Welcome to the second week of new game releases in 2024 and yet another week full of minor releases. Don't let that put you off though, as there are plenty of new games launching, some of which are not quite what you'd expect. As such, you can look forward to a week of RPG titles, a game where things go boom, a lot of beer, some bonesaws and repairing computers.

Archaelund / Monday 8 January
Explore a vast open world and crawl through dungeons in first person, then fight tactical turn-based battles from a top-down perspective. Guide your adventuring party through Archaelund, mankind's last frontier, and uncover its many secrets.

Gearbox Publishing and Blackbird Interactive have officially unveiled the system requirements for Homeworld 3, the highly anticipated next installment in the GOTY-winning sci-fi RTS series, launching in 2024. Blackbird Interactive continues its work to optimize the game to ensure the fidelity, scale and immersiveness of Homeworld 3's gameplay can be experienced across a wide array of PCs.

Players with the latest graphics cards and processors can enjoy the game in 4K with all of the settings turned up while players with older components can still experience Homeworld 3's hallmark 3D strategy experience with dynamic space battles and incredible visuals.

As we enter the last week of November and the first day of December, we might not have any AAA releases, but this week's major release does nonetheless hold a high production value and promises something a bit different when it comes to WWII RTS games. This week's other releases involve shapes, a JRPG, a retro FPS, something to do with the Sheriff of Nottingham and finally a world of steam.

Last Train Home / This week's major release / Tuesday 28 November
Embark on a desperate mission through the depths of a war-torn wasteland. Your goal is to guide Czechoslovak soldiers back home onboard an armored train, but the path ahead is fraught with peril. Caught in the middle of a brutal civil war between Russia's Red and White Armies, your unit must remain in fighting shape, managing what little resources you have and maintaining morale at all costs. Venture through the bleak and unforgiving landscape of Siberia, where the freezing cold and the merciless environment will push you to your very limit. Resources are scarce and your crew is exhausted, but you must keep pushing forward.

Unlock the rich history and stories of two remarkable civilizations—The Mountain Royals is now live! The exciting next expansion is available now on Steam, and the Microsoft & Xbox Stores. There so much to delve in to with two new civilizations, three new, fully-voiced campaigns, plus the newly updated Persian civilization.

Prepare to embark on a legendary journey as we introduce the "The Mountain Royals" DLC for Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition. Unlock the rich history and untold stories of two remarkable civilizations, the Armenians and Georgians, and immerse yourself in three captivating new campaigns: Tamar, Thoros the Great, and Ismail. Lead the Charge! Forge Empires! Get "The Mountain Royals" DLC Now and Conquer History Anew!

Accompanying The Mountain Royals expansion will be an update including a massive rework of the Persian civilization! This update will be available to everyone who owns the base game of Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition, whether you have purchased the upcoming The Mountain Royals expansion or not. Prepare to embark on a legendary journey in "The Mountain Royals" DLC for Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition. Unlock the rich history and untold stories of two remarkable civilizations, the Armenians and Georgians, and immerse yourself in three captivating new campaigns: Tamar, Thoros the Great, and Ismail.

The Persian Civilization Identity
As more civilizations were released through additional expansions, we found the Persian civilization was slowly becoming less unique and their primary identity as a Knight civilization had become less meaningful. We strived for the way the Persians are represented in-game to incorporate additional design, while representing their rich history, creating more unique tools for the Persian civilization's toolbox. We wanted to provide you with more interesting strategic choices, and ways for you to engage your opponents, all while representing them from the early Middle Ages to late empire.

We are excited to introduce the The Mountain Royals DLC for Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition! Unlock the rich history and untold stories of two remarkable civilizations, available now to pre-order with a 15% discount! Our teams have been working on The Mountain Royals for some time, expanding the storytelling of Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition. As we announce this DLC publicly and make it available for pre-order, we're aware of the events currently affecting modern day Armenians. The Mountain Royals has not been designed as a comment or reference to modern day events.

The Georgians
Carve out a sturdy kingdom in the shadow of the Caucasus Mountains and use the rugged terrain to your advantage as you repulse countless foreign invasions. The Georgian unique unit is the Monaspa, a brawny cavalry unit whose strength increases in numbers. During the early medieval period, the regions south of the Caucasus Mountains were divided among numerous petty kingdoms that eluded foreign dominance largely through geographical isolation. Although the Byzantine Empire occasionally attempted to extend its influence into these polities, no significant lasting gains were made. However, the constant threat of foreign invasion catalyzed a gradual shift towards unity. In the early 11th century, Bagrat III finally succeeded in gathering these formerly squabbling states into the Kingdom of Georgia.

