Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition news & patch notes

May the sun bless your bounty, Sire! Today we’ll be discussing the juicy details about Stronghold 4, our latest mainline entry in the Stronghold series launching this year!

We’re aiming to answer the most important and pressing questions you've had with our SH4 Q&A! As is often the case with a game in active development, things may change over time as we make Stronghold 4 the best it can be.

We'll be providing more information along the way towards launch later this year, so stay tuned!

If you want to give us your thoughts or feedback, please feel free to use the feedback form in the demo or join our bustling Stronghold discord community!

If you haven't yet had the chance, please dive into the demo and take it for a spin!

Great word comes on the wind, Sire! Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition's Fourth Major Update and DLC arrives on August 4th!

To all ye challengers, conquerors and would-be kings, and face the greatest strategic gauntlet yet – to overcome the merciless Sultan Baibars as well as the deadly Surgeon of the desert.

In addition to the 10-mission Co-op Trail and Map Pack coming at no cost, a new DLC, The Surgeon and Baibars, is coming in the the form of two unique CPU opponents and a fresh daunting Sands of Time trail - the Trail of the Vulture!

The wily Surgeon is a truly master of defence, building colossal castles with a great deal of huge towers to try and keep the enemy out. Do not be deceived by his perceived passiveness – as like all great predators, he aims to let prey tire themselves before swooping in for the final move.

A former slave who raised himself to the station of Sultan, Baibars is much more aggressive and direct. He forges strong basic fortresses and seeks to overwhelm his foes with waves upon waves of attacks. Crashing his forces against the walls of your stronghold, you must fight the right balance between survival and attack if you wish to succeed against him.

Wishlist The Surgeon and Baibars DLC to be the first in when it launches on August 4th!

Wood needed! Return to the green roots of Stronghold in this narrative prequel to the original 'castle sim', coming in 2026!

Your Stronghold awaits, Sire!

Stronghold 4 is the long-awaited next mainline entry in the Stronghold 'castle sim' series, bringing cinematic story and medieval immersion to the forefront of real-time strategy.

Immerse yourself in a cinematic campaign, hone your siegecraft with new mechanics in skirmish mode and customise your castles with a wide selection of castle pieces and cosmetics.

Follow the tale of Penryn of Wethel as his simple shepherd’s life is upended and he is forced through trial by fire to become the leader he sees within himself.

Feel the impact of a living medieval world on your castle economy and siegecraft, as you battle against hostile outlaws, rival lords and the elements themselves, with the bloody sieges and grand warfare of Stronghold feeling more epic than ever before!

Stronghold 4’s public demo arrives for you to play on 23rd June.

Wishlist the game to get notified as soon as the demo goes live!

Greetings Sire!

The ancient and mighty sun has blessed us with its presence, shining on our grand struggles, desert crops and eternal achievements!

In this golden beam of enlightenment, what better moment to add to our mounting list of patch improvements?

Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition v2.7.1 Patch Notes:

ADDITIONS

• Added the Aggressive AI Sieging option; "CPU Lords will send more troops to attack enemy Lords in certain circumstances, and their units will pay more attention to destroying buildings in closer proximity to themselves". This is available as an option in Skirmish and Multiplayer setup, and will be enabled when the “Very Hard” difficulty is chosen across the Trails.

• Added support for Custom Lord Nicknames (The nickname affixed when there is more than one of the same Lord in a match) via the CustomMedia text.txt file

CHANGES

• The standard "A Message from \" announcement voicelines for Baldwin and Bullseye instead use the voiceline “A message, Lord!”, which we have now updated in the files to use 4 placeholder files instead. So if you would like to add your own own versions of this voiceline, you now can.

Please note that you will only see Multiplayer lobbies of other players on the exact same version of the game as you. People make sure you're on the latest version if you'd like to play Multiplayer.

As always, thank you for playing Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition!

Great tidings Sire!

Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition's third major DLC, Baldwin and Bullseye, is now available!

Those of you who would dare challenge the Leper King of Jerusalem himself, step forward and make yourselves known!

Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition v2.7 - Free Spring Update

- Update Size: ~220MB -

Good morrow Sire! From a brand-new Co-Op Trail to fresh Battlegrounds, this update is packed with content for builders, strategists, and commanders alike. Rally your allies, sharpen your tactics, and dive into the battle you were destined to fight!

NEW CONTENT:

New 10 Mission Co-Op Trail: The Ravens’ Duet

Team up with your ride-or-die and take the fight to the frontlines in The Ravens’ Duet, a fresh 10 mission Co-Op trail built for chaos, coordination, and victory.

Free Map Pack

Expand your battlefield with three brand-new maps in this update’s Free Map Pack!

Drop into the 500x Freebuild Map, Sinkhole: A large crater filled with plenty of iron and stone, surrounded by a ring of oasis. What could go wrong?

------------------------

Clash in the 800x 4 Player Skirmish Map, Tri River Island: A giant island with plenty of space to build. Teamwork may be required to take down those on higher ground...

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Battle across a semi-balanced yet wildly chaotic 600x 6 Player Map, the Crocodiles' Nest. It is criss-crossed with twisting marshes and narrow pathways that keep every encounter unpredictable. This is crocodile territory—step carefully!

For the inquisitive scribes among you, here are the full patch notes!

Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition - Spring Update v2.7 - Full Patch Notes

Further Additions, Changes and Fixes (as not mentioned above):

Please note that you will only see Multiplayer lobbies of other players on the exact same version of the game as you. People make sure you're on the latest version if you'd like to play Multiplayer.

ADDITIONS

• Added 'keep enclosed' symbol for pre-built CPU Castles in Co-Op trails

• Added 'keep enclosed' symbol on Skirmish briefing screen when the CPU Castle is pre-built

• Added 2 new Charges for the Coat of Arms, representing CPU Lords Bullseye and Baldwin

• Added some of the maps from "Realm of the Crocodile" Historical Campaign as Freebuild Maps: "Ancient River, Fractured Frontier, The Lush Strip, The Rivers Edge, Oasis by the River"

CHANGES

• Adjusted Sentinel’s Stockpile Sell Thresholds: Stone sell threshold 50 -> 43, Ale sell threshold: 10 -> 2

• The Sergeant CPU no longer uses Tunnelers

BUG FIXES

• Fixed an issue causing CPUs Moat Diggers to 'glitch' and not move sometimes, leaving the moat undug

• Fixed a bug where Achievement would not trigger for beating the Trail of the Cobra within the Target Time

• Fixed a bug causing a Radar map click issue when UI is disabled

• Fixed a bug with house placement (house cycling system now matches other buildings, like gardens)

Modded Custom Content Fixes:

• Fixed issues with Custom Media text in Multiplayer Games

Map Editor & Map Specific Fixes:

• Fixed a stray pitch tile in the map Oasis Scramble

• Fixed a bug with Tall Order map

As always, thank you for playing Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition!

Greetings Sire! 

Today we're releasing a very small update for Crusader DE featuring an updated roadmap and a returning feature from Crusader HD.

Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition v2.62 Patch Notes:

UPDATES

• Updated Roadmap featuring 2 upcoming free updates as well as 2 additional DLC releases.

• Re-enabled Skirmish Map Editor descriptions - you can now edit mission descriptions for Skirmish maps in the Map Editor and view the descriptions on the Custom Skirmish screen.

Please note that you will only see Multiplayer lobbies of other players on the exact same version of the game as you. People make sure you're on the latest version if you'd like to play Multiplayer.

As always, thank you for playing Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition!

Glad tidings Sire! You have asked and we have heeded the call to arms! Prepare yourselves for more lords, more co-op and even more Crusader content with this extended roadmap for Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition!

Check out our full plans below!

Today, we're announcing two upcoming FREE content updates – which will be available for ALL players – as well as two additional DLCs this year, with the first dropping on April 21st!

With new maps and new co-op missions to battle alongside friends, there's plenty for you to discover, build or destroy.

This third major DLC for Stronghold Crusader DE is 'Baldwin & Bullseye', featuring the figure from history most requested by fans - The Leper King of Jerusalem, King Baldwin!

Inspired by the historic ruler of the Crusades AND the iconic deuteragonist in 2005’s ‘Kingdom of Heaven’, Baldwin governs his territory with stoic wisdom, despite his young age and disabling condition. His army boasts a blend of devoted Crusader soldiers and Bedouin mercenaries, and his thick-walled fortresses present a daunting task for those who’d dare to siege him.

For those looking to dust off their thinking caps and really test their strategic skills, the new Sands of Time trail, the Trail of the Eagle, will push you to reach new untouched heights!

Will you emerge victorious in nine daunting missions across unfamiliar battlegrounds or will you succumb and fall to your doom? Let's find out!

Wishlist the Baldwin & Bullseye DLC today!

Greetings Sire! 

