The Christmas Truce is live! From today until January 5, you can call a truce and enter No Man’s Land by choosing the ‘Christmas Truce’ option from the Play menu. Meet up with other players in a peaceful setting based on the real Christmas Truces of 1914 on the Western Front. You can read more about the history and process of building the Christmas Truce in this article.

In the Christmas Truce, the only teams that matter are football teams. Instead of guns, you can throw snowballs at other players, maybe play a friendly game of football on an improvised pitch, or just walk around and enjoy all the little details and scenes the truce map has to offer.


Witness a handshake ceremony yourself in-game.

Relax at the bonfire, listen to recordings of some old Christmas Carols, attend a burial in the temporary peace, and of course…

In the Christmas Truce map you can find post offices that allow you to send people outside the game digital Christmas cards. Every card you send counts as one entry in a Christmas raffle, where you could win game keys or merch – from peppermint cans to chocolate and coffee! We'll announce winners after Christmas!

There are multiple post offices around the map, each with different post cards – can you find them all?


This is the French post office.

The time to engage in some Alpine warfare is drawing ever closer! Don’t forget that you can already wishlist Isonzo on Steam! In case you missed it, our last Isonzo dev diary revealed character customization, including some fine mustache options!

Wishlist Isonzo now!

We’re happy to announce that both Tannenberg and Isonzo from the WW1 Game Series have been nominated for an Indie of the Year award over on IndieDB. The WW1 Game Series wouldn’t be where it is today without all of you, and we’re grateful for all the encouragement and support you’ve given us over the years!

If you’d like to vote for Tannenberg and Isonzo, there are three days left!





Don't forget that you can already wishlist Isonzo!

Wishlist Isonzo now!

Today is Remembrance day. A memorial day observed by Commonwealth member states – and often marked by many other countries – it grew out of Armistice Day, which was a tradition until during the Second World War, when the name was changed. The Commonwealth of Nations chose Remembrance Day, while the United States chose Veterans Day.

Armistice Day was so named for the Armistice of Compiègne which went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month – November 11, 1918. For many, this marked the end of World War One.


The signing of the Armistice.

The Poppy is a common symbol of Remembrance Day, hence why it’s sometimes also referred to as Poppy Day. It became the symbol of the Royal British Legion, a veterans’ organization. They sell paper Poppy flowers which one can wear on their clothing, in memory of those who’ve fallen. The proceeds will go towards supporting war victims and families who’ve lost a family member during war.

In Verdun & Tannenberg, you’ll be able to commemorate the Armistice as well. There will be 2 minutes of silence when you start up the game, rewarding you with a special Remembrance medal afterwards if you choose to participate.



Furthermore, we have a special poppy emote in our Discord especially for this day. Feel free to share in our Discord if you’re remembering anyone special and how you’re planning to do so.
For the Facebook users, there’s a special Poppy filter that you can use for your profile picture. You can click here to be directed to the filter.

Another campaign, another Entente victory:

Central Powers casualties: 1,933,610
Entente casualties: 1,819,664


For our next campaign, we might just have to shake things up a bit and offer some kind of reward to see if it's possible for the Central Powers to even come close to winning...

For those who don't know, Movember is a charity for men's health, which started out in 2003 as two Australian friends growing mustaches to see if they could bring them back into fashion. A year later, inspired by how the mustaches could start conversations, they started a website and made a drive for charity, raising $40,000. By 2006 they were raising millions for charity each year, and it's only grown since then.

Since 2003, Movember has funded more than 1,250 men’s health projects around the world, challenging the status quo, shaking up men’s health research and transforming the way health services reach and support men.

Read more on the official Movember website.
Of course, the First World War was back when moustaches were still in fashion - take a look at these four below! We're running a poll on Twitter to see who has the greatest moustache...



By the way, this vote isn't just for fun - the outcome will influence something with the WW1 Game Series as well, so think carefully before you click! Keep your eyes open, we have more plans for Movember and the WW1 Game Series this month...

