The newly-announced Stormgate is a science fantasy F2P RTS from Frost Giant Studios, which was founded in 2020 after Blizzard canned their RTS team. As you might expect, Frost Giant Studios is comprised of team members who worked on both Starcraft 2 and Warcraft 3, so they definitely have the pedigree behind them to create a good and long-lasting RTS title.
“We are building Stormgate for the real-time strategy community--past, present, and future,” said Tim Morten, CEO and production director at Frost Giant Studios. “Our vision is to create a social experience that breaks down the barriers that have kept people away, to welcome back players who have been waiting for the next great RTS, and to prove that the RTS genre can thrive once again.”
Stormgate takes place in a new post-apocalyptic setting where science fiction and fantasy meet. Hundreds of years into Earth's future, a near-extinction event for humanity is caused by the Infernals: a playable alien race of demonic invaders that tried to claim Earth for their own. They emerged through Stormgates, which are seemingly dormant portals that began pouring out demons and solar storms. Now the Infernals are returning, and it is up to humanity to climb into their 20-foot tall mechs and save the world.
“The Stormgate universe’s combination of science fiction and fantasy, along with our focus on character-driven narratives, will provide years of storytelling opportunities for our players to enjoy,” said Tim Campbell, president and game director at Frost Giant Studios. “Our team is building a best-in-class real-time strategy game that will continue the RTS tradition of high-skill competitive play while innovating in areas such as user interface and co-op to make the genre more approachable than ever before.”
Stormgate is built on Unreal Engine 5 and will support hundreds of units across a wide variety of maps and tilesets. The user interface is also being made more accessible by eliminating unnecessary inputs, such as automatically assigning units to control groups and streamlining gameplay. For those wanting to see more, June 12th's PC Gaming Show will feature Stormgate along with a bunch of other games.
Stormgate's beta will begin in 2023. By launch it will be on Steam, with the F2P title including these modes:
- A story-driven campaign that's playable solo or with a friend
- Fully integrated in-client esports, with 1v1 ranked matches and 3v3 team-based showdowns with unique win conditions
- Cooperative 3vE (three players vs. AI) mode that has its own progression system and ways to customize army abilities
- Custom games created by other members of the community through an in-game Editor
- Matches can also be spectated, and there's also "enhanced learning tools" for enterprising players working to get better
For more information on what may be the future of RTS, stay tuned to TechRaptor.