Thank you for the continued community support and passion for Crusader, its been great seeing what exciting creations the Community have come up with since the release of the Castle and CPU Lord Editor.

Today we're releasing the latest patch for Crusader DE, bringing a few fixes to your castle-building and besieging experience, as well as a hotly requested addition to the Custom Lord parameters. Happy sieging!

Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition v2.61 Patch Notes:

ADDITIONS

• “Max Siege Size” and “Siege Wave Size Multiplier” are now editable parameters in the Editor for Custom CPU Lords

CHANGES

• Updated the CustomMedia readme file

BUG FIXES

• Fixed a bug where a wall segment of a CPU Lord would be considered fully repaired, despite having a height of 0, effectively creating an opening in the castle

• Fixed a bug where Custom Trail games wouldn’t use the selected player colour

• Fixed a bug in the map editor where it would constantly play a message telling you to site your granary

• Fixed a bug in the map editor, where the alignment of the Horse Archers visual placement and actual placement did not line up

• Visual bug: Shrine health bar was too high, this is now fixed

Localisation Fixes:

• In English Localisation, fixed a typo in the Kahinah’s text when defeating a player, and typo in the custommedia read me file

Please note that you will only see Multiplayer lobbies of other players on the exact same version of the game as you. People make sure you're on the latest version if you'd like to play Multiplayer.

As always, thank you for playing Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition!

Greetings Sire!

As promised, here is the guide to help you make the most of the Castle & CPU Editor released alongside the most recent Winter Update.

We can't wait to see the masterful and deviously cunning creations you make!

Godspeed!

As always, thank you for playing Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition!

Greetings M’Lord! 

In this patch we are happy to be able to bring you support to make custom video/voicelines available with your CPU Lords, by using external sharing sites - for example, Nexus Mods. Thank you for the continued community support and passion for Crusader.

Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition v2.6 Patch Notes:

CUSTOM MEDIA

Custom Portrait Images can now be uploaded for all Custom Lords, and this is supported in the Steam Workshop

Additionally, outside of the Steam Workshop, the following is now supported through the use of external sharing sites:

• Full Custom Video, Text, and Speech for your Custom CPU Lords is now supported.

• Readme.txt can be found in the CustomMedia folder in the settings folder, to help answer any questions you may have. This can be found by pressing the “Open Settings Folder” in the settings menu in-game, and then within the folder named “CustomMedia”

• Example files have been provided for Custom Lord Media, to be used as a guide

SPECTATOR MODE

We’ve heard your love for spectator mode, and have made some of the most hotly requested additions to make this mode better than ever:

• Increased game speed cap to 300 in spectator mode

• Allowed selecting of units for viewing their health bars in spectator mode

• Hidden items (killing pits, pitch ditch, ambushers and assassins) are now shown to the spectator

• Floating info popups (Market Place, Current Population & Gold) for the CPUs, will now be visible for the spectator

• The Spectator can no longer use the undo button in spectator mode to delete buildings

ADDITIONS

• Enabled extreme powers in single player Co-Op Trails

• Added checks for certain invalid combinations of CPU Lord Config settings (eg. setting a number for siege cover troops, but not setting a troop type for it)

• SHIFT and CTRL can now be used to assign/replace multiple Castle Designs at once during CPU Lord Setup

BUG FIXES

• Fixed a bug where using Extended and Custom CPU Lords could cause the game to crash when starting a Multiplayer game

• Fixed a bug where custom CPUs could delete their Keep after sending out an attack wave

• Fixed a bug where a Custom Skirmish game could be started without a Castle Design being assigned for a Custom CPU Lord, which would cause a crash

• Fixed a bug where, if a CPU Lord had more than 1 patrol group in their Attack Force, the additional groups would not attack an enemy Castle

• Fixed a bug where CPU Lords set to attack the "Richest" and "Weakest" player would retarget their entire attack force if who the condition applies to were to change

• Fixed a bug where, when a CPU Lord has no Harassment siege engines, they would place unoccupied Woodcutters around the Castle

• Fixed a bug where Pikemen, Swordsmen and Arab Swordsmen would ignore gather points in Castle Designs

• Fixed a bug where, when hosting a custom Co-Op Multiplayer game, only the guest would have a round table present in the game lobby

• Fixed a bug where Custom CPU Lords wouldn’t be placed into teams in Co-Op Multiplayer lobbies

• Fixed a bug where customizing the Classic Trails would remove the option to place Bedouin Camp

• Fixed a bug where the trail border of Trail of the Cobra wouldn’t change to gold on trail completion

• Fixed a bug when restarting a Custom Trail

• Fixed a bug where selecting a blank row of the Custom Trails selection box would cause an error, and occasionally a crash

• Fixed a bug where a number string would appear in front of a Custom CPU Lord’s name in Multiplayer and in the Teams Panel

• Fixed a visual bug where the Multiplayer Mini Map could show extra mini map image borders

• The Horse Archers position was not consistent with its rotation, this has been improved

Map and Mission Specific Fixes:

• Fixed the Greatest Lord panel in the Seventh Crusade Mission 5, 'The Re Conquest' 

Localisation Fixes:

• Localisation of “Wins” in “Lord Crusader Wins” popup (at the end of a match) has been fixed across multiple languages

Please note that you will only see Multiplayer lobbies of other players on the exact same version of the game as you. People make sure you're on the latest version if you'd like to play Multiplayer.

As always, thank you for playing Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition!

Greetings Sire!

We've teamed up with our friends at Chimera to bring you a unique gaming bundle - The Songs of Crusaders!

Grab two highly rated strategy games — a stone-cold classic RTS and a dazzling modern turn-based autobattler — together at a reduced price!

See you on the battlefront!

Greetings M'Lord! The team here at Firefly have been reviewing all the player feedback regarding the CPU Lord creator tool. Amongst the overwhelming positive support, we've noticed the point raised regarding the lack of the ability within it to use custom video/voicelines etc.

We're happy to say that it's looking very much like we've come to a solution, and that in the near future you will have the ability to make custom video/voicelines available with your CPU creations by using popular external sharing sites - for example, Nexus Mods.

While this function will not be available through Steam Workshop, we hope that this change will allow you to be your most creative selves! Subject to testing and some guide documentation to be written up, we're aiming to have this up and running by the end of next week at the very latest.

All the best, Sire!

Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition v2.5 - Free Winter Update

- Update Size: ~150MB -

Greetings, Sire! A fresh new year has dawned upon us and with the chill winds of promise arrives the long-awaited Winter Update! This stockpile of new content, enemies, tools, improvements and fixes will challenge you in many ways, both new and old!

Prepare yourself for the truest test of your cunning, skill and bravery yet!

NEW CONTENT:

Steam Workshop Support for New Custom Content

With this update comes the Castle and CPU Lord Editor tool, and the Custom Trail Maker, both of which will be explained below.

Your new Castle designs, Lords and Trails can be uploaded to the Steam Workshop. You can also download community made custom content just as easily from the Workshop, for infinite variety in your besieging!

Castle and CPU Lord Editor

The Castle & CPU Lord Editor is a free tool that allows full customization and creation of new Castles and CPU Lord configurations. Inside this tool you can create Castles of any design that can be used by the CPU Lords in-game, in both Custom Skirmish and Multiplayer games.

With this Editor you can:

• Edit existing CPU Lords and Castle Designs from Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition

• Create your own, new CPU Lords and Castle Designs

With the release of this update, the tool will already be in your Steam library -  for it to be viewable in the games list, make sure you have Tools enabled in the library view settings.

If you’re not sure where to start with the tool, worry not! We have created a guide for all your Castle and Lord editing needs! This can be found by pressing the ? button on the main screen of the Editor.

There is also a video guide available on our Youtube Channel, which gives an overview on how to get started with these Customisation features.

Custom Trails

With this update, we bring you the Custom Trail Maker. This is in-game, found in the “Map Editor” section. Trails can be shared with the community on the Steam Workshop.

When creating Trails, you can change all types of settings, such as the CPU vs Human advantage, Extreme Troop Limit, and any of the Advanced Skirmish Options such as Enemy HP or Improved AI Sieging.

Trails you have created or downloaded from the Workshop, can be found and played in the Skirmish section, where there is a new Custom Trails button.

Editing CPU Lords and Castles in Existing Trails

Sunk countless hours into Crusader and want to mix things up a bit? You can now edit the Lord and Castle configuration of any missions, using the Customize button. This applies across all Classic Trails and Sands of Time Trails.   

Free Map Pack

In this Update’s Map Pack, we have added three new maps for you to besiege and battle across:

• Water divides tall embankments. Long range siege warfare will be essential before a ground assault in the 600x balanced map - Oasis Crossing

• Build within the safety of the flatlands or claim the high ground near the cliff edge in the 700x Freebuild map - Approaching Seas

• Communication is key. Form alliances to take down the bigger issues at hand in the 500x Skirmish map - Mind Games

Editing CPU Castle Design Settings in Multiplayer and Custom Skirmish

In Custom Skirmish and Multiplayer, you now have more control over the Castles your CPU opponents will build.