We're still hard at work on Isonzo, and we have plans for a new dev blog soon. Here's a little teaser for what kind of subject you might expect.

If you look carefully at the menu background, you might spot some spooky details today...



Both Verdun and Tannenberg are 60% off in the Steam Halloween Sale! Tempt a friend to enlist for the Western Front, or take a trip to the Eastern Front if you haven't already visited...

https://store.steampowered.com/app/633460/Tannenberg/

This is the Dodengang, or 'Trench of Death', a preserved trench, museum and memorial where many soldiers died during the war. It sits on the banks of the Yser Canal, and was an essential part of the network of trenches and bunkers which prevented the Germans making significant gains across the canal.

Belgian troops stationed along the Ieperlee canal on October 18, 1914, had their peace shattered by a heavy artillery barrage that heralded the coming of the German Fourth Army. The goal of the Germans was to break through and capture the vital channel ports of Dunkirk and Calais.

Both sides faced brutal artillery fire – the Belgians from the heavy guns of the Fourth Army, the Germans from British warships with howitzers and 152mm naval guns. Alongside Belgian bravery, those guns would see off the first German attack.


HMS Mersey, one of three British monitors which shelled the Germans.

More assaults would follow in the coming days, with German troops eventually gaining a bridgehead over the canal by stealth on October 22. Despite valiant efforts, the Belgians and a force of French marines were taking heavy losses in the important town of Diksmuide, and it didn’t look like they would be able to hang on. The Belgian King Albert I decided it was time for drastic measures, and on October 25 the canal lock gates at Nieuwpoort were opened.

A huge stretch of countryside gradually flooded in the following days, just in time as the Germans broke through Belgian second line positions on October 30. A final attack was planned for the last day of October, but it had to be called off as the flooding continued and threatened to trap the forward German forces. The town of Diksmuide would fall to the Germans 10 days later, but thanks to the flooding the last corner of Belgium would never be captured. It was an impressive performance by the Belgians, who suffered an estimated 20,000 casualties in their defense, but may have been able to inflict even more losses on the Germans.



The Water and Blood 1914 campaign is running for another three days, until October 31st. Right now the Entente have a lead of 91,000 casualties - will they manage to increase that to a lead of 100,000 by the end of the campaign?

It's in your hands!

In October 1914, the Belgian army put up a tenacious defense against the German Fourth Army as they attempted to cross the Yser river and Yperlee Canal in order to break through to critical channel ports. They were ultimately successful in halting the German advance, and would continue to hold their ground until the very end of the war. Although 95% of Belgium was German occupied, the country never completely fell.


A postcard showing Belgian troops defending a crossing of the Yser river.

Our latest campaign event will run until October 31, when intentional flooding forced a German withdrawal. Which side will be able to win this battle of attrition?

All casualties in Frontlines and Maneuver game modes in Verdun and Tannenberg will be added to the total losses, and the winning side will be whoever suffers the least killed and wounded. Too many First World War battles essentially became meatgrinders (or were even conceived as such from the start) and so it is for our campaigns.

Read the Campaign FAQ here!

In case you haven’t been following Isonzo on Steam, there has been a new blog talking about the new rifle grenades and a few other weapons. The rifle grenades used in WW1 were early ones, and each nation often came up with very different designs.

You can read the sixth Isonzo Intel here!


#1: Italian Benaglia Rifle Grenade, #2 Austro-Hungarian Zeitzünder Gewehrgranate, 1st Variant.

We just released a new dev blog for Isonzo! This time it's all about our new class system, which will allow you more freedom in how you equip yourself. Read the basics below, or get all the juicy details in the full blog:

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1556790/view/2967296416598907677
In Isonzo we wanted to tailor the class selection to the nature of the fighting on the Italian Front and to reflect the new gameplay features we are introducing such as construction. We want to put a larger focus on non-combat roles for players to shape the battlefield and help their team members fight more effectively. The focus is on working together and advancing as a team, and the selection of classes reflects this.

