Slitherine et particulièrement Matrix Games fête cette semaine les wargames, proposant jusqu’au 18 septembre prochain un événement sur Steam grâce auquel vous pouvez bénéficier de nombreuses promotions : Home of Wargamers 2023.
Pour l’occasion, Matrix, qui se focalise plus sur les wargames, Slitherine de son coté se focalisant plus sur les jeux de stratégie (voir cette annonce l’an dernier), a fait hier une série d’annonces concernant neuf titres de son catalogue. Deux d’entre eux venant juste de sortir (le DLC Kursk pour Valor & Victory (voir cette brève) et la version Steam de Combat Mission – Fortress Italy (voir cette news)), les autres titres concernés allant suivre ultérieurement (j’y reviendrai prochainement dans les actualités).
En plus de ces annonces touchant des thèmes assez variés, c’est aussi l’occasion de voir l’éditeur et différents studios et développeurs s’exprimer au sujet de ces projets. Voici la rediffusion via la chaîne Matrix sur YouTube de la longue présentation faite hier sur la chaîne Twitch de Slitherine. Utilisez le sous-titrage automatique avec traduction en option si vous souhaitez mieux suivre tout ce qui est dit. Au delà de la vague de promotions et de discussions, ce show est l’occasion de ramener sur le devant de la scène, et donc y compris sur Steam, le thème des purs wargames.
Enfin notez que cet événement ne concerne pas uniquement le groupe Slitherine, plusieurs autres studios et ou éditeurs y ayant été associés, comme Hunted Cow, Panzer Division Games et Avalon Digital.
Communiqué
Serious Strategy Celebrated in Home of Wargamers Event
Renowned publisher Matrix Games unveiled expansions, events, updates, and other news to its arsenal of titles in new community-focused stream
Putting the shine on serious strategy. Matrix Games, the renowned publisher of everything wargame and part of the Slitherine Group, has earlier today hosted their new Home of Wargamers live stream on Twitch.
Celebrating Wargames
During the community event, the publisher shared exciting news, developer interviews, and showcased a series of new expansions and in-development updates for some of its major titles, including details on the upcoming Modern Naval Warfare and Command: Showcase – Operation Desert Falcon.To celebrate Home of Wargamers, two of Matrix Games’ titles welcomed a release today: Combat Mission added Combat Mission Fortress Italy to its sprawling franchise on Steam, including all DLCs now being available, while the turn-based tactics game Valor & Victory launched its latest expansion, Valor & Victory: Kursk.
“Home of Wargamers provides Matrix Games with an unprecedented opportunity to forge stronger connections with our dedicated and passionate community,” said Marco Minoli, Chief Marketing Officer of the Slitherine Group. “This event serves as an excellent platform to engage with our player base across our entire range of wargames. We are delighted to unveil captivating updates about our new and established franchises, and we are confident that our players will be thrilled with the news we unveiled today.”
The following Matrix Games’ titles were covered during the HOW event.
Modern Naval Warfare
Modern Naval Warfare is the next-generation naval combat simulator developed by The Maslas Brothers. Immersing players in the fast-paced and detailed world of modern naval combat, players take charge of the Virgina-class nuclear attack submarine SSN-774. They assume the role of a maritime commander with a host of crucial missions, including shadowing enemy fleets, hunting or escorting convoys, undertaking covert operations, and unleashing devastating land strikes. New details of Modern Naval Warfare were shown during the Home of Wargamers event.Armored Brigade II
It has been some time since Armored Brigade wrote the book on combined arms warfare. Now, it has returned to open a new chapter with Armored Brigade II. Set against the tense backdrop of the Cold War, the new wargame offers a plethora of enhancements and innovative features compared to its predecessor, including a graphical overhaul from 2D to a more immersive 3D environment. Furthermore, Armored Brigade II features a refined waypoint editor system, major improvements to the spotting-sharing system, enhanced infantry mechanics, expanded fire and air support options, and many more novelties.Command: Showcase – Operation Desert Falcon
Command: Modern Operations is the premier system for modeling advanced cross-domain modern warfare. While focused primarily on tactical and operational aspects, strategy plays a vital role as players of this detailed wargame simulate every aspect of a modern military engagement. Home of Wargamers unveiled the latest expansion, Command: Showcase – Operation Desert Falcon, featuring political and military considerations during a near-future scenario as France seeks to evacuate her citizens and personnel from Chad in the aftermath of a coup d’etat. Release Date: First Week of OctoberValor & Victory: Kursk
Valor & Victory, the fast-paced turn-based World War II tactics game by Yobowargames, has released its latest DLC today, Valor & Victory: Kursk. Based on Eastern Front’s Operation Citadel in 1943, the expansion contains new game features, including anti-tank ditches, new units, overrun mechanics, and new unit portraits. Ten new scenarios and maps, bigger than previous DLCs, can be found in this latest expansion, available today!
