Author - Jerry Paxton

Frost Giant Studios is excited to share that Stormgate™, the team’s highly anticipated real-time strategy game, has officially entered Early Access on Steam and is now available to play for free! Available on Windows PC or through NVIDIA’s GeForce Now cloud gaming platform, players can dive into thrilling 1v1 and 3-player Co-op Missions, enjoy custom 2v2 team games, and get an early look at an initial set of Campaign missions as the development team continues to evolve the game.

Stormgate players will wage war on post-apocalyptic Earth in a new science-fantasy universe, where humanity remains under siege after a cataclysmic invasion by demonic forces. Players can choose to command one of three highly asymmetric factions: the Vanguard, a resilient human defense force deploying rocket-powered mechs and faithful robot dogs; the Infernal Host, a demonic army with war-mongering brutes and pestilence-spewing dragons; and the Celestial Armada, a mysterious faction of angelic Biosynths with its deadly Machine Legion. Each faction offers unique gameplay mechanics, units, Heroes, and strategies for players to explore. Epic real-time strategy battles await!

Early Access is only the beginning

“Early Access is just the beginning of our journey, not the end. We’re committed to making Stormgate a game shaped by our community’s feedback and passion,” said Tim Morten, Frost Giant Studios’ CEO and Production Director. “The progress we’ve made so far has been a direct result of the collaboration with our players, and we’re excited to continue this journey together. Early Access is an opportunity for us to listen, learn, and evolve the game alongside our community, and we can’t wait to see where this adventure takes us.”

President and Game Director Tim Campbell recently shared details regarding specific improvements the team is prioritizing in a detailed developer blog: “The Road Ahead for Campaign.”

In this critical Early Access phase, Frost Giant will incorporate community feedback into the evolution of Stormgate, beginning with the comprehensive balance update released last week. On the development roadmap, players can track assorted development priorities: progress on the Campaign, improved visuals (e.g., addition of facial animations for cutscenes), audio and performance improvements, and new major features (e.g., a competitive 3v3 team mode). The team plans to be in Early Access for at least a year of active development. Frost Giant also plans to release a powerful editor that will give players the same tools that the developers are using to build Stormgate, empowering players to create their own maps, mods, and custom games to share with the world.

A more approachable RTS

Stormgate revitalizes classic RTS gameplay with modern innovations that make it more approachable, smooth and responsive. The “BuddyBot” can assist co-op players of all skill levels, acting either as training wheels or an always-on helper for the game’s economy and base-building. This allows newer players to enjoy rich RTS gameplay like seasoned pros, but without the stress of needing high “actions per minute” (APM). Automated control groups and the quick macro panel simplify inputs, lowering the skill floor without affecting the skill ceiling.

SnowPlay, Frost Giant’s custom-built technology, transforms Unreal Engine 5 into the most advanced RTS engine to date. Thanks to SnowPlay, Stormgate features 64 tick-rate servers instead of the typical 8, empowering smooth and responsive gameplay. (Tick rate measures how frequently a game refreshes its information.) With SnowPlay, Stormgate also offers players rollback, which minimizes stuttering caused by lag for the first time in a large-scale RTS. Stormgate’s distributed server infrastructure, powered by Hathora, delivers global matchmaking that minimizes geographic ping disadvantages, for games that feel fun and fair.

Stormgate features compositions by Frank Klepaki (Dune II, Command & Conquer), Tracy W. Bush (StarCraft, World of Warcraft), David Luis Ortega (Blizzard Entertainment, Ubisoft, DreamWorks), and Nga Weng Chio, who was nominated for a WSA Game Music Award for her work on the Celestial faction music.

Free to play, the right way

While the core game experience is free to play, Stormgate is supported by optional in-game purchases. Players may pay to unlock full progression for Heroes (all Heroes are free to play until level 5), purchase access to additional Campaign chapters (in active development), and even adopt an in-game pet to support the development team. Stormgate does not include randomized gacha purchases or offer “pay-to-win” microtransactions that would compromise the integrity of its competitive experience.

For more on Stormgate, visit playstormgate.com. For additional background on Stormgate, you can watch the PC Gaming Show documentary. You can also join the official Stormgate community on Discord to connect with other players, share feedback, and keep up with all the latest memes.