Get on board the Last Train Home, a Survival RTS set in grim World War 1, inspired by real events of the Czechoslovak Legion trapped in the chaos of civil war in the heart of Russia. Aboard an armored train, you must venture into the unforgiving landscape of Siberia and safely bring your soldiers back home. Play the freshly released demo at Steam Next Fest now, before Last Train Home arrives on PC on November 28!

About Last Train Home
The Great War is over - but the fight continues. Command a legion of soldiers desperately trying to make their way home amidst the chaos of civil war. Lead them through the unforgiving wilderness onboard an armored train. Manage your crew and resources and try to survive.

Just a few weeks ago at Gamescom we announced that an expansion for Age of Empires IV—The Sultans Ascend—would be coming soon. Today we're thrilled to let our PC and Xbox console players around the world know that they'll be able to play this exciting new content on November 14! Pre-orders are available now for everyone wanting to graduate The Sultans Ascend from their wishlist and begin counting down the days.

This new Age of Empires IV single player campaign takes place in the Middle East during the European Crusades. You'll take on the role of the Muslim resistance to the invasion and follow the story of well-known Muslim leaders, their struggles with the Crusaders, and the battles they fought. Our story begins with the First Crusade at the end of the 11th century, when Muslim provinces are mired in rivalry with one another.

Hail Commanders. Alongside the cinematic campaign and multiplayer modes already announced, those with a keen eye for the ever shaping landscape of the Realm before us may have noticed some exciting updates unveiled recently over on our Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin Steam store page. It's time to discover more in our latest video here (see below).

A real-time strategy game from Frontier, set in the iconic Warhammer universe. Become a warlord and lead four unique factions to conquer the wild and savage Realm of Ghur in tense and tactical battles. Wage a campaign of brutal conquest in this realm-shattering real-time strategy game set in the Warhammer Age of Sigmar universe.

It's high-time that we released the full demo for Tempest Rising. Get a taste for Tempest Rising in this playable demo! Experience the first mission of both the Global Defence Forces and the Tempest Dynasty in their desperate struggle for dominance and resources. The classic Real-Time Strategy experience that you love and remember.

Classic RTS action meets modern production and performance in Tempest Rising. Inspired by RTS greats of the 1990s and 2000s, Tempest Rising is a classic, base-building real time strategy game set in a modern day alternative history war scenario. It features 3 unique factions, each with its own approach to combat and economy and offering a variety of strategies for players of all stripes, maps with neutral structures to contest and neutral populations to contend with, deep and rewarding gameplay that keeps a focus on strategy while rewarding skill.

Roguelike inspiration meets Real-Time Strategy in Homeworld 3's new co-op mode, War Games. Commanders will need to manage fleet strength across waves of enemies and claim powerful artifacts that augment ships with each completed objective. Based on the results, players will unlock additional artifacts and starting fleets that keep the challenge fresh. Launching February 2024.

War Games, the all-new three player co-op mode extends your game beyond the campaign. Fusing Homeworld's RTS gameplay with roguelike inspiration, commanders take on a randomized series of fleet combat challenges. Claim powerful Artifacts that augment your ships with more power, speed, and, of course, weapons. Based on your results, you'll unlock new fleets to shake up your strategy.

Welcome onboard, Commanders! Tindalos Interactive and Focus Entertainment, in collaboration with 20th Century Games, are proud to announce the launch of Aliens: Dark Descent, a strategic, real-time, squad-based, tactical action game set in the iconic Alien universe. Additionally, a new spine-tingling Launch Trailer was also dropped (see below), leading the way for fans to learn more about the Xenomorph threat that lurks on Planet Lethe. Aliens: Dark Descent is available now on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and PC, globally.

You are the commander. They are your weapon. In Aliens: Dark Descent, players command a squad of hardened Colonial Marines as they attempt to stop a terrifying new threat on Planet Lethe. Led as one unit with intuitive controls on keyboard & mouse as well as on controller, the squad takes on real-time combat against iconic Xenomorphs, rogue operatives from the insatiable Weyland-Yutani, and a host of horrifying creatures new to the Alien universe. Using a range of tactical abilities, players will unravel an authentic Alien narrative full of sinister secrets, diving in and exploring the horrors and wonders of a cinematic, narrative campaign.

The Stormcast Eternals are mortal heroes transformed into supernatural warriors in the forges of Azyr. They are the God-King's wrath made manifest, and they were created for one single purpose: outright war! In Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin, they are led by Sigrun, a commander of the Stormcast Eternals detachment sent to defend a Dawnbringer settlement known as Harkanibus.

Beset by relentless Orruk Kruleboyz raids, Sigrun must embark on a perilous mission to help them turn the tides of war. Learn more about how this formidable faction plays as well as more details about the Direct Step system offered to those playing on gamepad in the first of our Faction Focus video series (below).