You can select between 1 and 8 of the default Firefly Castle types for each CPU, to choose the specific Castle design you want to face off against.

For the classic Crusader HD Lords, there are also two additional sets of community Castle Designs already included. "Community AIVs" is a set if improved Castle Designs, and "Community Historical" is a set of Historical (taken from real life Castles) Castle Designs.

These have been added to Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition in collaboration with Evy, from “Evrey's Modded Stronghold Crusader AIVs” Castle Designs. 

If you make your own custom Castle designs in the Castle and CPU Lord Editor, or download them from the Steam Workshop, you can also select these for the Lords to build.

New 10 Mission Co-Op Trail: Caravan of the Camels 

A new 10 mission Co-Op trail has arrived! Grab your most trusted advisor and prepare to best the Caravan of the Camels!

Spectator Mode

Watch battles for the ages unfold before your eyes in the hotly requested Spectator Mode! This mode allows you to set up a Skirmish between only CPU Lords - you’re out of the picture! 

Extreme Difficulty in Trails

Want to prove that you are the most Hardcore and Best Stronghold fan? Then the ultimate challenge has arrived! Available for all missions across the Classic Trails and Sands of Time, we are happy (terrified?) to introduce: the Extreme Difficulty setting! With this enabled, all CPU Lords will start the mission with prebuilt Castles. Good luck!

For the inquisitive ones among you, here are the full patch notes!

Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition - Winter Update v2.5

- Full Patch Notes

Further Additions, Changes and Fixes (as not mentioned above):

Please note that you will only see Multiplayer lobbies of other players on the exact same version of the game as you. People make sure you're on the latest version if you'd like to play Multiplayer.

ADDITIONS

• Added "Multiplayer Ping Location" hotkey (default is Alt-P), which when pressed in Multiplayer or Co-Op, will ping an action point on the mini map to all human allies. If the ally clicks on the action point icon, it will take them to the location where the player pressed the hot key.

• 18 new Charges available in the Coat of Arms options

• Added a celebratory trail completion video to Co-Op and Sands of Time trails

• Added ability to lock “Ready Up” in the Co-Op lobby

• Added Steam rich presence (Steam will display to your friends what mode/trails etc you’re playing)

CHANGES

• The first Co-Op Trail has now been named “The Twin Vipers”

• In the Classic trails, the player troop limit has been doubled

• In Multiplayer, capped the maximum number of troops made in one click (when using the CTRL shortcut) to 100

• Further improvements to Multiplayer Systems (in relation to resyncs and crashes) with help from several players in the Multiplayer Beta Branch

• The Sultan now recruits Slaves with which to dig moat

• Decreased the number of Knights the Jewel needs to begin harassing

• In Realm of the Crocodile - Mission 2 - The Staging Post, you can now place a poleturner

BUG FIXES

• Fixed a bug where, whenever a CPUs drawbridge would be opened, and if it is the only entrance into their Castle, the pathway is considered blocked. This would then cause the CPU to destroy ALL of their economic buildings instantly.

• Fixed a bug where CPU wells/water pots would be incorrectly turned off

• Fixed a bug where units climbing a ladder would be issued a new command before climbing is completed, causing them to stop climbing mid-ladder and be killed

• Fixed a bug where Pikemen and Monks would sometimes get stuck/rubberband before reaching an enemy unit, while in defensive or aggressive stance - Assign either defensive or aggressive stance

• Fixed a bug where a CPUs destroyed Engineer Guild would leave an unbuildable patch

• Fixed a bug where sometimes, when a harassing CPUs Siege Equipment was destroyed, Engineers would appear

• Fixed a bug where, if siege tents were placed with no gap between the tiles in a line where the entrance is blocked by another, engineers would not be able to enter the tent

• Fixed a bug where CPU Lords would place siege equipment in inaccessible areas

• The UI will now correctly display how many rocks are available for a catapult when more than 250 are available

• Fixed a bug where under certain conditions, newly recruited troops would move to the location ordered but then once reaching the destination would walk towards the barracks and remain there

• Attempting to recruit Engineers, Tunnelers or Laddermen while at max army size will now trigger the correct warnings

• Fixed a performance issue caused by troops being moved around moats

• Fixed a bug where CPU Lords would occasionally build another Lord’s Castle design in small spaces (Lordly plagiarism!?)

• Fixed a bug where save files with Turkish characters would not be shown when trying to load a save. These saves should now be able to be loaded.

• Fixed a bug where some hotkeys would not respond when reassigned

• Fixed bug caused by using low speeds (below 35) in Co-Op and Multiplayer

• Fixed a bug where gold gained when killing a CPU Lord would be displayed as a negative amount

• Fixed a bug where 200 Gold was being displayed as the cost for Improved Laddermen instead of 20

• Fixed a bug where the UI of the religious tab on the Scribe Book would show that the percentage required to reach maximum popularity bonus from religion is 100%, when in reality it is 95%

• Fixed a bug occasionally causing a black screen to appear after quitting a mission

• Fixed a bug where the “quit mission” popup would sometimes display incorrectly

• Fixed a bug where, when returning to the Custom Skirmish Screen or Loading in a save, the text 'Advanced Options Enabled' would incorrectly not be displayed above the 'Advanced Skirmish Options' button

• Fixed a bug where when exiting a custom skirmish match, and returning to the lobby, the button to start another skirmish match would be greyed out

• Fixed a bug causing CPU Lords in the Lord Selection panel to display in the wrong order after quitting a mission and then returning to lobby setup

Map Editor & Map Specific Fixes

• Fixed a bug that would cause the Map Editor and Scenario Editor buttons to stop functioning

• Fixed a bug where some brushes in the Map Editor would have bumps

• Fixed Building Availability bugs in the Map Editor

• Fixed issue in map “Conquest”, where your troops would immediately kill something under your keep on mission start, and unblocked inaccessible Iron Deposit

Campaign & CPU Lord Fixes

• Fixed Richard Lionheart not building his market in Crusader Extreme Trial - Mission 13 - Best Friends

• Fixed the Pig’s Castle sizing issue in Crusader First Edition Trail - Mission 4 - An Old Friend

• Fixed the orange and yellow Snake’s Castles intersecting with each other in Crusader First Edition Trail - Mission 18 - A Barren Land

• The Saladin’s speech and text now match, when playing a line in reaction to his buildings getting destroyed

• One of the Abbot’s Castle Designs had a gatehouse in the middle of the estate area leading nowhere, this has now been fixed

Localisation Fixes

• Russian Localisation: Fixed issues with descriptions of CPU Lords (Marshall, Sheriff and Nizar)

• Arabic and Arabic Left to Right: Various localisation fixes

Additional Hotfix v2.5.1

• Fixed the cause of two crashes - when pressing escape to close the CPU castle select screen, and occasionally when closing team selection screen

As always, thank you for playing Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition!

Behold and rejoice Sire! Celebrate the festivities and cap off this productive year with the reveal of the second major content update for Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition!

From co-op trails and map packs, to new Lords and custom editors, the power is in your hands to play how you want and with whomever you want!

There’s no better way or time to play this revamped desert hot strategy classic!

Following his debut in Stronghold: Definitive Edition’s Jewel Campaign, The Sergeant has journeyed across the sands to face you in glorious battle! A veteran of great military renown, his confidence lies in commanding his troops; consisting largely of archers and well-armoured pikemen. His strongholds are sturdy and efficient, and his strategies are balanced in both aggression and defence.

After clawing her way to leadership within her bandit camp, the second DLC Lord, The Lioness, has strength in every sense of the word; solid castles with some sneaky traps, a healthy economy, and hostile tactics to claim her territory. Will you best the queen of the deep sands? Or shall you become her next meal?

Wishlist now on Steam!

Greetings Sire! 

In this patch we are happy to be able to bring you Multiplayer System Improvements, alongside other fixes. Happy besieging!

Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition v2.04 Patch Notes:

MULTIPLAYER and CO-OP

• We have fixed a bug causing crashes during Multiplayer, as well as a bug causing resyncs. This fix also affects co-op. A huge thank you to the following players, who were instrumental in helping with testing the fixes: LORDST, -Arno from Iran, Marco, TheRevenantSkull aka.Gympie5, Mr.Pretext, Tryndamere, Gynt, SeanB, Luca aka.RealQuality, Nigel, Megz

  Please note that you will only see Multiplayer lobbies of other players on the exact same version of the game as you. People make sure you're on the latest version if you'd like to play Multiplayer.

