines. With development diaries, interviews and new trailers currently being crafted, we’ll continue to keep you up to date on the latest units, siege engines and buildings being added to game.



Warlords is our next mainline Stronghold title, a new strategy and simulation castle builder taking the series into the Far East for the very first time. Stronghold: Warlords will feature historical campaigns, unique strategy genre innovations and as always a memorable cast of characters. The game is currently available for wishlist and is on course for release later this year.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/907650/Stronghold_Warlords/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3z_cmfTfF0
We're back with more raw gameplay of Stronghold: Warlords, our upcoming RTS castle sim! Today's video showcases of our first full mission taken from the Chinese portion of our main single-player campaign, featuring legendary figure Qin Shi Huang and infamous rebel warlord Lao Ai.

So sit back and relax as Lao Ai's fort is decimated by player-controlled warlord attacks, Hwachas, Fire Oxen, classic Catapults and more in a devastating display of gunpowder-fuelled destruction! Combining our first ever use of gunpowder in the Stronghold series with some incredible historic weaponry and the new warlords system, this new demo should give you a flavour of things to come.



The demo also features new production chains and economy mechanics unique to Vietnam, China, Mongolia and Japan and firsts for the Stronghold series as a whole. Adding a fresh layer of resource and management gameplay has been a core goal since the start of development. So expect even more sim gameplay in the final release, as we continue to blend our two beloved genres of real time strategy and simulation.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/907650/Stronghold_Warlords/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeWC83jAJLk
Join the Stronghold Discord - https://discord.gg/u3ms8MK

It gives us great pleasure to reveal that our upcoming ‘castle sim’ Stronghold: Warlords will include a bonus economic campaign! Available at launch and featuring Warlord’s very own version of the Scribe, this six mission campaign will feature feudal events, weather and unique objectives.



Stronghold: Warlords will feature several single player game modes, with the main story split between our combat-heavy military campaign and the more city-builder focused bonus campaign. The full four-part historical military campaign will be set across ancient Vietnam, China, Japan and Mongolia, with players balancing between castle besieging and economic gameplay to succeed over 24 missions.



Alongside this there will be a new ‘Path of Peace’ bonus campaign centered around castle building, resource gathering and reacting to feudal events. With the ability to boost or crush a player’s popularity, events will change fortunes with the coming of monsoon rains, lightning storms, bandit attacks, wildfires, festivals, typhoons and more!



Players will have to make the most of Warlords’ new castle sim mechanics to battle against thinning food supplies, accidental gunpowder explosions, local bandits and revolt from their own peasants. Temples must be built to produce Spirit, Hovels created to house castle dwellers, farms to feed and tailors to clothe them. In addition players will be able to show their true colours with feudal entertainment and torture devices available to instill love or fear in the hearts of their subjects. If all else fails tax, torture or treat peasants to adjust their mood accordingly!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/907650/Stronghold_Warlords/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DujbdkMBuUI
Join the Stronghold Discord - https://discord.gg/u3ms8MK

From the moment we deployed that very first Trebuchet nearly 20 years ago to today's rampaging Fire Ox in Stronghold: Warlords, our castle sim series has a long history of siege warfare. So assemble your Laddermen and load up your Catapults, because today we bring you our first episode in a brand new series called ‘The Siege Engines of Stronghold’. We're kicking things off with a mixture of classic fan favourite castle conquerors and brand new tower topplers, diving in with humble Laddermen, trusty Mantlets, classic Catapults and chaotic Fire Oxen!



Based on the historical sieges of ancient China, ranging from Tian Dan’s 3rd century BC assault on the city of Jimo through to the Siege of De’an in 1132 AD, the Fire Ox has an interesting history. With incendiary fabrics attached to its tail and spears at its side, this living weapon was an unexpected force to be reckoned with. Capable of decimating enemy siege lines before they knew what hit them, the Fire Ox was an unorthodox but effective tactical solution to a common siege scenario. Alongside series classics like the Mantlet, Laddermen and Catapult, the Fire Ox rounds out this first set of siege weapons to be revealed for the latest entry in our series.



Players will be able to use virtual gunpowder in their castle defences, economy buildings and siege weapons, which will all use this new resource type in different ways. Fire Oxen, Fire Lancers, gunpowder traps and more will build on the series’ love of fire to give players completely new options for blowing apart rival castles in story mode, skirmish or online against friends. As Nick announces in the video, this is merely the first of several episodes in our new Siege Engines mini-series. So make sure you Wishlist for future instalments covering the revered Trebuchet and more!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/907650/Stronghold_Warlords/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3s4AkWnL7Y
Join the Stronghold Discord - https://discord.gg/u3ms8MK

Nearly in its 20th year, the Stronghold series has a few consistent staples we wouldn't dream of changing. One of these is a history of memorable songs and full soundtracks composed by Robert L. Euvino!

From fan favourite hits like 'Castle Jam' in Stronghold 1 to soulful desert ballads such as 'Breathe' from Stronghold Crusader 2, music has been a highlight of every Stronghold game to date. Fans have grown accustomed to besieging set to had hard hitting orchestral clashes and castle building to the tune of peaceful lutes and idyllic violins, so we're pleased to announce that Stronghold: Warlords will once again deliver. The game will feature an all-new soundtrack and return to the modular 'Oud' musical system from the original Stronghold Crusader, providing a more seamless musical experience during gameplay.



So rest easy as Rob will indeed be returning to score the landscapes of Warlords, with music suited to the many ways you'll be governing over your lands with military force and cunning diplomacy. To celebrate we have put together a collection of early ambient compositions that Rob has created for the game so far. These are intended as mood setters to give you a small taste of the instruments, influences and styles you will be hearing in the final soundtrack.

We'll have much more on the audio side later down the line for Warlords, with video deep dives into the creation of the sound effects and full soundtrack planned. For now please enjoy this early preview of the music of Warlords!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/907650/Stronghold_Warlords/