Matrix Games announces 2021 wargame lineup, including War in the East 2

An image of the map from wargame War in the East 2.
(Image credit: 2 By 3 Games and Matrix Games)

Hello, and welcome to the one article per year that I can use to justify my four years of Latin courses. It's above. I changed "Great Work" to "Greater Work." Anyway, you're here for news.

Matrix Games has announced their top-tier wargames for 2021, all sequels to the publisher's most popular series. The most surprising might be that War in the East 2 is coming in 2021. War in the East 2 will be a sequel to the biggest, most complex, most beloved World War 2 wargames there are: Gary Grigsby's War in the East and Gary Grigsby's War in the West. They're hugely ambitious games and shockingly successful games that let you control an entire front of the war from the operational level. War in the East 2 has a suite of changes, most significant of which is a major upgrade to command and control of your air wings.

If I'm being very honest, however, all the other changes will be gibberish if you haven't played the first two. Suffice to say they're upgrading quality of life and simulation throughout.

Also announced are sequels in a few other wargame series. WarPlan Pacific, sequel to 2019's WarPlan, will cover all the nations at war in the Pacific in WW2. Flashpoint Campaigns: Southern Storm will be a cold war era wargame set in southern Germany and will feature a newly-revamped interface. Finally, Decisive Campaigns: Ardennes Offensive will be another entry in the battalion-level WW2 series focusing on the Battle of the Bulge, with a commensurate focus on new weather and reconnaissance mechanics. You can watch reveal interviews with the developers of those games on Matrix Games' YouTube channel.

As part of the announcements Matrix Games released their sci-fi 4X Shadow Empire on Steam. You can find my review of that game right here, though it has been updated quite a bit since.

Contributor

Jon Bolding is a games writer and critic with an extensive background in strategy games. When he's not on his PC, he can be found playing every tabletop game under the sun.

Latest in Strategy
Mongolian throne room
Crusader Kings 3 saddles up for a long-awaited return to the east with its first Asian DLC, Khans of the Steppe
Manor Lords promo art - knight on horseback looking at a medieval village in the distance, viewed from behind
PCG's best city builder of 2024 is adding a map with a gigantic hill in the middle: the perfect spot for your next castle
Maximillian from Evil Genius 2
Rebellion CEO says Evil Genius 3 could happen but wonders 'what else could we do with it other than a base-building game?'
A city from 1800
One of the best city builders of the last decade is currently 90% off on Steam
Company of Heroes 3
Company of Heroes 3 is free to try and 50% off, so it's the best time to check out the beefy 2.0 overhaul
People swimming in a pool and lying on floats
Planet Coaster 2's spring roadmap splashes down, with 'round-bottomed flumes' coming in March and buildable restaurants arriving in April
Latest in News
Aloy - Horizon
'I feel worried about this art form:' Unsurprisingly, the real Aloy from Horizon isn't a fan of AI Aloy
Crying laughing emoji with disturbing realistic elements for REPO
REPO's first update will add a new map and a 'duck bucket' so we can finally give that pesky quacker a time out
Man facing camera
The Day Before studio reportedly sues Russian website for calling infamous disaster-game a 'scam'
Will Poulter holding a CD ROM
'What are most games about? Killing': Black Mirror Season 7 includes a follow-up to 2018 interactive film Bandersnatch
Casper Van Dien in Starship Troopers
Sony, which is making a Helldivers 2 movie, is also making a new Starship Troopers movie, but it's not based on the Starship Troopers movie we already have
Assassin's Creed meets PUBG
Ubisoft is reportedly talking to Tencent about creating a new business entity to manage Assassin's Creed and other big games