CHANGES

• 'Display Enemy Health' option has been removed from multiplayer due to it causing a bug

BUG FIXES

• Fixed issue where the incorrect gold cost for Laddermen would display when “Improved Laddermen” setting was enabled

• Fix issue where CPU Lords would occasionally use the wrong Castle Design in small spaces

Map and Mission Specific Fixes:

• Fixed issue where CPU Lords’ Castles would be broken in the map Conquest, when the Pre-Built Enemy Castles setting was enabled

• Fixed issue where a Jester was spawning in the player keep, then instantly being killed, in the map Conquest

Localisation Fixes:

• Improvements to the “Left to Right” Setting available in the Arabic version of the game

Multiplayer Hotfix v2.4.1

• There was an error in the previous patch preventing one of the fixes mentioned above from taking effect, this has now been resolved

As always, thank you for playing Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition!

Glad tidings Sire!

We recently opened the gates and unleashed the first major update for Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition. The Autumn Update as well as The Canary & The Trader DLC added a wealth of new gameplay content, improvements and customisation options for every kind of Stronghold player.

The work doesn't stop there however! Today we're releasing the latest patch for Crusader DE, bringing more fixes and enhancements to your castle-building and besieging experience!

Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition v2.03 Patch Notes:

Update Size: 63.7mb

MULTIPLAYER

• In response to feedback from players struggling to play Multiplayer Matches, we have changed the way the game interacts with the Steam Multiplayer Servers, and also made the game latency tolerance significantly wider. 

• Additionally, we have fixed a bug which was causing players to instantly be kicked at the start of a multiplayer match

IMPROVEMENTS TO DLC 1 CPU LORDS - CANARY & TRADER

• The Canary has gained an engineers guild, allowing her to build catapults when sieging or harassing. We've also increased the number of troops she uses for attacks.

• In one castle the Trader built his wells outside the walls, where they were not accessible if the gatehouses were closed. These are now reachable from the inside.

—

ADDITIONS

• Added Advanced Option “Weakened Eunuchs” to Multiplayer and Custom Skirmish. When enabled, Eunuchs cost more to buy, do less damage and have less health

• CPU Lords Frederick and The Marshal will now buy weapons across all game modes, including the Original Trails

• Added shortcut to open Cathedral/Grand Mosque for troop creation, this defaults to Alt-B 

• Added “No Starting Gold” option to Multiplayer and Custom Skirmish. This only applies to Human Players and does not affect the CPU Lords.

• Added “Blank” Coat of Arms Ordinary

• Added a button allowing for export of the current Coat of Arms. Button is to the right of “Coat of Arms” Menu Title

• The Maps used in Mission 4 of “The Barons Crusade”, The Jordan Valley and Mission 5 of “The Seventh Crusade”, Conquest, have now been added to Custom Skirmish

• Added Option to Load maps from inside the Map Editor

• Prevented spamming via the Ally panel in Multiplayer (You will now only receive one text and audio notification every 30 seconds)

CHANGES

• Mangonels in the original Stronghold Crusader shot at pretty much everything except walls. We have updated the Mangonel behaviour to match this

• Units set to aggressive stance would previously struggle to chase after moving troops and actually attack them. This behaviour has now been improved

• Replaced the death sounds for the Female Lords

• Changed Insult Hotkeys to match the Crusader HD Default Keybinds

• Previously when the Crocodile CPU Lord is panicking, he would recall all of his Ambushers to the top of his keep. They will now instead hold their positions around his Castle, waiting to surprise attackers

• On maps with Oasis near Keeps, the CPU would place their farms right next to their keeps, and then overwrite them with their Castles. Now, where possible, the farms should be placed outside of the footprint of the castle that will be built

BUG FIXES

• Fixed a bug around how CPU Lords would over prioritise building Hop Farms when deciding what type of farm to build

• Fixed a bug where CPU Lords wouldn’t use Ladders if their Keep is enclosed

• Fixed a bug that caused the Wolf CPU Lord to be unable to fill siege tents when defending his keep. 

• Fixed a bug that would cause Units to stop digging moat, and idle in the moat indefinitely

• Fixed a bug that, when inviting a friend to a Co-Op match, when they are already in a mission, would cause a crash or for the friend not to be moved to the Co-Op Lobby

• Fixed a bug where a CPU Lord would destroy their oil smelter while panicking, leaving an undestroyable patch of grass on the map (preventing the oil smelter from being rebuilt), and trap them in an iron buying loop

• Fixed a bug where CPU Lords would get stuck deleting and replacing their own buildings when the “Prebuilt Enemy Castles” Setting is enabled 

• Fixed a bug where some CPU Lords would sometimes not build their Castles when “Prebuilt Enemy Castles” Setting is enabled 

• Fixed a bug where, when “Prebuilt Enemy Castles” Setting is enabled, the CPU would struggle to build over the ruins of outposts

• Fixed a bug with one of Frederick’s Castles, which was missing a wall, preventing him sending units to some of his towers

• Fixed a bug with one of the Abbot’s Castles, which was missing a tile of moat leaving a path open straight into his keep

• Fixed a bug that linked Extreme Power Hotkeys 7 and 8, they are now separate

• Fixed a bug where the “Restart Mission” menu option would sometimes not appear

• Fixed a bug where the “Reset All Missions” Setting in the Cheat Menu would not remove progress properly

• Fixed a bug where the “Reset All Missions” Setting in the Cheat Menu would then not allow you to load any missions without closing and reopening the game

• Fixed a bug where the load/save requester wouldn’t show Campaign Saves correctly (they were showing as Invasion Maps)

• Fixed a bug where teaming Player/CPU 1 with Player/CPU 8 would create a team of 3 players, instead of 2

• Fixed an issue where if a map had extra stockpiles, then they would interfere with CPU placement and the CPU would delete its stockpile along with its resources

• Fixed a bug where, when playing Sands of Time with Timer Functionality disabled, completing the mission would not be reflected correctly on the map and mission list, which would show chickens instead. (Unfortunately, for the map display the fix will only apply from now on - previously completed missions will still display chickens, and the mission will need to be beaten again for it to update)

• Fixed a bug causing incorrect music to play when beating a Historical Campaign, in the “Aftermath” Screen

• Fixed a bug with the Tar animation in marshes, where Tar bubbles would get stuck and not disappear

• Fixed a bug where the Bedouin Healer would becomes stuck in a running animation, or slides along the ground when following an injured unit in the aggressive stance

• Fixed a bug where playing the Economic Campaign “Realm of the Crocodile” would cause the Lord Type to get stuck as the Arabic Lord

• Fixed a bug where occasionally the Cathedral Bonus would be referred to as “Mosque Bonus”

Map and Mission Specific Fixes:

• Fixed issue where in Economic Campaign “Realm of the Crocodile” Missions 1 and 3, sometimes your Lord dying would not cause the mission to end

• First Edition Trail, Mission 38 - Saladin “The Kind” can now build his Market 

• First Edition Trail, Mission 43 - Rat “The Stoat” now builds a different Castle, allowing him to function properly

• First Edition Trail, Mission 44 - The Castles that the Snake and Rat built on the left hand side of the map result in The Snake getting trapped in his Castle, rendering him useless. This has now been fixed.

• Crusader Warchest Trail, Mission 53 - The Abbot no longer blocks himself in

• Historical Campaign, Crusader States, Mission 3 - the shield icon was displayed next to the player rather than the two Pig CPUs, who are in a team. This has now been fixed.

• In Economic Campaign “Realm of the Crocodile” Mission 1, the “Witchraft!” Event video was not ending correctly. This has now been fixed.

• In Economic Campaign “Realm of the Crocodile”, Monks could be hired from the Grand Mosque instead of Temple Guards. This has now been fixed.

• In Economic Campaign “Realm of the Crocodile” Mission 4, placing the armoury was disabled. This was an error and has now been fixed.

• Removed some spare land on the map “Castaways”

• Removed signpost in Custom Skirmish Map “Edessa”

Localisation Fixes:

• Added a setting in the Arabic version of the game, that allows left to right UI (the original UI layout). You will need to close and re-open the game after applying the setting to see it take effect.

• Updates across various localisations

—

Please note: you will only see Multiplayer lobbies of other players on the exact same version of the game as you. People make sure you're on the latest version if you'd like to play Multiplayer.

As always, thank you so much for playing Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition!

Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition v2.0 - Free Autumn Update

- Update Size: ~330MB -

The time is upon us, my Liege! Autumn has arrived and with it comes the eagerly-awaited Crusader DE Autumn Update! So dust off your armour, sharpen your steel and charge into the fray!

NEW CONTENT:

The Reptilian Regent has arrived! 

Battle this bloodthirsty and bitter Lord of the marshes in Custom Skirmish, or challenge his tyranny in the badlands of the Upper Nile in the new Economic Campaign, The Realm of the Crocodile.

