As developers and publisher gather their strength for the upcoming Steam Fest, I suspect news bits will become kind of sparse, and then they’ll come out flooding. Let’s have a look at what’s been going on this week. We have Total War: Warhammer III’s biggest DLC ever, a new RTS titled Defilade, two new wargames titled Smoke & Steel and Steel Company, and so much more. Let’s dive right in!

Total War: Warhammer III Lords of the End Times Is Out Now

The biggest expansion ever for the Total War: Warhammer franchise is already out. Whether you pick Thanquol, Nagash, the Glottkin, or Boris to lead during the End Times, one thing is certain: You’ll unlock the Immortal Empires campaign and get the free faction of Bretonnia and their four legendary Lords. You’ll also get a Free-LC Legendary Lord: Neferata, the first of all Vampires, who used Nagash’s dark research to learn the secrets of Necromancy.

The game is also getting a new end-game overhaul for the Immortal Empires campaign, with the current scenarios now being re-categorized as “crisis scenarios”, and acting more as mid-game events that will shake up your campaigns, but won’t be the climatic ending. To fulfill this premise, three new end-game scenarios were crafted, using unique mechanics and narrative build-ups. You’ll face:

• The Chaos Invasion: Fighting Archaon and the gathered forces of Chaos, all united under his banner, ravaging the known world. You’ll have to destroy his key fortresses to weaken him enough to be able to beat him;
• Vermintide: All of Skavendom will rise up to conquer the world, and players will have to face an emboldened Skaven horde numbering in the millions and pouring from the ground, all over the world.
• Nagash Rises: Defeat Nagash’s master plan to ascend to godhood by paving the way to the Black Pyramid.

Smoke & Steel

A new 18th-century wargame called Smoke & Steel was spotted in the wild. A turn-based wargame blending tactical battles with grand strategy set during the age of muskets and cannons, it’s being worked on by a single dev, and its art style is already looking fantastic. Here’s what you can expect from it:

• Historical infantry, cavalry, and artillery units;
• Seven nations to lead (Sweden, Russia, England, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Kingdom of Prussia, Denmark-Norway and France);
• A single-player story campaign called The Great Northern War;
• Multiplayer and single-player grand campaigns and tactical battles;
• Map editor;
• Modding support for units and nations;

Panzer Deck

Panzer Deck, a deck-building wargame that has players leading their forces to victory across the Western Front of WWII, just came out. The premise is that in Panzer Deck, cards are more than just stats, but geometric patterns that allow players to move their forces, manage resources, and recruit units. This is more of a puzzle game and much less of a battlefield simulation (obviously), but the art style is great, and the theming seems right up many of you guys’ alley, so here it is.

Defilade Is An Old-School Isometric RTS

The high-tempo trailer for Defilade is a very fitting one for this upcoming old-school isometric RTS that looks like it came out of the late 90s and early 2000s. This one, obviously set in modern times, will feature cover systems, soldiers that behave like humans, projectiles as physical objects, more healthcare systems than the US, destructible environments,s FPV drones, and base building!

Steel Company Is The Most Generous of Demos

I have been playing the demo for Steel Company, an up-and-coming World War 2 wargame that’s packed with content. With 21 scenarios and a scenario generator, amazing sprite work, and solid fundamentals, it has been a blast giving this one a test drive. If you haven’t played it yet and you’re on the lookout for a turn-based wargame at the tactical level, you can’t beat the lowest of prices: free.

Heart of the Machine – Kingship DLC

Hooded Horse’s Heart of the Machine, a game where you take control of the world’s first sentient AI and then go on to decide what to do with humanity, is getting its first DLC, and it’s coming out on October 12, 2026.

Called Kinship, it’s going to deepen the lore of the game and unlock new avenues of exploration and expansion for your AI. Here’s what to expect:

• New Doom Set – A city where its inhabitants are in constant conflict due to gangs, religious extremists, and class warfare;
• Four new storylines exploring the subjects of religion, ecology, crime, and transcendence;
• New setpiece battles;
• New 75 capabilities to discover and master;
• 3 New ending scenarios.

Pixel Formation Looks Beautiful

I just came across Pixel Formation on YouTube, and this is going to be a real-time/turn-based strategy game where you sail to uncharted lands, leading a Greek Expedition. There are very few details about it, and the Steam page is very thin, with only a single paragraph, but I’ll use this YouTube video from the game’s developer, Rodwan, to show you what’s so special about it.

Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition Team Receives Layoffs

World’s Edge, the studio behind Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition, was reportedly hit with layoffs, with nearly half of the team affected during its move to Activision, according to Eurogamer.

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