Stormgate devs aiming for “modern take” on traditional strategy games

Stormgate
(Image credit: Frost Giant)

Stormgate isn’t quite ready for launch yet, but it’s chugging along. Tim Campbell, Frost Giant Games’ game director and president, appeared as a guest on the PC Gaming Show to update fans on the game’s progress and on what developers plan to do in the near future. 

Stormgate developers think of their project as a “modern take on the classic real-time strategy game formula” and a spiritual successor to classics like Warcraft and Starcraft. Frost Giant Games is built on the expertise of real-time strategy veterans that worked on those same franchises, so it makes sense that they would want to improve on the formulas they already know. Most importantly, they plan to make the barrier to entry lower for newcomers to the genre.

RTS games typically involve controlling an entire battlefield, whether it's by gathering resources or commanding armies. All the moving parts can overwhelm beginners, even in simpler RTS games like Minecraft Legends. Frost Giant plans to tackle this divide so that players of all skill levels can enjoy Stormgate, though it hasn’t exactly described how the systems work.

“We believe that the RTS genre is something that should be enjoyed by players of all skill levels,” said Campbell. “We put a lot of effort into making sure that Stormgate feels good whether you’re a pro with high technical skill and you love competitive play, or whether it’s something you just want to be able to relax with and enjoy the story.” 

Frost Giant also showcased pre-alpha footage that included what the units, bases, and other gameplay looked like in its recent testing. However, some of these pieces are just placeholders – like the chicken with the helmet discussed on stream. According to Campbell, the information revealed in the PC Gaming Show stream was only the “tip of the iceberg.” There’s more on the way this year, including information about the different game modes. 

For more of tonight's news, here's everything announced at the Xbox Games Showcase.

Freelance contributor