Battalion 1944 Studio Parts Ways With Square Enix, Free Version Launching On Steam
If you’re looking for a World War II multiplayer shooter but don’t want to spend any money, then you might want to keep an eye out for Battalion 1944’s free-to-play version. The games developer, Bulkhead Interactive, has recently parted ways with Square Enix and is planning to release a “revisited and final version” of the game on Steam for free, called Battalion: Legacy.
“We have taken the best aspects of Battalion 1944 and honed in on these to create a fluid bug free experience, featuring a working server browser, an added faction, new weapons, classic Search & Destroy game mode with all weapons available, complete UI rework and visual overhaul,” said Bulkhead. “Battalion: Legacy is the culmination of work consolidated into one old school experience for all to enjoy.”
The free version will also come with the British as a playable faction, over 30 new weapons, and various upgrades. Global servers will be available for public matches, although players will also be able to either rent or purchase permanent servers to host their private games on.
Battalion 1944 launched into Early Access on Steam in 2018 with Square Enix as its publisher under its Square Enix Collective indie game program. The game was inspired by the old Call of Duty games and was also intended to launch on consoles using funding acquired through a £100,000 Kickstarter campaign back in 2016 which managed to raise a total of £317,281, or roughly $387,000.
By mid-2020, the game’s average concurrent player count had dropped to single digits and the promised console version failed to materialize, unfortunately it never will. “We are deeply disappointed that Battalion 1944 never made it to console and we will be refunding all console Kickstarter backers,” said the studio. “Thank you to everyone that backed the console version and we’re sorry it has taken so long to rectify this.”
Battalion: Legacy is slated to launch on Steam on August 16th. Development on the original game has been halted but the original game is still available for purchase on the platform for the time being. “We just wanted to close a chapter,” community manager Aaron Baker told PCGamer. “[Battalion 1944] no longer represents the quality bar we’re aiming for as a team and company, both in ability and direction—despite being proud of what we’ve achieved with Battalion.”
Bulkhead is currently working on a more contemporary Unreal Engine 5-powered first-person shooter called Wardogs.
