Stormgate, a next-gen free-to-play RTS from developer Frost Giant Games, has entered its early access preview phase today, a full 2 weeks before its release on August 13, 2024. Kickstarter backers, closed beta testers, and those who p??urchase a Steam early access version of the game can get in e?arly and start playing before anyone else.

There is a range of early-access versions of Stormgate that?? fans can pick up on Steam if they want to hop into the game right now. These range between $25 to $65 in price, and each offers increasingly expansive access to new content, including heroes and story chapters. The real advantage of g??etting the game early is to practice playing with each faction so you can dominate in the competitive ?online ranked ladder and know what you're doing before the rest of the world jumps in.

Humans vs. demons vs. angels

Stormgate is an RTS created by a developer that consists of individuals who, in the past, worked on some of the biggest RTS titles on the planet, like Starcraft II and Warcraft III. It's a free-to-play game with an ever-evolving story in which humanity is battling it out with two warring armies. One is a sci-fi fo?rce of demonic creatures called the Infernal Host, and the other is the angelic equivalent known as the Celestial Armada.

You can hop into 3v3 competitive matches against other players or opt for a co-op experience, working with other players to defeat the AI opponent. At launch and during this early access period, Stormgate will f??eature a prologue chapter and can level all heroes up to level 5.

Frost Giant Games plans to fund future development through the sale of supporter packs, additional heroes, and extra story chapters. Of course, the game can be completely free. If you don't want to pay for it, you'll just have to wait until August 13, 2024, to get access to it. The early access packs and what's included in each ar?e as follows.

• Early Access Pack ($24.99 USD): Includes Amara, a Vanguard hero; Chapter 1 of the Vanguard campaign (with three replayable missions); and the Gold Vanguard Army Accent cosmetic upgrade.
• Deluxe Early Access Pack ($39.99 USD): Includes everything in the Early Access Pack plus Maloc, the Infernal Hero; Auralanna, the Celestial Hero; and a Chicken Supporter Pet.
• Ultimate Early Access Pack ($59.99 USD): Includes everything in the Deluxe Early Access Pack plus unlocked access to Chapters 2 & 3 of the Vanguard campaign and the Firestorm Fog of War shader.

The developer has made it very clear that it doesn't want Stormgate to be pay-to-win. So players will be on a level playing field reg??ard?less of whether they've purchased every available hero and story pack or if they've paid absolutely nothing for the game whatsoever.

I love a good RTS game, and based on what we've been shown so far, Stormgate looks like it could be a great entry point into the genre with its free-to-play model. I've always played RTS games for the story and have generally avoided the online competitive modes, but this game looks like it could develop a decent c?ompetitive community as lon?g as the developer's support is there.

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Developer Frost Giant Studios revealed its upcoming RTS Stormgate's third playable faction? today as the Celestial Armada. An ancient and advanced civilization, the Celestial Armada traverses the universe in massive world-ships ruled by the Sovereigns, immortal beings. Frost Giant also announced an August 13 release date for the RTS Early Access to begin.

Essentially space nomads, the playstyle of the Celestial Armada looks rather unique compared to the two other factions. The Celestial Armada is built around the Arcship, a flying HQ that assists with the creation of new bases rather than utilizing builder units like the other factions. Similar to the Protoss from StarCraft, buildings constructed by the Celestial Armada will?? generate a cascade field that expands the possible building area for the faction.

Interestingly, the Celestial Armada does not have to worry about supply. This faction starts with the max cap of 300, and can build as many units as their resources allow. Primarily focus??ed on buildings rather than units, the Celestial Armada also has to juggle maintaining an efficient power grid by building power-generating structures to support the many buildings it will construct.

Those wanting to try out the upcoming RTS early can do so by purchasing a Founder's pack for access on July 30, ?or wait until it releases for free into Early Acce?ss on August 13, 2024 on PC via Steam.

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Upcoming RTS from developer Frost Giant Studios is set to release in Early Access in the Summer of 2024. The PC-exclusive title had its release date revealed alongside a brief gameplay trailer at The Game Awards. Frost Giant Studios first revealed the RTS? last year.

The Frost Giant Studios team is made up of RTS developer veterans who have worked on popular titles like Starcraft and Age of Empires. Stormgate will feature an ever-evolving campaign in a science fantasy universe as well as 3-player co-op vs AI, 1v1, and 3v3 matches as well as a map editor. Actor Simu-Liu (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) also made an appearance to reveal his character in Stormgate, Warz.

I'm so ready for this. Starcraft was a big part of my childhood and while there have been some good RTS since, nothing has quite captured the Starcraft and Warcraft 3 feeling.

Stormgate will be released in Early Access on PC in 2024.

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Strategy lives on

Real-time strategy fans got something new to look forward to today. Stormgate is a new free-to-play RTS from Frost Giant Stud?ios, wi??th a beta coming in 2023.

During today's Summer Game Fest stream, a cinematic introduced the world of Stormgate. The two factions shown so far seem demonic on one side, and futuristic human resistance on the other. A little of Terrans vs. the ?Forces of Hell, so to speak.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLMEIMCmS44

During the stream, a developer from Frost Giant confirmed that Stormgate will be free-to-play, but they're conscious of concerns. That means no pay-to-win and no NFTs. There??'s campaign co-op, as well as vers??us multiplayer for three-on-three or traditional one-on-one.

New giants

Frost Giant is a new studio of former Blizzard developers, so this one has some pedigree behind it. According to the Steam page, it seems to be going for all the trappings of classic Warcraft and StarCraft. Big story missions s??howing the war between Earth's defenders and invading demonic Infernals, a competitive ladder with tournament options, and a free-to-play model that avoids pay-to-win. A big draw to my eye is the custom map editor. Those user-made maps made up a hefty bulk of my time in old Blizzard RTS games, and I'm hopeful to see some wild tower defenses and such on there.

We'll see what they have in store in 2023, when Stormgate is planned to head into open beta. Popularity for the beta is pretty high, as shown by the Frost Giant site has been dipping in and out as I'm writing this. But once the site is back up, you'll be able to sign up for the beta at this link. Until then, you can still wishlist on Steam and gawk at some screenshots.

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