As we are about to enter the second to last week of June, we got another packed week of new releases, with this week's AAA title being an action RTS game that may involve things exploding out of your chest. The rest of next week's release contains a mix of mostly several new FPS games, but also some Mayan action and a different take on the racing game genre.

Aliens: Dark Descent / This week's AAA title / Tuesday 20 June
Drop into the gripping journey of Aliens: Dark Descent, a squad-based, single-player action game in the iconic Alien franchise. Lead your soldiers in real-time to stop a new and terrifying kind of Xenomorph outbreak on Planet Lethe.

The Great War is over, but a new battlefront emerges in the heart of Russia. Brace yourself for an immersive gaming experience inspired by real historical events. Last Train Home thrusts players into the grim aftermath of the First World War. As a commander of the Czechoslovak Legion, you'll find yourself trapped in the chaos of civil war, with a single objective: to safely navigate your men through the horrors of the new conflict and bring them back home.

Venture into an unforgiving landscape aboard an armored train, traversing the perilous frozen expanse of Siberia. Your journey will bring your men to their limits as you face relentless challenges and make life-or-death decisions at every turn. In this gripping tale, survival hinges upon your tactical prowess, astute resource management, and honed combat skills. Will you lead your crew to salvation?

This coming week we have a AAA racing title coming for those that are into games which involve driving vehicles at dangerously high speeds. For those of you that prefer something else, we have space battles, RPGs, Will Smith, horror and theme park related games, although several of those titles seem to incorporate danger and high speeds as well.

F1 23 / This week's AAA title / Friday 16 June
Be the last to brake in EA SPORTS F1 23, the official videogame of the 2023 FIA Formula One World Championship, featuring all the updated 2023 cars with the official F1 lineup of your favorite 20 drivers and 10 teams.

Blackbird Interactive and Gearbox Publishing have jointly announced that development on Homeworld 3 is being extended - a message was shared on social media and HW3-related store pages yesterday: "We are moving the launch of Homeworld 3 from the first half of 2023 to February 2024 so that we deliver the quality experience that fans deserve." The long anticipated follow-up to Homeworld 2 (2003) has been delayed numerous times since its 2019 unveiling and start of a crowd funding campaign, but yesterday's news arrived quite close to an expected summer-time launch - some of the fanbase will not be happy about another postponement, but it is encouraging that Blackbird Interactive (a studio founded by ex-Relic veterans) is not rushing an unfinished product to market.

The joint statement elaborates further: "Our primary goal is to deliver a Homeworld experience that lives up to the standards set by its predecessors and is worthy of this series' incredible legacy. Homeworld 3 is shaping up to be exactly that, but in order to fully realize that vision we need more time to refine and polish the game. We deeply appreciate your passion and dedication to this game, and we are working hard to get Homeworld 3 to you as soon as we can." The team encourages fans to take a look at a quick Q&A rundown which semi-explains their decision to delay HW3: "We want to deliver this game as soon as possible, but we can't and shouldn't do that at the cost of quality or the pillars the franchise is built on." A more in-depth preview event is lined up for the interim time before the February 2024 launch: "We are looking forward to sharing our biggest Homeworld 3 progress update yet later this summer. We've been working on a lot behind the scenes, and we can't wait to show everyone."

Today, Focus Entertainment and Tindalos Interactive, in collaboration with 20th Century Games, revealed a new Gameplay Overview Trailer which offers fans a deeper dive into Aliens: Dark Descent. The video's in-depth footage and commentary showcases the narrative, protagonists, and gameplay mechanics of the upcoming strategic real-time squad-based tactical action game set in the iconic Alien universe. Aliens: Dark Descent releases June 20 on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series, Xbox One and PC.

You are the commander, your squad is your weapon
Aliens: Dark Descent features a fully-fledged tactical campaign filled with tense moments, deep strategy, and terrifying revelations. As you explore further, you'll progress in a complex story and attempt to solve the mysteries of Planet Lethe. Players will manage their squad as a single unit, thanks to innovative and intuitive controls on both keyboard & mouse and controller. Marines react intelligently to orders thanks to a unique Squad Behavior System that dispatches them automatically on the field. When the Xenomorph threat gets overwhelming, they can slow down time at any moment to focus on tactical decisions in the heat of the moment.

Over the last 20 years, Age of Empires II has consistently been viewed as the cornerstone of this great RTS franchise. Praised for its myriad mechanical improvements over the first game, unique units and the addition of gates to stop yourself accidentally imprisoning your on-screen warriors, Age of Empires II ushered in an era almost as unforgettable as the in-game factions we love to roleplay.

