History and Games in The Long August
It has already been a busy summer, but The Long August (late July to early September) is shaping up to be one of the biggest months in history gaming in recent memory. We have new game releases, updates for recent games, lots of news about upcoming titles, and a bevy of history game sales.
First, let’s review the new games that are coming out. If you follow History Respawned, then you probably know about Old World by this point, but you may not be aware that it came out at the beginning of July. In addition to Old World, we’ll see another historical 4X game on August 17 with the release of Humankind.
Both Old World and Humankind offer variations on the grand strategy formula established by Sid Meier’s Civilization. Firaxis just finished releasing the last bits of Civilization VI content. With the 30th anniversary of Civilization coming up in September along with the release of competitor titles, it may be a good time to announce Civilization VII…
In addition to this 4X bonanza, August also sees the release of two new indie historical games. The first is Blackhaven, a first-person narrative game where players take on the role of a summer intern at the Blackhaven Hall Historical Society, a museum that commemorates an 18th century estate destroyed during the American Revolution. This game, which was developed with a team of history students and faculty, is now available FOR FREE on Steam.
The other big release, also featuring a development team that includes historians, is Svoboda 1945: Liberation. Developed by Charles Games, Svoboda is the follow-up title to the award-winning Attentat 1942, a favorite here at History Respawned. Pre-release footage shows that Svoboda features a similar setup to Attentat: FMV adventure game that explores the troubled memory of the Second World War. We can’t wait to play it! Svoboda comes out on Steam on August 3.
The last end of summer release of note is Hell Let Loose, the team-based WW2 multiplayer game, which left early access on July 27. This move out of early access also comes along with the release of new in-game maps set on the Eastern Front. I try to avoid early access games, so I’m excited to see this game reach 1.0.
Along with these new games there are also major updates coming to previously released history game titles. August 12 sees the release of the Siege of Paris DLC for Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. August 20 brings the release of Ghost of Tsushima: Director’s Cut, which will include a new DLC set on Iki Island.
Finally, on September 2, we will have the Steam release of A Total War Saga: Troy. This new version of the game will be released alongside two pieces of DLC: the Mythos expansion, which will introduce mythical beasts into the game, and Historical mode, which will allow players to strip out the mythical elements from the game and play it as a Bronze Age simulator. I love the fact that these two types of expansions can exist in the same game!
This late summer period has also seen a lot of news regarding history games. The big news involves the upcoming release of a new Company of Heroes, set on the Italian Front during the Second World War. There was also an incredible exposé on Kotaku about the troubled development of Skull & Bones, Ubisoft’s upcoming (?) open-world pirate game. We also learned a follow-up to My Child Lebensborn is in the works.
Whew! That was a lot. Let’s finish with some history game freebies/sales. First, if you are a subscriber to Amazon Prime, you can pick up a free copy of Battlefield 1 and Battlefield V via Prime Gaming. Humble Bundle is offering a Hearts of Iron Bundle, which includes huge discounts on the DLC for this WWII grand strategy game. Also, don’t forget that Blackhaven is FREE on Steam.
As you can see, it’s a big month for history games, which makes it a big month for History Respawned. On top of all this, the academic year begins at the end of August…time to get my syllabi in order! Wish me luck!
