Imagine for a moment – Hordes of burning infernal demon-like creatures surround armoured marines and walking mechanized tank as they fight the nigh endless number of enemy forces that look like they’ve come straight from the depths of hell.
What I’m describing isn’t the latest science fiction blockbuster or a classic 80s action movie like Aliens – but a situation you might just encounter in Frost Giant Game’s upcoming Real Time Strategy title, Stormgate. It might seem like the RTS genre has been on life support for the last decade or so but 2024 just might be the year that changes.
Created by former members of the development teams behind Warcraft 3, Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne and StarCraft 2 – Collectively some of Stormgate’s development team have helped craft longstanding titles that helped define the genre. Chris Metzen, the high profile game designer known for his work on DIablo, the Warcraft Franchise, lead designer of the original Starcraft consulted with Frost Giant Games during the early conceptual phases of development.
The leader of the Infernal Host faction is revealed towards the end of The Game Awards trailer so make sure to look out for that. Played by actor Simu Liu (2023’s Barbie, 2021’s Shang-Chi: Legend of the Seven Rings), the character – who is named Warz and will be a playable hero during the event of Stormgate’s campaign mode.
It’s not just a pedigree for developing genre defining titles that makes Stormgate so interesting but also the engine technology that Frost Giant Games have developed. Based upon Unreal Engine Technology, the Snowplay Engine supports impressive features like a max player count of 32 people, the ability for mass spectating, the inclusion of rollback netcode and so much more. It is quite clear from the technical overview in their 10 minutes Kickstarter video that Snowplay might just be what defines the capabilities expected from future RTS engines.
If you want to join the Human Vanguard or Infernal Host in 1 Vs. 1 online battles or help test out the really hype looking 3 vs. 1 co-op mode – the online multiplayer beta started on December 5th and access can be secured by backing their Kickstarter. Frost Giant Studios set a goal of $135,519 CDN dollars and right now their fund-raising effort is sitting at mind boggling 1.5 MILLION CDN as of press time. Frost Giant have managed to raise over 10x their original goal in only a couple of days.
Pledges start at $1 CDN but if you want access to the game (and who wouldn’t if you’ve read this far?) – the Founder’s Pack (priced at $25 USD) includes access to the game during a preview week expected to launch next summer, a hero unit for the vanguard faction, Army cosmetics and a Founder discord role. Those looking for immediate access to the game will have to shell out a bit more for the Deluxe Founder’s Pack (priced at $40 USD) which includes everything already mentioned plus a hero unit for the Infernal Host, a Chicken Pet and access to the first wave of Stormgate’s Beta.
Entry into the closed beta isn’t the only way to get a sneak peak at Stromgate before it enters Early Access next year. The high profile annual gaming tournament Dreamhack Atlanta will be hosting the first ever show matches with the under development RTS. The developers have also let some higher profile RTS content creators stream gameplay of the closed beta on both Youtube and Twitch.
We will have more coverage of Stormgate as development continues ahead of the 2024 launch into Early Access.