Hello, my dearest of readers! I hope this Summer is being kind to you, and it’s allowing you to recharge some much-needed batteries by giving you enough time to play your favorite video games, go to the beach, or just have a swell time with your loved ones! It’s certainly been treating me exceptionally well, and I’ve just returned from my vacations and am more motivated than ever to bring you the best Strategy and Wargaming news of the week.
This time we have Expeditions Samurai, out in Early Access; Endless Space 2 is shaping up for its 1.0 release in September, and Void War received its 20th update! We also have Headquarters: Cold War and Sudden Strike 5 new DLCs, and MENACE (the best turn-based game of 2026 so far) got a massive visual overhaul to its terrain. This and much more down below. Let’s get into it!
Expeditions Samurai Out Now In Early Access
For a while it seemed like the Expeditions franchise had run its course, and that Expeditions: Rome might have been the last entry in the franchise. Well, in a Steam announcement in May of 2025, the team came out of radio silence and announced that the studio had survived and that the team was working on a new Expeditions game. In June of 2026, Expeditions: Samurai was announced. The game is out now in Steam’s Early Access program and features 5 main quests, 3 side quests, and 14 world locations to explore.
Update 1 and Update 2 are set to bring new armor and weapons, as well as 7 new main quests, 3 new side quests, and 12 new world locations.
I have been playing this Early Access version for my review, and so far I’m a bit conflicted. On one hand, I’m super interested to see how the story unfolds and what great adventure lies ahead, but everything else is just really meh. The game starts out slow, and the first few encounters are very boring; the animations are really not up to par with other turn-based strategy games of 2026, and the plethora of combat mechanics seem to be going to waste with the very small and cramped environments you’re forced to fight in. I’ll play a bit more over the following days before making my conclusion on it.
Endless Legend 2 Leaving Early Access In September
Endless Legend 2, the follow-up title to one of the best 4X games ever made, is coming out of its Early Access phase on September 17, 2026, a year and a couple of days after entering EA on the 22nd of September 2025. The release version will see the Sandshapers being added as the sixth major faction, and the oldest civilization of Saiadha. They bring their own story and quests, as well as units, technologies, and traits. Rogue factions like the Order of Zelevas and the Severed Claw will be making their way into the game as well, and a new minor faction: The Mangrove of Harmony will also be included.
Reactions from players appear mixed, with a significant portion wondering why there are only 6 major factions and that the game would benefit from adding a couple more, while others are highlighting the fact that that has been clear from the get-go.
Unlike with the first Endless Legend, which is one of my favorite 4X games in history, I didn’t really connect with EL2 when it hit Early Access, and the reason was that the game just didn’t have enough variety. Hopefully, this 1.0 will be enough to bring me back. Let’s hope so.
MicroProse’s Repterra Leaves Early Access This Month
Repterra, the real-time strategy (RTS) published by Microprose that’s all about holding against vast waves of dinnoussars, is coming out on August 20th, 2026, just after a couple of months on Early Access (launched April 28 of 2026). The final version will have:
- Three unique factions, including the new Electric Faction;
- Large-scale base defenses;
- Massive Colony buildings;
- Highly replayable maps;
- Custom level editor;
- Massive dinosaur hordes.
I haven’t played Repterra yet, but have you? If so, do let me know what you think of it in the comments below.
Headquarters: Cold War – Operation Pacify Out Now
The first DLC for Headquarters: Cold War, a turn-based strategy game from Starni Games and Slitherine, is called Operation Pacify and will have players take control of the Soviet forces in a high-stakes operation to secure a strategic weapon of NATO. The fight will last for five missions, as players hunt for intelligence, assault a research facility, hold against the NATO counterattack, and seize the nuclear missile silo. I have never gotten around to reviewing Headquarters: Cold War; I have played it quite a lot, and I had a lot of fun going through its campaign, and the addition of helicopters and anti-aircraft weapons brings a whole new dimension to consider. It’s a very approachable wargame for beginners too, especially if you’re more into the Cold War era instead of the more traditional World War 2.
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