Free Map Pack

In this Update’s Map Pack, we have added three new maps for you to besiege and battle across:

• On an island split into two halves, band together or descend into Skirmish chaos across the 600x map - Castaways

• Fight for control over a limited space in the PvP-style 500x Balanced Skirmish Map - Temple Island

• Enjoy rich resources and lush land in the 700x Freebuild map - The Thirsty Trail

Improved CPU Sieging Behaviour

With this update comes improved CPU Sieging Behaviour! For Multiplayer and Custom Skirmishes, this can be enabled in the advanced options section. In the Classic Trails (and in Sands of Time when the “Remove time requirements for Sands of Time trails” setting is enabled) this new behaviour is enabled when hard and very hard settings are used.

Balanced-Focused Advanced Settings for Custom Skirmish and Multiplayer

So you can Skirmish exactly the way you want, we have added a bunch of hotly requested new Advanced Settings to Custom Skirmish and Multiplayer. Pre-Built Enemy CPU Castles on match start, Uncapped Peasants, Faster Peasant Spawning, Optimised Fletchers, Rebalanced Horse Archers, and more! 

Difficulty Settings across Historical Campaigns, Classic Trails and Sands of Time

Want to experience the Campaigns with more of a challenge, or looking to make things a little easier? Difficulty Levels have been added to most Historical Campaign Missions, the Classic Trails, as well as all Sands of Time Missions. To access the Sands of Time difficulty levels, you need enable the “Remove time requirements for Sands of Time trails” setting

Randomised Custom Skirmish Setup

Want to leave your fate in the hands of the dice in a truly randomised challenge? Look no further! We have added the hotly requested Randomised Setup to Custom Skirmish. You can modify parameters to set the level of randomisation to your liking, for example, limiting the possible map pool to only Official maps, or enabling Random Advanced Options to let RNG decide which troops and buildings you’ll have access to.

Coat of Arms System 

You have been asking, and we have listened: We have added a brand new Coat of Arms editor, available in the settings. This new system will allow you to show the world exactly what type of Lord you are, pledge your allegiance to your favourite Crusader CPU Lords (we see you, Rat fans!), or just look very, very cool.

Co-Op Game Setup in Multiplayer

You can now easily set up Co-Op only games in Multiplayer, where both you and another player are automatically set to be allied against all CPU Lords. This comes with access to all the Advanced Multiplayer Settings and Maps, allowing for a heavily customisable Co-Op experience. When browsing the multiplayer lobbies, look out for the new icon representing Co-Op MP Games!

Multiplayer System Improvements - Less Crashes and Resyncs

We have continued to work at improving multiplayer, and in this update we have found and fixed a cause of crashes that would occur after resyncs. We have also found and fixed a cause of continuous resyncs which would trigger at the start of a game.

Please note that you will only see Multiplayer lobbies of other players on the exact same version of the game as you. People make sure you're on the latest version if you'd like to play Multiplayer.

Hungry for more? Here are all full list of changes coming!

Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition - Autumn Update v2.0

- Full Patch Notes

Further Additions, Changes and Fixes (as not mentioned above):

ADDITIONS

• The Marshal and Emperor Frederick will now purchase weapons in Custom Skirmish, Multiplayer, the Historical Campaigns new to Crusader Definitive Edition, and all Sands of Time missions

• Added Stance behaviour to the Bedouin Healer Unit: they will now move towards people slightly outside of range on their own. In Defensive Stance they will move a couple of tiles, and in Aggressive Stance they will move several tiles.

• The Healer can also now heal CPU or player Allies. This will occur by default in Co-Op, and is available as an optional setting in Multiplayer and Custom Skirmish.

• Added ability for the Co-Op host to swap the starting positions in Co-Op

• Added disabling use of Moat, as a Buildings setting in the Multiplayer Advanced Settings

• Added “Attack Here” hotkey

• Added an option in Freebuild mode, enabling Defeat upon your Lord dying.

• Added a notification pip to the "talk to allies" button, to show when you have received an ally request

• Added a new “add random CPU Lord” button when selecting CPU Lords in Custom Skirmish and Multiplayer 

• Added a notification of when you have hit the unit cap, but try to make more troops

• Added buttons allowing you to hide Co-Op trail progress with other Players & CPU Lords

• Added more rollover descriptions to settings in the Advanced Options in Multiplayer Lobbies

• Added a setting to mute all text from other players, at all points in the game

• Added a popup to confirm you want to disband your troops, to avoid accidentally disbanding your entire army at critical moments. This popup can be disabled if unwanted.

• Added a notification when trying to select a military building during peacetime

• New Map Editor hotkey added: The "Editor Show Connections" hotkey defaults to alt-C, and shows connection zones on the tile map. This allows the map creator to easily see what's connected and what's not.

• Engineers will now making a digging SFX when digging moats

CHANGES

• The Abbot no longer destroys his Cathedral when panicking

• Changes to how moat and walkable vegetation (shrubs/cacti) interacts: In game, moat placement will not remove it, but the pre-moat will go over them. When moat is dug, it will remove walkable veg. In the Map Editor, moat placement will remove walkable veg.

• Updated the UI of Weapons Buildings, to make it very clear that you can shift+click to change the weapon production output across ALL buildings of that type at once (if you didn’t know, now you know!)

• Enabling the “Remove time requirements for Sands of Time trails” setting now also allows cheat keys to be used during Sands of Time (note that this setting also disables leaderboard placement/functionality!)

• Updated the campaign map illustrations for the Historical Campaign “Saladin’s Conquest”, to better represent the factions involved

• Updated Objectives of Skirmish-Style Historical Campaign Missions

• Added a sound effect when adding gold in Freebuild

• Tweaked the Freebuild Setup Panel

• In a previous update, we fixed a visual Bug when placing rocks over walls - however, this bug could be used by Map Designers to create some very cool visual effects! This is now back in, in a slightly different way: if you hold shift as you place the rock, it will create the 'bug' visual effect

BUG FIXES

• Fixed an issue with the order in which the CPU Lords would sell goods, which would then negatively affect their economy

• Fixed a bug where the bodies of dead Units would be left on the ground after they were killed, which in some cases caused crashes

• Fixed a bug where more troops could be hired than intended in non-extreme games, surpassing the Unit Cap

• Fixed a bug where loading a save made just a few seconds after a mission started, would trigger a defeat

• Fixed an issue where, when commanding troops, the FPS would drop significantly and the troops would slow down

• Fixed bug that would cause the game to close when inviting a friend who does not have the game open to a multiplayer match.

• Fixed visual for Fire Ballista destruction in multiplayer

• Fixed a gap in the UI of the main HUD

Map Editor Fixes:

• Fixed a bug in the Map Editor that made it look as though certain very steep slopes were traversable by troops, when they were actually not routable

Campaign & CPU Lord Fixes:

• Fixed a bug causing Co-Op Mission 5 to crash

• Fixed a bug where The Kings Crusade Mission 5, “Jaffa Recaptured”, would sometimes not end

• In Mission 59 of the Classic Trails, the Abbot's Castle would be blocked in when his moat was completed. This has now been fixed.

• One of the Lionheart’s Castles was missing Ballista, this has now been fixed

• The Classic Trail Completion Video was not affected by the volume settings. This is now fixed.

• Fixed a bug where clicking continue on a final mission on Skirmish Masters wouldn’t play the Trail Completion Video

Localisation Fixes:

• Fixes across multiple Localisations

Additional Hotfix v2.01

• In one Castle layout, the Canary was not building storage for weapons. This has now been fixed.

Multiplayer Hotfix v2.02

• Fixed a cause of resyncs when a player leaves during a Multiplayer Match

• Reduced disconnects by adjusting the latency handling in Multiplayer

• Fixed a bug where the load/save requester wasn't showing Campaign Saves correctly

Known Issue: We are aware of a bug that causes Economic Campaign Mission 1 & 3 to not trigger the mission to end when the player Lord dies. A fix for this will be coming in a full patch soon.

As always, thank you so much for playing Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition!

Autumn Update Countdown Begins!

Greetings Sire! The much anticipated free Autumn Update & paid DLC for Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition will be coming on October 14th!

Prepare to march with your brethren in arms against with the brutal Crocodile as well as the cunning Canary and the tricky Trader in ONE WEEK.

The Crocodile arrives part of the free update, with the Canary and the Trader being part of the separate DLC. Each brings their own distinctive playstyle and unique characteristics to the battlefront.

The Autumn Update launches in one week. Wishlist it today to be the first to know!

Well met, my Liege! A huge thank you to everyone who helped to test the Multiplayer Improvements in our Public Beta. Today we are happy to bring these Improvements to the full game in v1.05, alongside other fixes and changes.

