This week’s strategy gaming news includes a full launch, a major re-release, a pair of upcoming dates, a World War II grand strategy announcement, and a couple of smaller items from earlier in the development pipeline.
Memoriapolis Returns April 28th with Banners and Wonders
Paris-based 5PM Studio has announced that Memoriapolis will relaunch on April 28th via Steam under the title Banners and Wonders, following a year of development in which the studio stepped back from the game entirely after its full release failed to meet player expectations. The relaunch is framed not as a patch but as a ground-up rebuild, with three headline changes: a defined endgame centred on constructing a Wonder during the Industrial Revolution era, a redesigned set of core systems intended to reduce friction without sacrificing strategic depth, and a reworked faction layer in which each faction carries its own personality and political agenda for players to navigate at their own pace. An open beta ahead of the relaunch drew a positive reception. The underlying game spans five historical eras from Antiquity to the Industrial Revolution and had accumulated nearly 400,000 players showing interest prior to this announcement. Steam Page
Total Victory: World Conflict 1939-1945 Demo on April 16th
Kraken Studios, known for the WarPlan series, has announced Total Victory: World Conflict 1939-1945 for Steam, with a demo releasing April 16th. The game is a divisional-level grand strategy wargame drawing on classic board wargame design, covering the full Second World War with players able to take control of any major nation across the Axis, Allies, or Comintern. It uses a modified Mercator map with a tile-based hex system, covers land, naval, and air operations, and includes technology research across over twenty slots unlocking new units and combat modifiers. An automated supply system and automatic reinforcement mechanic are both present, intended to reduce micromanagement in favour of strategic decision-making. PBEM, hotseat, and AI opposition modes are all supported. The demo places players as Germany in a Blitzkrieg East scenario set between June and September 1941. No release date for the full game has been announced. Steam Page
Stellar Warfare CPU Assist Update Coming Within the Month
The next major update for Stellar Warfare, the space RTS inspired by Homeworld, will introduce a CPU Assist system allowing players to selectively automate elements of gameplay in real time during a match. Automation options cover economy, defensive building construction, unit production, and combat independently, letting players toggle each on or off according to preference. The update also expands skirmish functionality with improved AI opponents and a wider range of match configurations including team and free-for-all formats, alongside a range of UI, visual, audio, and multiplayer fixes. The update is currently in testing and is expected within the next month. Steam Page
Cursed Tails Announced
Solo developer Sycix has announced Cursed Tails for Steam, a naval roguelite deckbuilder in which players command a ghost ship crewed by fox spirits. Nine distinct fox classes are planned at launch, each with its own deck and playstyle, with two combined per run to create cross-class synergies. Combat is real-time with a pause mechanic for card management, and island exploration between battles provides opportunities for upgrades and narrative content. No release date has been announced. Steam Page
Discover more from Critical Moves
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.