Eugen Systems, the team behind the excellent and fun World War 2 RTS, Steel Division: Normandy 44, have some bad news for fans. The eagerly-awaited sequel to the game, which promises to expand and improve on the wargaming qualities and strategic layers of the original with this new title, has been delayed a fair bit.
Steel Division: Normandy 44, which was developed by Eugen Systems and published by Paradox Interactive, offers real-time visceral strategic action as players duel with the AI and each other in a very fast-paced and difficult struggle for supremacy. The game allowed players to command units from six different countries in the largest war ever waged, bringing together air and ground power in an orgy of violence which was surprisingly fun.
The second title in the franchise promises to expand on this premise by adding new maps, units and mechanics which will make the already intriguing RTS gameplay more strategic and fun. A big area of focus for the developers is improving upon the offerings by expanding content considerably. This sequel will have more than 600 units battling it out on 25 maps in multiple game modes. There’s a bit change in setting in store as well. Whereas the first game focused on the Allied invasions of Normandy in 1944, the sequel brings the focus to the east. The main focal point for the second game will be Operation Bagration, the 1944 Soviet counteroffensive that shattered German resistance. This was brutal and bloody fighting, as much of the war in the east was from the outset, and that tone is likely to be reflected in-game.
Sadly fans will have to wait quite a while to get to see what all of that entails, as the developer has announced a pretty substantial delay to Steel Division 2. The plan was originally to launch the game on May 2nd of this year. but that launch has now been pushed back by nearly two months.
The final game will launch for PC via Steam on June 20th, with an early-access period kicking off on May 29th, and lasting until the game launches nearly a month after that.