Date: 4th September 2025

- Update Size: 180MB -

Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition v1.05 Patch Notes

MULTIPLAYER IMPROVEMENTS

• Reduced lag between clicking and seeing your action take effect

• Fewer resyncs

Please note that you will only see Multiplayer lobbies of other players on the exact same version of the game as you. People make sure you're on the latest version if you'd like to play Multiplayer.

ADDITIONS

• Added 77 new “Place Building” Hotkeys

• Added a setting to disable any time-based functionality (timers, leaderboards, etc)  in Sands of Time, so you can play it like a regular trail if desired

•  Upgraded the Portcullis visual in the Skirmish Teams Table Screen

CHANGES

• Healers and Slaves now show no-attack symbol when targeting walls

• Improved the Healer's animations when running and healing

• Increased Arabic Swordsmen damage against buildings/walls to the correct values

• Updated loading screen

• Reworked the look of the Stockpile

• Removed uncoloured gap between coloured team chunks in the Team Table screen in Custom Skirmish

• Updated Keep and Stockpile UI Sprites to match the new in-game visuals

BUG FIXES

• Fixed the cause of an issue causing big FPS drops and 'Rubberbanding Units', which would persist in the save file

• Fixed issue where changed Autotrade values would sometimes revert to a previously set value

• The CPU Lords would get stuck in a loop of buying and selling the same resources in quick succession, with big negative effects on their economy. This has now been fixed.

• Fixed issue where CPU Lords would overbuild Siege Engines, causing them to continuously place new siege tents

• Fixes to some CPU Castles (Based on the issues listed in Evrey's Modded Stronghold Crusader AIVs)

• The Abbot would sometimes place double Ballistas in his towers, this is now fixed

• The Abbot could hire Monks from the Barracks, this is now fixed

• Fixed issue where Tunneler Troops would be visible and targetable aboveground when they should be in tunnels

• Fixed issue where a CPUs attacking Siege Engines would move too close to enemy Castles

• Mounted units should no longer get stuck on walls

• Fixed issue where you could only send the Assassins short distances

• Fixed issue where assassins were trying to travel through Gatehouses rather than take a direct route (over walls)

• Fixed issue with CPU Unit behaviour when trying to route through Gatehouse

• Fixed issue where Lancer Knights would (visually) become Swordsman Knights when galloping

• Fixed issue where the animations of Mounted Archers would get stuck when targeting troops on walls

• Temple Guard Rally Point Flag now no longer displays Monks

• During Skirmish Setup, it was possible to place a player in an invalid player slot in the very top left of maps, which would result in the player dying instantly at the start of the game. This has now been fixed.

• Fixed issue where if a keep was too close to the edge of the map, the player positioning selection would break

• Fixed issue where if two Keeps were too close together, the CPUs could build over a player’s Keep, destroying it

• The Genie speech now does not interfere with the Lord speech when adding a CPU Lord in Skirmish Setup

• Fixed issue where a Custom Skirmish would not end, even after all CPU Lords had been defeated

• Fixed issue where the Stockpile’s deletion cursor trigger zone

• Fixed visual bug which would occur for a few seconds when placing gatehouses

• Fixed CPU Lords spamming goods requests after you deny them

• The in-game timer now starts after exiting the briefing screen, time spent in the briefing screen is no longer counted on the timer

• Fixed issue where an engineer pushing a fire ballista would change the colour of his hat

• Added the missing Tooltips for some Siege Tent Rollovers

• Added the missing Help Button to the Fire Ballista's Siege Tent

• Fixed the trigger conditions for the Almost Impressive Achievement

Map and Mission Specific Fixes:

• Removed accidental Unbuildable Tiles in Map Distant Encounters

• Removed accidental Unbuildable Tiles in Map The Bulls Eye (affecting Mission 25: The Forgotten)

• The Marshal now functions correctly in Classic Trail, Mission 64

• Fixed a crash that could be experienced when loading a save of First Edition Trail, Mission 3: This Dusty Land 

• Fixed an issue where the game would freeze when playing Mission 49, The Mother of All Wars

Map Editor Fixes:

• In the map editor when playing at low FPS, terrain would sometimes be placed automatically over the button area when placing terrain elsewhere. This has now been fixed.

• Removed buildings present in Stronghold: Definitive Edition, but not Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition, from the Buildings Availability list in the Scenario Editor

• Fixed the cutoff Ruins Icons in the UI

Localisation Fixes:

• Updates to Polish, Simplified Chinese, Arabic, Hungarian and German Localisations

As always, thank you for playing Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition!

📢 Multiplayer System Improvements - Public Beta Now Live! ⚔️

The Improvements in this Update:

- Fewer Resyncs, while still retaining the lower lag between clicking and seeing your action take affect

Where to send Internal Logs:

• In the official Discord Server to the Internal Log Sharing Post

• If you don't want to use Discord, to support here - please ensure you include "Multiplayer Public Beta" in the ticket

This is a temporary measure to aid testing. Internal Logs will be disabled when we update the full game with the contents of this Beta Test.

How to Access the Beta:

📢 Multiplayer System Improvements - Public Beta Now Live! ⚔️

The time is upon us, Sire!

We’re excited to announce that our Beta Test for Improvements to the Multiplayer System is now publicly available on Steam! The Community has always been incredibly important in shaping the Stronghold legacy, and we would love for you all to jump in and help us test these improvements to the Multiplayer System!

The final day for the Beta Test is the 24th August. If all goes well, we aim to release these improvements to the full game by the end of next week.

The Improvements:

- Lower lag between clicking and seeing your action take affect

- Fewer Resyncs

Outside of this Beta the "resync" popup only appears if a resync has occurred for x amount of time, to prevent it appearing for tiny micro resyncs. However, for the Beta, the "only appear after x time" functionality is disabled too make it easier to identify what is lag, and what is a resync.

How to Access the Beta:

Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition v1.04 Patch Notes

Good morrow, my Liege! As more and more of you have been playing, sharing and cooperating, we’ve been toiling away on another wave of updates and changes that should address some of your main concerns as well as make the whole Crusader experience smoother. It takes more than one warrior to make an army, so too does each bug report help to collectively improve the game for all. Godspeed!

- Update Size: 326MB -

Additional Hotfix v1.043

"When moat can’t be placed due to high ground, the CPU Lords will now place killing pits instead (these will be free for the AI in this specific situation, so as not to cripple their economy)" functionality has been restored (it was disabled briefly in v1.042), with some tweaks.

The CPU will now place these in a random pattern rather than a checkerboard, and the maximum amount that can be placed has been capped (limited to 250 in 8v8, up to 400 in 2v2). The rebuild rate has also been reduced.

Additional Hotfix v1.041

We have identified and fixed a cause of a crash that was occasionally affecting players during any games with CPU opponents.

KNOWN ISSUES

MUTLIPLAYER: We are aware of the ongoing issues a portion of the playerbase are experiencing during Multiplayer, in relation to lag/placement delay, and resyncs. We are hoping to get further improvements to you in the next patch, and appreciate your patience while we work on this. Any multiplayer changes are a big risk so we need to make sure they are tested thoroughly before they reach players.

SAVES: We’ve made a potential fix and added additional logging to hopefully address some instances where people were not seeing saves when trying to load saved games - if you are still encountering missing saves, please send the player.log file that's in the settings folder to support here

MAJOR ADDITIONS

• You asked, we answered - Bedouin Troops can now be enabled in the Classic Trails! In the "Classic Trails" menu screen, at the bottom right, hit the "advanced options" button (the question mark) - there will be a checkbox to turn bedouin troops on/off.

• There is now a toggle to see ALL available Multiplayer Lobbies available globally, regardless of region. Use with caution, as joining lobbies far away from your own country could cause performance issues.

• On that note, we’ve added a country tag to the lobby list, so you can see the country of each lobby available

ADDITIONS

• Map names of Firefly Maps in the Multiplayer lobby are now translated to your own language (rather than the lobby host’s language)

• When moat can’t be placed due to high ground, the CPU Lords will now place killing pits instead (these will be free for the AI in this specific situation, so as not to cripple their economy)

• Autosave Options added to Co-Op Setup

• Added a frame around Small Mini-Map Borders for some visual flair

• Ally Shield Icons now appear on the Trail Skirmish screen mini-map

• The different Lord Types now have unique Death sounds

• Added alternate flag visuals when playing as an Arabic or Bedouin Lord

• The Fire Ballista will now smoothly rotate during movement

• Added Trail Name to the Skirmish Masters Screen

• You can now delete records from the Skirmish Masters history by right clicking

• Added a loading bar on game launch

CHANGES

• The Jewel has found her missing Knights! She will now use Knights to both defend and harass.

• Increased the building limit from 2k to 4k buildings. In Skirmish/Multiplayer, each player has a portion of the 4k for themselves based on the number of players. So in an 8 player game, each player can have up to 500 buildings, but in a 2 player game they can have 2000 buildings each.

• Troops can now pass through Shrubs, Bushes and Cacti (not trees!)