During the Home of the Wargamer event, it was also revealed that the new expansion, Valor & Victory: Pacific, is set to release later this year, focusing on battles such as New Guinea, Burma, and Guadalcanal. It will include two new nations, the Japanese and Chinese Nationalist armies, as well as 7 new maps, 11 new scenarios, and much more!Combat Mission Fortress Italy
To coincide with the Home of Wargamers, Combat Mission has seen an important addition to its franchise on Steam with the release of the Combat Mission Fortress Italy. This expansion focuses on the fighting in the southern European reaches during World War II, including new Italian forces and updated German and American units. Four challenging campaigns plus 17 stand-alone scenarios are featured in Combat Mission Fortress Italy.Nuclear War Simulator
Nuclear War Simulator is a highly detailed, dramatically realistic simulation visualizing the impact of humanity’s most dangerous invention – nuclear weapons. Having been released in early 2023 by indie developer Ivan Stepanov and Matrix Games, a host of fixes and improvements have found their way into the title since launch. A significant update to Nuclear War Simulator is coming later this year, featuring new tools, including a new objective system and new scenarios.Flashpoint Campaigns
Flashpoint Campaigns is a high-intensity Cold War-era strategy title focusing on battalion and regimental scale ground combat between NATO and the Warsaw Pact. Made by developers On Target Simulations, the game features an innovative asynchronous turn structure, detailed order of battles, realistic modeling of modern combat, 4 campaigns and over 25 single scenarios, dynamic weather, a robust scenario designer, and much more. Flashpoint Campaigns: Southern Storm was released in April 2023 as the core module for this new series. Flashpoint Campaigns: Central Storm is the first piece of DLC for this new title. The DLC will take place in central Germany and features Belgian, German, American, and Soviet formations. Flashpoint Campaigns: Central Storm will come with three new campaigns, multiple new scenarios, and a new free feature that will be added to the core game: helicopter assaults. Included as part of a free update alongside the DLC, Flashpoint Campaigns will now support independent transport units carrying dismounts. This new system will allow for the modeling of everything from airborne helicopter assaults by Spetsnaz units to the use of truck-bound motorized troops.Rule the Waves 3
The epic naval simulator Rule the Waves 3 launched on Steam in May 2023, providing a detailed and dynamic wargame modeling fleet management, maritime combat, including naval aviation and coastal defense, and ship design from 1890-1970. Players in Rule the Waves 3 can design their warships from the keel up, build up their nation’s navy and decide its strategy, and expertly engage in tactical battles. As laid out during the Home of Wargamers event, developers Naval Warfare Simulations are intent on continued support for the game, actively following up on player feedback. New features and mechanics in the work include UI improvements and UI scaling, ship design, updates to the combat engine, as well as the battle generation system. A skirmish mode, a historical editor, and pre-made scenarios are also being developed for Rule the Waves 3 as part of its first DLC.Strategic Command: World War I – Empires in Turmoil
Developer Fury Software showed their latest expansion in development during the Home of Wargamers event: Strategic Command: World War I – Empires in Turmoil. The upcoming DLC highlights some of the most turbulent conflicts gripping the second decade of the 20th century. Six new campaigns, plus new unit types and events, will be featured, from the Balkans to Siberia to East Africa.
