Our final pre-release update for Stronghold: Definitive Edition is a big one... As we reveal our post-release plans for the game!

We can now commit to two major updates for the game, with a new economic campaign and second castle trail planned alongside new maps and the usual mix of smaller features and fixes. These two updates will release early next year and arrive at the same time as one of two paid DLC military campaigns, which will each cost $2.99, £2.49 or €2.99.

It gives us great pleasure to confirm these today alongside a recap of community driven features added since our most recent public demo, which now include (optional) auto-trading and selectable team colours in all game modes! During our two public demos and player surveys thousands of you told us that post-launch support and paid DLC were both of interest, so we made plans to release these in early 2024.

Featuring a new story designed by series creator Simon Bradbury, our second economic campaign will involve the work of rebuilding a kingdom nearly shattered by the warring exploits of The Rat, Snake, Pig and Wolf. Narrated by OG Stronghold voice actor Jay Simon, you will travel north to restore peace and order to homelands ravaged by the conflict of the military campaigns over the course of seven unique missions as part of our larger Winter Update.

Following on from this our Spring Update will include a second Castle Trail, which will feature a ‘greatest hits’ mix of old and new historical castles to besiege and defend. As with the base game trail we’re looking at including at least 10 historical castles, with Polish strongholds making their long overdue debut.

Each of our two paid DLCs will release with these updates and come in the form of two new military campaigns, each offering 7 military missions. ‘Swine’s Bay’ and ‘Valley of the Wolf’ will feature the return of two popular series antagonists and lead directly on from the 14 missions included in the Stronghold: Definitive Edition base game. You can expect the difficulty to scale up, some formidable new win conditions and a true challenge for series veterans!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2140020/Stronghold_Definitive_Edition/

In our second Stronghold: Definitive Edition dev diary we discuss the genesis of the game, while delving into changes made as part of this new edition. Join Stronghold series veterans Simon and Paul, as they provide insight into the creation of our latest game from their unique perspectives.

We discuss the aims of Stronghold: DE and goals for everything from new single player content, all the way down to the smallest quality of life enhancements. Starting with the initial project pitch, then leading to questions of the scale of changes and finer elements like the actual difficulty of the new content, the road to release has been carefully considered.

It also gives us great pleasure in this video to confirm some of these changes and a few entirely new ones! In response to player feedback we have increased troop and building limits across all game modes, allowing for up to 3000 units and 2000 buildings at a time. By doubling these limits from the original game, we hope to provide you with more epic Stronghold sieges than ever before.

We then round off our trio of behind-the-scenes videos by adding production expert Dave to the mix! It's time to talk Steam multiplayer, Workshop and the other improvements coming to your favourite game modes. What to expect from Workshop support, more details on multiplayer in DE and planned improvements to Free Build mode are all touched on, with extra insight into the development process of this unique game.

Making Stronghold more accessible has always been a key goal of the Definitive Edition and bringing our amazing multiplayer community - as well as the awesome maps they've created over the course of two decades - front and centre within Steam is how we're hoping to accomplish that. Thousands of fan creations can soon exist within Steam Workshop and be easily accessible for future generations of Stronghold players, with an improved set of multiplayer options to support years of continued play.

Add to this a few choice improvements to Free Build - everyone's favourite cozy game mode - and you have plenty to look forward to come release. In the meantime please check out our recent Free Build Q&A and Campaign Gameplay videos, where we confirm new features like Rally Points and discuss the series' 20 year legacy:

Stay tuned for more updates between now and release as we process all your valuable feedback and incorporate as many changes as we can before launch. Thank you once again for your continued support and we hope you join us on November 7th by wishlisting the game on Steam!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2140020/Stronghold_Definitive_Edition/