Upcoming WWII RTS delayed by the Russian invasion of Ukraine

The good news: We've got a new trailer for Men of War 2, the upcoming sequel to the 2009 WW2 RTS Men of War, and it looks pretty good. The bad news: The trailer is here to let us know that the release has been delayed until 2023.

Ironically, given the trailer's focus on the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, developer Best Way said the delay was caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

"The Ukrainian studio Best Way was based in Severodonetsk and had to help its staff and their families relocate after the events of February 24th, 2022, during which period the development was put on hold," the studio said. "Despite this, the Best Way team has eagerly returned to development in the last several months, and with the help of the supportive community of fans surrounding the franchise, already ran several rounds of closed playtests and the participants were satisfied with the combination of classic Men of War gameplay and new features like the Frontline, Direct Control, and much more."

Severodonetsk is located in the Luhansk Oblast, the easternmost region of Ukraine, and was captured by Russian forces in June after being heavily damaged during the battle for control of the Donbas.

Best Way said that player feedback during the tests gave the team ideas to make Men of War 2 "bigger and better than anyone originally imagined," including a standalone campaign for Germany, new missions for the other factions, and an upgraded interface. But it won't be possible to get it done within the original time frame.

"We believe that meeting a deadline should never compromise quality and we are happy that Fulqrum Publishing agreed to give us the time we need to produce a truly great game," Men of War 2 producer Maxim Kamensky said. "Also, this delay provides us with enough time for all the polishing and balancing phases, much needed for a game the scope of Men of War 2. Thanks to our great community for their positive feedback during closed tests—this is very valuable. This extra time will give us a chance to deliver an exceptional experience to the players."

Unfortunately, there's currently not a more specific new launch target than 2023, so we could end up waiting more or less than a year before Men of War 2 arrives—we'll just have to wait and see how it works out. For now, you can follow along with what's happening on the Men of War 2 Discord.

Andy Chalk
US News Lead

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.

Read more
The six heroes of Commandos: Origins
Stealth tactics game Commandos: Origins will be out in April
The Alters trailer still - Two Alters talking as one cleans up food trays from a table
The Alters is altered again: 11 Bit Studios' survival game about creating alt-universe versions of yourself on a hostile alien world is delayed
Killing Floor 3 screenshot
Following a disastrous beta test, Killing Floor 3 is delayed less than three weeks before launch: 'We've realized we missed the mark'
Earth vs Mars screenshot - Martian troopers vs Earth light tanks
Relic's new project is a 'smaller indie-style' game about a martian invasion of Earth
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
Age of Empires 3: Definitive Edition promo art
Age of Empires 3: Definitive Edition DLC promised last year is cancelled: 'We announced content before it had been built, and we now feel that announcement was premature'
Latest in RTS
Immortal Pillars expansion for Age of Mythology: Retold
Age of Mythology Retold's new Chinese pantheon expansion takes a bold stance on updating an old game: Just make good new stuff
Earth vs Mars screenshot - Martian troopers vs Earth light tanks
Relic's new project is a 'smaller indie-style' game about a martian invasion of Earth
Age of Empires 3: Definitive Edition promo art
Age of Empires 3: Definitive Edition DLC promised last year is cancelled: 'We announced content before it had been built, and we now feel that announcement was premature'
Tempest Dynasty faction
The first multiplayer demo for my most anticipated RTS, Tempest Rising, is out now
Former Age of Empires developer says the RTS genre's stuck in a rut: 'you're still playing the same game'
Creeper World IXE
Creeper World IXE breaks the RTS mold and adds a dash of Noita's alchemy to the gooey war
Latest in News
A mech awakens.
Mecha Break developer is considering unlocking all mechs following open beta feedback
Lara Croft Unified Art
Tomb Raider developer Crystal Dynamics lays off 17 employees 'to better align our current business needs and the studio's future success'
A long bendy arm stealing money from people in a subway car
'You're a very long arm. You steal things. It's a comedy game,' explains developer of comedy game where you steal things with a very long arm
The heroes are attacked by monsters
Pillars of Eternity is getting turn-based combat to mark its 10th anniversary, and that means PC Gamer editors will soon be arguing about combat mechanics again
Image of Ronaldo from Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves trailer
It doesn't really make sense that soccer star Ronaldo is now a Fatal Fury character, but if you follow the money you can see how it happened
Junah beginning a battle in Metaphor: ReFantazio.
Today's RPG fans are 'very sensitive to feeling like they wasted time' when they die, says Metaphor: ReFantazio battle planner—but Atlus still made combat hard anyway