The Company of Heroes franchise, a name synonymous with a revolutionary approach to real-time strategy games, is celebrating its 20th anniversary. Emerging from Relic Entertainment, the series has consistently pushed the boundaries of the RTS genre, focusing on tactical depth, destructible environments, and a unique emphasis on the human element of warfare. This milestone comes as Relic navigates a new era as an independent studio, following a period of significant upheaval.
Launched in 2006, the original Company of Heroes was hailed as a vanguard of the "RTS Revolution." It departed from traditional resource gathering and base building, instead prioritizing cover, momentum, and territory control. This design philosophy, heavily influenced by cinematic war films like "Saving Private Ryan" and "Band of Brothers," aimed to "humanize the battlefield." The game's audio design and unit animations conveyed a sense of individuality and vulnerability among soldiers, making players feel a deeper connection to their virtual troops. The development team, driven by a maximalist attitude where "nobody knew how to say no," packed the game with innovative features, leading to critical acclaim, including a 96 from PC Gamer, one of the highest scores ever awarded by the publication. Expansions "Opposing Fronts" and "Tales of Valor" further cemented the original's legacy.
The franchise journeyed east for "Company of Heroes 2" in 2013. This installment introduced environmental factors like extreme cold, which could inflict frostbite on infantry, and destructible ice surfaces, adding new layers of strategic complexity. While the author found it to be a personal favorite for its bold new mechanics, it proved divisive among the competitive multiplayer community. "Sometimes clumsy, a game that can't maintain all its systems, with too many disparate moving parts to feel consistently coherent. But the final result, despite the small losses along the way, is a winner," noted Rich McCormick in his review, which still awarded the game an 80. Despite its merits, a narrative began to form among some players that Relic might have lost some of its earlier magic, a sentiment amplified by the less successful "Dawn of War 3" a few years later.
A glimmer of the franchise's former innovative spirit, however, was evident in the 2014 "Ardennes Assault" expansion for "Company of Heroes 2." This pack introduced a dynamic campaign map simulating the Battle of the Bulge, allowing for province-to-province troop movement between RTS skirmishes and forcing players to make critical strategic choices. The author regards this expansion as a franchise peak, praising its voiced commanders, reactive AI, and the tough tactical decisions it demanded.
With "Company of Heroes 3," Relic aimed for an even grander scope, drawing inspiration from the campaign structure of Sega's "Total War" series. The ambitious goal was to create a large-scale dynamic campaign set during the Italian campaign. However, this vision proved to be overly ambitious. "Yeah, we bit off more than we could chew," admitted Relic CEO Justin Dowdeswell. "The idea was great. The spirit of it was good. The team was energized. It was just more than we could get done in time." The game launched to mixed reception, with Fraser Brown concluding in his review that "right now it's impossible to look at it as anything other than a failure" despite acknowledging the quality of the RTS battles themselves.
The aftermath of "Company of Heroes 3's" launch saw Relic facing significant challenges, including two rounds of layoffs in 2023 and 2024. The studio also passed on developing "Dawn of War 4," citing a lack of bandwidth due to ongoing "Company of Heroes" projects. However, Relic has since separated from Sega and regained its independence. Despite being a smaller team, those interviewed expressed high spirits and renewed excitement for the future of the "Company of Heroes" franchise.
The team is committed to supporting its games, with the recent release of the wave-based "Final Stand" mode for "Company of Heroes 3" marking a continued effort. While the path forward may be challenging without a large publisher's support, the newly independent Relic is embracing the empowerment that comes with self-determination. "We will survive and thrive based on the success of the decisions that we make along the way," Dowdeswell stated, highlighting a cultural shift towards ownership and accountability. As "Company of Heroes" marks two decades, its developers are looking ahead, driven by a passion for the series and a determination to forge its future.
"The industry's in turmoil, and this wasn't a guaranteed outcome for the studio," Dowdeswell concluded. "So I'm really pleased that we're here, able to support the games, and able to celebrate this 20th anniversary."