• The Lords have been resized to be suitably intimidating (and easier to spot)

• The gravestones of dead Arabic and Bedouin Lords, will now show a new illustration when clicked on (rather than a Christian cross)

• Improvements to the Co-Op “load save” system (including the addition of a load button to load single player Saves)

BUG FIXES

• Fixed multiple issues regarding the Fire Ballista: it would sometimes perform its firing animation, but not actually release a bolt. They will also now shoot over walls correctly, and also not get stuck shooting at walls repeatedly.

• Fixed issues with the targeting of CPU Fire Ballistas

• Improvements to CPU logic over long distances

• Tweaks to the CPUs handling of buildings in dangerous areas', which should lessen the build/destroy loop they sometimes get stuck in

• The Jewel would never enter “Harass Mode”, this is now fixed so prepare yourselves!

• Fixed issue where CPU Attacker Units would randomly stop attacking walls and other structures

• Missing smoke trail visual effect has been restored for ranged Troops in ‘Extreme Mode’ when using flaming projectiles.

• Fixed issue where some Troops would become invisible, both on screen and to other Troops, while still being able to deal damage

• Fixed issue where attacking Troops would disappear on the way to attack small keeps

• Fixed issue where CPU Oil Pot Engineers would get stuck constantly moving, and so would not do their job

• Fixed issue where disabling Cow Throwing in the Multiplayer Setup Settings was not applying to the game

• The Bedouin Outpost is no longer fireproof

• Fixed Marketplace cost in Custom Scenarios (Free Markets for all!)

• The material collection count for achievements ‘Lord v. Food’, ‘Calm down, Rambo!’ and ‘No More Wood Needed’ was sometimes being carried over between games, this is now fixed

• Crocodiles and Hyenas no longer break their legs during attack animations

• Slaves now have a running animation when moving 

• Knight’s horses no longer appear as though they are moving slowly when galloping 

• Some building videos were not looping properly, this is now fixed

• Fixed issue with animation when Peasants would spawn in by the campfire

• Correct Wind and Birdsong ambient noise now plays

• Genie Voicelines when settings teams or adding/removing players is less frequent, and will no longer cut itself off

• Lords will now consistently make their death sound upon death (including when killed by a ranged attack)

• Fixed issue where Campaign Menu buttons would sometimes play music rather than progressing menu screens

• Drunkards will no longer get stuck at the campfire after being built over

CPU Lord Castle Fixes

• Removed unnecessary Engineers Guild from the Nomad’s Castles

• The Emir was sometimes building an armourer instead of an armoury, this has now been fixed

• The Wolf would sometimes block off his Engineers guild and other buildings, and then destroy them. He will now build this Castle slightly differently to prevent this

• The Saladin will no longer build his armoury directly in front of one of his gatehouses, blocking entry/exit (what was he thinking?!)

Mission Fixes

• Fixes to Classic Trails Missions 11, 12, 21, 28, 45, 46, 47, 65 & 67

• Fixes to Crusader Extreme Trail Missions 5, 8, 17, 19 & 20

•  Skirmish Masters Screen now correctly displays Sands of Time Mission Names (this will not apply retroactively, only for new entries)

• Skirmish Masters Screen will now correctly display the background for the Lord that you were playing as when the mission was completed

• Co-Op missions will now appear correctly in the Skirmish Masters Screen

• Trail Starting Dates were displaying incorrectly when cheats (chicken skips) were used, this has now been fixed

• In the Historical Campaign “Saladin’s Conquest”, the Engineers now speak Arabic

Map Editor Fixes

• Added Flour to the Starting Goods options

• Fixed issue were ranged Troops on towers would get stuck regrouping

• Some shrub types were invisible upon placement, this has been fixed

• The icons for Building Tools and Nature Tools were the incorrect colours, this is now fixed

• Stopped 'not enough workers available to run this building' from playing each time an additional building is placed.

Map Specific Fixes

• Map Name fixed for ‘Divided’

• In maps imported from Stronghold Crusader to Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition, seagulls would fly off of the map. This is now fixed.

• The following maps have had fixes: Marshy Mayhem, Armenia, Close Encounters, Hell on the Hill, The Great Lake, Crete Peninsula, Rock Face, The Valley, Height Advantage, In the Shadow, Wazirs Fortress, Three Little Pigs, Crossroads, Ultimate Victory, Swampy Island

Localisation Fixes

• Updates to Simplified Chinese, French and Russian localisations

• German Localisation - fixed a speech/text mismatch for a line from the Saladin

• “Arabic”, “Arabian” and “Arab” should now be consistent across text and speech

FEATURE IN PROGRESS 

We’re working on implementing this into the game’s settings as an optional feature, but for now:

- To disable the Sands of Time’s timer-based functionality: run the game, go into the Options menu and click "Open Settings Folder" and then exit the game. 

In the windows explorer window, open "settings.cfg" in a text editor (notepad for example) and find HideSoTTiming:False and change this to HideSoTTiming:True, and save it. Then when you run the game, Sands of Time will not show any timers or leaderboards.

Please note: you will only see Multiplayer lobbies of other players on the exact same version of the game as you. People make sure you're on the latest version if you'd like to play Multiplayer.

As always, thank you for playing Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition!

Well met, Sire! Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition has charged into the breach and emerged from its launch victorious! The response of fans and critics to Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition has been nothing short of stellar. 

Delighted and spurred on by the torrent of positive player reception and feedback, Firefly Studios is keeping this momentum going by revealing some of the details of new gameplay content that players can look forward to in the weeks to come.

The first major ‘Autumn’ update will arrive in two parts -  a free content update as well as an optional paid DLC. The free content will introduce The Crocodile, a brand new computer-controlled opponent with his own tactics, castle design, army and of course, snappy personality!

> Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition Tacticon Showcase <

The wizened lord of the marshes, The Crocodile is a bitter cruel fellow, driven beyond sanity by envy of his rival lords. Players will encounter The Crocodile across a new five mission economic campaign, in addition to being playable in skirmish mode (and in case you’re wondering - yes, the game has actual crocodiles, too.)

While there will be some degree of combat to contend with in the economic campaigns, the ultimate goal and thus victory will be decided by mastery of the game’s various economic industries and castle-life mechanics. The free component of the Autumn Update will be capped off by the inclusion of three new maps, one for Skirmish, Freebuild and Multiplayer.

The paid DLC will feature two new CPU commanders in the form of The Canary and The Trader, and a new 9 mission ‘Sands of Time’ skirmish trail - complete with target completion times and leaderboards. Players can expect military scenarios will test their strategic prowess and skills of siegecraft, as they wage war against these new tricky CPU characters. Fear not, more about these new adversaries and their attributes will be revealed in due time!

After Stronghold Crusader: DE’s fantastic launch, Firefly is highly determined to keep pushing further, through the likes of additional content updates and gameplay improvements, to truly make this definitive edition the completely elevated tribute of a strategy classic!

Play Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition on Steam now!

Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition v1.03 Patch Notes

Greetings Sire! Today we have a chunky patch for Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition. We've hit over 200k sales, and over 16k concurrent players, so that's a lot of Building, Battling and Besieging from our beloved community. We're diligently going through each and every bug report from you, so please continue to log them with us and it won't be long before we have more information coming on the Free Update pack and DLC 1 coming this Autumn.

- Update Size: 749MB + 700MB for any language with speech -

Improvements To Multiplayer Lag:

We've adjusted the delay calculation, which should lead to a general improvement in the lag/delay. We hope this improves the multiplayer experience, and will continue to investigate further changes if needed. 

Additions

• You can now enter “-skipvid” in the steam launch options, and it will skip the intro animation

• Well workers will now help Allies put out fires

• Enabled food eaten/not eaten Marketplace toggles in Multiplayer

• Various improvements to how Teams are displayed in Custom Skirmish and Multiplayer

• The Skirmish Game Type will now be displayed in the Skirmish Briefing Screen

• Added Classic Sorting option to Skirmish Map display (shift click the header to change sort modes!)

• In the Co-Op Lobby, it will now display a pip to notify of a message received

• Added prompt to show which Lord has a message for you

• Added several missing Temple Guard voice lines

• Richard’s ‘Afraid?’ voice line will now play when you click on the mission skip Chicken

• Added updated skull visual in the Skirmish Masters screen

Changes

• Adjusted the radius of healers, so they can now heal anyone on the same tower

• You can now place undug moat over an enemies undug moat

• In Multiplayer, non-hosts can now view the Team Setup panel (round table)

• Increased range around enemy keep of blocked moat placement (15 tiles)

• Improvements to speech & input delay when requesting resources from Multiple AI

• Armour will now be counted towards the “Calm Down, Rambo!” Achievement 

• "Rotate Building" hotkey settings text, updated to say "Rotate Gatehouse"

• Swapped a voice line for the Wolf when defeating an enemy

• In the Map Editor, you can no longer place Arabian Horse Archers & Heavy Camels on top of walls

• Decreased the Vegetation Cap in the Map Editor from 3999 to 3399, to allow count left for a player of the map to place apple farms

• The Starting Goods display will now disappear when you die

• Improvements to flattened Stockpile visual

• Further small improvements to the Tutorial

• Multiple French Localisation improvements

• Multiple Simplified Chinese Localisation improvements

• Multiple Arabic Localisation improvements

• Multiple Polish Localisation improvements

• Multiple German Localisation improvements

Bug Fixes

• Fixed the auto-trade / food exploit (Good catch, Udwin!)