But a groundbreaking sequel always has an origin story that started it all, and the first Age of Empires title is by no means being left behind. The latest expansion, Return of Rome, is set to bring integral parts of the game's original content into Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition as its own self-contained offering, plus some brand new additions for fans to get stuck into.

Everything you need to know - what to expect with the newest Return of Rome DLC for Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition. What is Return of Rome? Return of Rome is a completely new type of expansion, which brings classic Age of Empires gameplay, style and key experiences as a brand new self-contained experience. Also...

Starting this weekend, some of your favorite content creators are ready to show YOU an exclusive preview of the upcoming DLC for Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition - Return of Rome. Want to know more about the upcoming addition of the 16 Age of Empires civilizations, the brand-new Lac-Viet, or the new Romans to Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition? Well, we have fantastic news for you: some of your favorite content creators have been granted early access to the Return of Rome DLC, and you'll be getting a sneak preview of the exclusive units, civilization bonuses, and other new additions ahead of release!

Baltarus is waiting for you, soldier. You can battle on the scorching deserts either as a Commander in RTS mode or as Infantry in FPS. Welcome to the world of Silica, a crossover of FPS and RTS, taking place in the scorching deserts of Baltarus, an exo-planet located thousands of light-years from Earth. Your mission is to locate and harvest Balterium, a powerful element with tremendous potential, or defend Baltarus from the invading humans as an insect-like alien. Choose from several game modes, including Strategy, where two teams build, harvest, and fight for domination.

Hello soldiers. The day you've been waiting for is finally here! Silica is out on Steam in Early Access. You can now immerse yourself in the scorching deserts of Baltarus, where RTS seamlessly blends with FPS. The price of the game is set at $19.99 during Early Access and at $24.99 after its conclusion. Choose your role between the Commander in real-time strategy, whose mission is to build the base and structures needed to achieve victory, or as an Infantry soldier in FPS, where you fight on the front lines against your enemies. You'll get to control all the units and vehicles along with their arsenal.

From May 4th through 15th, owners of Age of Empires IV on Steam will have an opportunity to dive into all the amazing content, updates and changes coming in Season Five! The Age of Empires IV Public Update Preview (PUP) presents an opportunity for our incredible players to get hands-on experience with exciting changes ahead of major updates. They also provide an opportunity to give feedback and help us prepare for upcoming major releases. PUP builds will generally contain new features, content, balance changes and bug fixes.

A New Game Mode, Team Voice Chat, Trade Updates and More!
Among the content highlighted in this PUP is Empire Wars, a new, quick-to-action game mode where players start with a burgeoning empire, ready to dive into combat or advance to the next Age! Players begin the match with a variety of pre-built buildings and villagers already tasked on resource collection. Not only that, but you'll be able to try out three news maps before they officially go live, including Golden Heights, Migration, and Volcanic Island!

As we leave the month of April behind us and move into May, we kick off the new month with a AAA horror first person shooter from Bethesda. The first week of May also brings a AAA 4X title, giant turtles, a Halo like game that adds an RTS element, multiple adventure titles and a game that's all about running away from conscription in the Russian army. Not a bad start to the month of May, if we may say so.

Redfall / This month's AAA title / Tuesday 2 May
The town of Redfall is under siege by a legion of vampires who have cut the island off from the outside world. Trapped with a handful of survivors, slay alone or squad up in open-world FPS action.

What's next for Northgard? A sneak peek into what the future holds for our favorite vikings...Ohoi! We're working hard on Northgard and you can expect a ton of new changes this year. Keep in mind this roadmap is mostly tentative, hence why no dates will be revealed as of today. But enough talk, here is what you came for...

The near future
Our next update is the annual major balancing patch. It is coming in the next month or so but it is not exclusively balancing that it will be bringing to the game. Before expanding the game further, it was important for us to focus on some of the more pressing matters that have been brought to our attention over the last few months.

The Return of Rome campaign is set for a May 16 2023 release date according to a tweet posted by the official Age of Empires account. The latest campaign expansion for Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition follows several (almost) yearly DLC drops since the re-mastered strategy game's debut in late 2019 - Lords of the West (January 2021), Dawn of the Dukes (August 2021) and Dynasties of India (April 2022). Last year's India campaign added a significant amount of content, in the form of three new civilizations: the Bengalis, Dravidians, and Gurjaras. Three new campaigns were added to the base game and introduced a trio of new empires: Babur, Rajendra, and Devapala. The entire Indian civilization within the game was renamed to the Hindustanis.

Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition - Return of Rome was first announced, albeit briefly, during a livestream on 25 October 2022, which celebrated the 25th anniversary of the real time strategy game series. Details are scarce about the actual content on offer, but the upcoming campaign is expected to feature all 16 of the original civilizations from the first entry in the franchise (AoE) according to an internal Xbox Games Studios memo.