Frost Giant Studios has started the early access preview for Stormgate, the sci-fi/fantasy real-time strategy (RTS) game.
Frost Giant Studios said closed beta testers, Kickstarter backers, and those who pre-purchase one of three Early Access Packs on Steam can now enjoy a two-week head start before the free-to-play release begins on August 13.
Created by veterans of StarCraft II and Warcraft III, Stormgate is a love letter to classic RTS games. Set in a post-apocalyptic sci-fi and fantasy future, Stormgate challenges players to build and command armies in epic battles.
Early access includes the game’s three highly asymmetric factions–warring armies vying for control over our planet. Between the stalwart Human Vanguard, the demonic Infernal Host, and the techno-angelic Celestial Armada, players are sure to find an army that they’ll love to play.
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Stormgate preserves classic RTS gameplay while introducing modern innovations to make it more approachable. The “BuddyBot” assists players of all skill levels, acting as training wheels or an always-on helper to aid in managing the game’s economy and base-building, so that they can enjoy RTS gameplay without needing the high “actions per minute” (APM) of a seasoned pro. Automated control groups and the quick macro panel simplify inputs, lowering the skill floor without affecting the skill ceiling.
Stormgate offers four main modes of play:
- Campaign: Explore an ever-evolving story, with three free missions and more available for purchase.
- Competitive: Engage in ranked 1v1 battles. A Hero-driven 3v3 mode is coming later.
- Cooperative: Control powerful Heroes and team up in 3-player co-op vs. AI opponents on maps with unique objectives.
- Custom Games: Challenge other players to 1v1, 2v2, or the MOBA-like Turf War mode (Editor to be released later during early access).
“Early access is an important milestone, but it’s not the final destination. Stormgate will continue to grow with new content and features in the months and years ahead,” said Tim Morten, CEO of Frost Giant Studios, in a statement. “We’re inspired by the success of other early access games like Baldur’s Gate III and Hades and believe this approach will help us create the best possible game with our community’s feedback.”
I caught up with Morten at the Gamescom Latam show in Sao Paolo, Brazil. He said the company is reaching out to new audiences to find players who can help with the revival of real-time strategy games. Once upon a time, big triple-A game companies made such RTS games, but the audience narrowed and the triple-A game companies moved on to other markets.
Tim Campbell, president and game director, said in a statement, “This early access preview is our way of thanking our supporters, including our playtesters and all the die-hard RTS players who have been with us for every step of our development journey. For Stormgate, this is only the beginning. We’re planning to release more story, more game modes such as 3v3, as well as our powerful new editor, while we continue working with the community to make Stormgate the best RTS it can be.”
Early Access Packs
● Early Access Pack ($25): Includes Amara, a Vanguard hero; Chapter 1 of the Vanguard campaign (containing three replayable missions); and the Gold Vanguard Army Accent cosmetic upgrade.
● Deluxe Early Access Pack ($40): Includes everything in the Early Access Pack plus Maloc, the Infernal Hero; Auralanna, the Celestial Hero; and a Chicken Supporter Pet.
● Ultimate Early Access Pack ($60): Includes everything in the Deluxe Early Access Pack plus unlocked access to Chapters 2 & 3 of the Vanguard campaign and the Firestorm Fog of War shader.
The Stormgate campaign will continue to expand during early access and long into the future as the team plans to continue releasing new missions every few months. Stormgate is designed as a highly social experience and, in the future, players who purchase access to these story-driven adventures will be able to invite their friends to play them cooperatively for free.
Free to play, the right way
Starting August 13, every game mode in Stormgate will be playable for free, including three free prologue campaign missions, unlimited 1v1 ranked matches, three-player co-op vs. AI, and custom games. All Heroes will be free to enjoy up to level 5 and Blockade, a Vanguard Hero, will be completely free to everyone to max level.
To support ongoing development of Stormgate, players may purchase additional story chapters, unlock additional progression for Heroes, or adopt an adorable in-game pet like the Supporter Jerboa. Stormgate is committed to fairness and transparency with its business model.
Instead of locking content behind mind-numbing grinding mechanics (or even worse, selling competitive advantages to players who pay for them), we’re committed to fair play and not going “pay to win.”
Powered by SnowPlay game engine
SnowPlay, Frost Giant’s custom-built technology, transforms Unreal Engine 5 into the most advanced RTS engine to date. Stormgate features 64 tick-rate servers versus the typical 8 (tick rate being a measure of how frequently a game refreshes its information), empowering smooth and responsive gameplay.
With SnowPlay, Stormgate offers players features like rollback netcode, an innovation that revolutionized online play for fighting games and has never before been possible in an RTS of this scale.
Stormgate is available for Windows PC on Steam and can also be played on other devices, including Mac systems, via Nvidia’s GeForce Now cloud gaming platform.
Starting today, anyone can receive a free in-game pet–the Rizzy Kitty–by tuning in to one of the content creators playing Stormgate on Twitch.tv with Twitch Drops enabled.
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