This isn’t the first time Relic has had to deal with something like this in recent years; the original Company of Heroes went through a conversion to Steam in 2013. Philippe Boulle, Design Lead for the Dawn of War franchise, announced on Steam just moments ago upcoming patches to convert both Dawn of War games to Steamworks. Both titles will be updated to use the same system that was implemented for Company of Heroes 2.

On May 22nd, the original Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War and its expansions underwent a major update in order to preserve multiplayer gameplay for all these titles.

Since their launch, Dawn of War and its expansions (Winter Assault, Dark Crusade and Soulstorm) have relied on the GameSpy service for multiplayer matchmaking. Since they are about to shut down their services for good it would otherwise leave these games without any way to play multiplayer. That is not an outcome anyone at Relic would want to see.

Dawn of War II and its first expansion (Chaos Rising) also rely on other external servers so we also intend to take this opportunity to migrate them over to Steam in order for a consistent multiplayer experience across the entire portfolio. This migration is in progress and we’ll have more details soon.

So, all titles in the franchise are being updated to use the same matchmaking and backend developed for Company of Heroes 2. This will not only mean multiplayer can continue on these titles, but the matchmaking experience will be improved. Matchmaking/login and so on will thus all be through Steam.

In the short term, there are likely to be some technical issues with the new setup. Recreating the multiplayer infrastructure for seven titles is no small feat, and there will be bugs. Ultimately, we felt that it would be better to get the update out in a slightly imperfect state in time to prevent an outright interruption in multiplayer play. So, bugs.

We are committed to tackling these bugs and getting all titles to be fully Steam enabled.

This update – and continued further support for DoW and DoW2 – is a big step for us at Relic. It’s a concrete signal of support for the Dawn of War franchise from us and from SEGA as a whole. Ever since SEGA acquired Relic we’ve been working on continued support for the Dawn of War back catalogue. It’s great for some of this to see the light of day at last.

I came to Relic in 2005 to work on the product that became Dark Crusade and went on to run narrative and campaign on both Dawn of War II and Chaos Rising. To be working on these titles again is a joy, and on behalf of all of us, I’d like to thank the fans who have continued to keep DoW in their hearts. You guys rock.

For the Emperor!

Philippe Boulle
Design Lead, Dawn of War Franchise

Turning Point – free update

• World Builder: This highly requested community feature enables players to design their own epic multiplayer maps for Company of Heroes 2
• New Multiplayer Maps: Two free multiplayer maps ‘Rails and Metal’ and ‘Lazur Factory’ added to the multiplayer rotation for all players to enjoy
• Four New Multiplayer Commanders: Four new Commanders, two per faction, are introduced into the game’s multiplayer and skirmish modes as part of ‘Turning Point’. One Commander from each faction was created by members of the Company of Heroes 2 community and will be available via registration at www.companyofheroes.com

Theatre of War – Victory at Stalingrad:

• Co-Op Scenario: Kalach Pincer – 70 kilometers west of Stalingrad, Soviet forces must move rapidly to secure key locations and resources about the town of Kalach before mounting the final attack on the vital bridge across the River Don
• Solo Challenge: Tatsinskaya Raid – The Red Army’s 24th Tank Corps is headed deep into enemy territory to take the German airfield at Tatsinskaya and destroy the aircraft that keeps trapped German forces supplied in Stalingrad
• Solo Challenge: Bridge Defense – Forced to wait for air units to be ready, the Red Army has had to delay Operation Uranus at the last minute. Irregular and Partisan forces have already moved to secure a key bridge across the Don River and must now hold out against determined German attacks
• AI Battle: Winter Storm – The Wehrmacht has launched Operation Winter Storm in an attempt to relieve their Sixth Army in Stalingrad. Soviet forces must block this attack to prevent the fascists from escaping the city
• AI Battle: Stalingrad Resistance – The Soviets defend the blown out Stalingrad inch by inch, all the while looking to the skies as the German Luftwaffe drops bombs on any target they can find
• AI Battle: Stalingrad Encirclement – Months of bloody close-quarter fighting have led to a decisive turning point for control of Stalingrad. Most of the German 6th Army has been left cut off and surrounded in the city. The Red Army must repulse a breakout attempt by the exhausted German forces

Miscellaneous premium DLC

• Three new Soviet skins: Bi-Tone Red Guards, Two-Tone Spring, Makeshift Sand
• Two New German Commanders:
  – Elite Troops Doctrine: Utilize Germany’s most elite companies, using stronger base troops with added abilities
  – Luftwaffe Supply Doctrine: Using the power of the Luftwaffe, keeping your troops on the front lines as long as possible, even if cut off!
• Two New Soviet Commanders:
  – Soviet Industry Tactics: Using the built up soviet industry, making use of more and stronger vehicle units at the cost of infantry numbers
  – Partisan Tactics: Making use of the Soviet Partisan network to harass enemies from behind the lines while destroying them with the soviet main army