The classes we have follow a generic class “archetype”, but for both the Kingdom of Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire there will be different weapons and uniforms based on actual historical units that fulfilled these roles. There will be more info in future blogs about the specifics of each class and how these are implemented per faction.

The below images are from our brand-new UI that is still very much Work In Progress (some icons are still a bit crusty). As you can also see we’ve significantly upped the level of detail on our characters as well. We’ll talk more about what that means as we draw closer to launch!


All factions have classes based on historical units, such as the Italian Alpini as mountaineer versus Austrian Kaiserjagers.

[url=
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1556790/view/2967296416598907677]Read the full article on the Isonzo Steam Hub![/url]

107 years ago today, the First World War began as Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. This was a month after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand by Gavrilo Princip. It was a turbulent affair, and only a series of wild chances led to the death of the Archduke. That said, even if the assassination had never happened, Europe was a tinderbox waiting for a spark. It seems likely that some other event would have provided an excuse for the war.


A headline from an American newspaper. The writers likely didn’t imagine that the war in Europe would last more than four years, or that US troops would join the fighting.

In response to the Austro-Hungarian declaration of war, a series of other mobilizations and declarations were made. Russia gathered their troops, and in response Germany assembled an army and declared war on Russia. Luxembourg was occupied by German troops on August 2nd, and they declared war on France the day after. The invasion of Belgium began on August 4th, and Britain sent a demand to Germany to cease their attack under threat of war - predictably there was no response, and so Britain was at war with Germany by midnight of the 4th. The First World War had begun in earnest.

This month’s campaign is inspired by the fighting seen at the start of the war. The Germans saw considerable early success, before ultimately being halted outside of Paris during the First Battle of the Marne in September. On the Eastern Front, Russia made a successful advance into Galicia, but suffered enormous losses during the Battle of Tannenberg.

All casualties in Frontlines and Maneuver game modes in Verdun and Tannenberg will be added to the total. Too many First World War battles essentially became meatgrinders (or were even conceived as such from the start) and so it is for our campaigns. The Central Powers have lost all recent campaigns, often by large margins. Will it be different this time?

Read the Campaign FAQ here!



Furthermore, to commemorate the start of World War One, we’re holding a Commemoration event on our social media and Discord channel. From today, July 28, until August 8 we’ll be posting in black and white! Every day we will focus on something else, so be sure to check in daily to see what we’re up to.

Want to go more in-depth with fellow players, mods and devs? We have a special channel in our Discord in relation to our Commemoration event as well. If you haven’t already, be sure to join our Discord server by clicking here.

Alongside these events, the Film Memoir mode will be available for free for everyone on PC! Be sure to join us in the black and white posting by sharing your screenshots and clips while using this mode. Don’t forget to use the special hashtag #RememberWW1 so we can easily find the content you create while using this feature! And who knows, we might be highlighting some of your reporting efforts!



Verdun and Tannenberg were released on the Epic Games Store last Thursday, along with Verdun being free to claim there for a week. You’ve likely seen many new players in-game, let’s all welcome them to the WW1 battlefields!!

That’s all the news from the trenches for now!
Wishing you all the best from the WW1 Game Series team!

Attention soldiers on the Western front!


We would like to inform you that there's new Isonzo Intel for you all!
We've mentioned previously that there will be a new gamemode in Isonzo; Offensive.
In the latest dev blog, we discuss the Offensive more in depth, combined with new images, videos & gifs!



https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1556790/view/2981928042027184445

Thank you all for your continious support and excitement for Isonzo!
Be sure to wishlist Isonzo if you haven't already and follow our social media for Isonzo news as well!


Welcome to all the new players who joined us during the free weekend! We saw a great number of new players after the weekend. New recruits and veteran players, thank you for your support and love for the game!




Furthermore, the anniversary of the start of The Great War is approaching at the end of month. We can't say anything specific for now, but please keep your eye out for more WW1GameSeries news!


See you on the battlefield!