Frontier Foundry, the games label of Frontier Developments plc, and developers Petroglyph (Command & Conquer: Remastered, Star Wars: Empire at War), announced today that the upcoming World War 1 RTS, The Great War: Western Front will launch on Thursday, 30th March 2023 on PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store. Additionally, players who pre-order can access the battlefield and lead their forces three days early, from 27th March 2023.
The Great War: Western Front allows you to play the deciding role in history with this real-time tactical experience as you take charge in the iconic Western Front from 1914 to 1919. Pick your faction and lead your forces to victory, both by directing your armies in gritty real-time battles and by commanding your side on the Western Front as you guide high-level decisions in turn-based strategic gameplay. Think like a Commander to either relive history – or redefine it. Partnering with the Imperial War Museums, revel in an authentic historical strategy game that captures the gravity and intensity of The Great War.
If you want to give the game a try before the launch, players are invited to assume command of the front line for the first time during Steam Next Fest, which begins on Monday, 6th February 2023. Commanders will lead the Allied Forces through a section of the game’s tutorial and campaign, before leading them in a Historic Battle – The Battle of Passchendaele, which provides the perfect opportunity to trial their tactics.
Players can also choose to enhance their experience with Victory Edition. A detailed digital field guide provides additional intelligence on the war, whilst five stunning digital wallpapers showcase a selection of the game’s hand-drawn concept art and motifs. Additionally, award-winning composer Frank Klepacki’s evocative original soundtrack can form the backdrop to moments of epic conflict, solemn triumph and quiet deliberation even away from the battlefields.
The Great War: Western Front places players in charge as they aim to lead their faction to total victory in one of the world’s most pivotal conflicts. Taking the position of dual-role commander, they will take total control of the Western Front. Switching between the turn-based grand strategy role of the Theatre Commander and the RTS controls of the Field Commander, the decisions they take in both roles will have effects that will sway the course of the conflict, or even change its outcome.
Players will have to make tough choices, balancing the outcomes of their decisions in both the Theatre and the Field, be it the effect on the faction’s National Will, or on the soldiers in the trenches. Before the battle begins, Commanders will carve lasting trenches to define their strategy, undermine enemy emplacements or issue heavy bombardment orders on key targets, leaving scars on the landscape, which will remain upon their return.
Alongside an immersive campaign following the struggle for the Western Front, players will also relive a selection of some of WW1’s defining events in Historical Battles, which feature footage taken from the Imperial War Museum’s vast archives. Those set on reshaping history can create their own battlefield scenarios in Skirmish mode or choose to take on fellow Commanders in Multiplayer.
‘The Great War: Western Front’ launches on Thursday, 30th March 2023 on PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store for a suggested retail price of £29.99/€34.99/$34.99 and £34.99/€39.99/$39.99 for Victory Edition, and is available for pre-order right now. You can find out more here.