• The Bedouin Outpost is no longer fireproof!

• Engineers will no longer vanish, or turn into enemy units

• Placing Cesspits will no longer remove Farmland

• Swordsmen will now properly attack Camel Lancers while in 'Aggressive' stance

• Allied Walls no longer shrink when hit by allied mangonels

• Added a missing Engineers guild to one of the Pig’s Castle Designs

• You can no longer select or disband siege equipment while the game is paused

• Incorrect images will no longer display in the Allies panel

• “Calm Down, Rambo!” Achievement should now correctly trigger

• “Mute Player” Button no longer covers the Team Shield in the Multiplayer Chat Menu

• Allied Attack Orders will no longer persist once the AI is dead

• Buying multiple Archers will no longer break the Tutorial

• Updated UI visual for the Slave

• Weasel Turd video is now playing correctly

• Bessy will now leave a European gravestone on death

• Mangonels will no longer automatically target the gravestones of dead Lords

• The text of a Selected Stone Keep will no longer say Wooden Keep

• When you kill a Lord, claimed goods are now called “Captured Goods”

• Fixed uneven icon spacing on the Classic Trail menu screen

• Save file names will no longer become lowercase

• When playing as the Scribe, Churches no longer have text calling them Mosques

• Report Screen now displays a neutral face for 0, rather than a happy face

• Arab Swordsman text updated to say Arabian Swordsman

Mission Fixes

• In Missions 39 & 40 of the Classic Trail, Richard the Lionheart will now build his Barracks

• In Mission 15 of the Classic Trail, Richard the Lionheart will now build his Marketplace

• In Co-Op Mission 7, farmland can now be built next to the northern player

• In Co-Op Mission 3, the keep will now properly register as enclosed

• When completing the Campaign The Baron's Crusade, the text now appears alongside the speech

• The Merit Panel in Crusaders States Missions 4 & 5 now show the correct team shields

Map Editor Fixes

• In the Map Editor, invisible, walkable Rocks will no longer appear

• In the Map Editor, you can now place walls right next to ruins

• In the Map Editor, deleting buildings will no longer attribute goods to the Keep

• In the Map Editor, placing a rock directly on top of a wall will no longer cause a visual bug

• In the Map Editor, multiple ruins icons are no longer cut off at the sides

• Hiding the UI in map editor no longer deselects your current brush

Map Specific Fixes

• Map ‘The Great River’ and ‘Crater Lake’ now have a lower amount of foliage, so no more mass death of trees, or disappearing apple farms

• Map ‘Border Patrol’, removed tiles that were preventing farm placement

• Map ‘Distant Encounters’, removed tiles that were preventing farm placement

• Map ‘Armenia’, Iron Mines will now be built correctly

• Map ‘Arrival’, Invisible Shrubs have been removed

Localisation Fixes

• Corrupted Speech Files (which in some cases and languages were causing speech lines to “merge” into each other, or instances of garbled noise) have all been fixed

• Incorrect mission names in Polish Localisation have been updated

• The Seventh Crusade is no longer called the Sixth Crusade in Polish

• The Help File links in Polish Localisation now all link to the correct place

• The Slinger now has a helpfile description, which was missing across multiple Localisations

• Fixed instances of Story Text being cut off, across multiple Localisations

• Hungarian Localisation no longer has any English speech play

• The Historical Campaign menu background, now correctly frames the screen in the Arabic Localisation

• The sounds settings text is no longer cut off in the Arabic Localisation

Please note that you will only see Multiplayer lobbies of other players on the exact same version of the game as you. Make sure you're on the latest version if you'd like to play Multiplayer.

Also, we're aware with issues regarding loading saves in Co-Op. We are working on fixing it for a future patch.

Thank you for playing Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition!

Date: 22nd July 2025

Update Size: 79.5 MB

Gird your loins, my liege! We sold over 100k units of Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition in 48 hours! A momentous achievement that wouldn't have been possible without the passion of the Stronghold community. We've been investigating every report you send us, and our first Patch is now live, with more updates and fixes to come.

Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition v1.02 Patch Notes:

ADDITIONS

- Extended the tutorial

- Added an extra window to the Keep

- Added idle animation for the archers/bows when on towers

- Unlocking all missions in the cheat menu will now unlock all co-op missions also

- Added the Delete Building cursor when Windows Cursor is selected

- Added missing Arabic Swordsman attack speech

- Added drag-drawing of rocks in the Map Editor

CHANGES

- Updated many AI Castle Designs to place the appropriate number of hovels

- Change Tunnelers guild default hotkey to alt-G

- Changed visual of Stockpile Walkways to improve visibility

- Changed Trail of the Falcon missions 2 & 8 target times

- Improved Iron Mine Placement for Richard, and in the Classic Trail (Mission 14 & 15)

- Stopped the music restarting when entering/leaving the briefing screen at mission start

- Updated Enter-Your-Name Screen

- Updated some French Localisation

- Updated some German Localisation

BUG FIXES

- No More Wood Needed Achievement should now trigger properly

- Skirmishers and Tunnelers now make noise when attacking structures

- Skirmishers no longer use Arrow SFX when attacking buildings

- Monks & Temple Guards could get stuck at the campfire after being recruited, this is now fixed

- Fixed "troop disbandment during pause to make infinite peasants" exploit

- Leaderboard entries occasionally wouldn't display, this is now fixed

- Fixed Leaderboard issue where Page Display wouldn't match the Rank

- Stopped "Stockpile is Full" Prompt on Call to Arms Mission 1

- Quitting the Warchest Trail no longer takes you to the main menu

- Removed the extra signpost in Seventh Crusade Mission 1

- When clicking on an enemy building, the healthbar couldn't be removed by clicking elsewhere. This is now fixed.

- Invisible shrubs were causing untraversable terrain, this is now fixed (goodbye, shrubs!)

- Fixed visual bug with Ravine Placement in Map Editor

- Can no longer accidentally create terrain that cannot be edited ("dead tiles") in Map Editor

- Fixed the trees on Inches Apart map - they will no longer appear and disappear when moving the camera

- Fixed Keep Positions on the Distant Encounters Map

- Fixed misplaced water tile on Crater Lake Map

- Added missing Starting Resources to The Great River Map

- Removed placeholder temple guard voiceline

- For Spanish: Kāhinah's speech is now fixed, she is now speaking the correct Spanish lines at the proper volumes

- For Spanish: Fixed the corrupted Assassin speech lines

- For Dutch: Fixed auto trade text overrun

Please note that you will only see Multiplayer lobbies of other players on the exact same version of the game as you. People make sure you're on the latest version if you'd like to play Multiplayer.

Thank you for playing Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition!

Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition v1.01 Hotfix

Date: 17 July 2025

Update Size: 2.9 MB

Thank you to the thousands of you who have purchased Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition. It's been a whirlwind couple of days as you Build, Battle and Besiege, but we've been hard at work collating all your feedback and working on fixes and improvements. This initial hotfix aims to improve the multiplayer experience, by addressing some of the frequent resync messages players have been experiencing.

Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition v1.01 Hotfix Notes:

BUG FIXES & CHANGES

- Various Resync causes fixed

- Resync Panel will now appear less frequently

- Resync Panel is now smaller

We've noticed that playing Multiplayer games with the game speed significantly higher than default can cause instability if a players PC cannot sustain that speed. Please keep this in mind when setting multiplayer lobby speeds

We are also working hard on a full Update 1, and aim to have this with you next week.

Thank you for playing Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition!

The time is NOW, Sire! The long march is finally over and your forces have finally arrived at our divine destination - Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition is out now with a 10% launch discount!

--> Behold this glorious love-letter to the golden age of strategy games with a freshly-forged launch trailer <--

The fan reception to Stronghold: Definitive Edition in 2023 showed us the hunger in the community for more games that take the cult classic games of the past, leaving the gold while elevating the old. The tremendous outpouring of love has pushed us to make this definitive edition of the fan-favourite Crusader the best it possibly can be, adding more features, fixes and content than anyone could have expected. We can't wait to see how fans take this reimagined classic and make it their own.

Every bit of feedback across our demos has helped to inform the final game, allowing us to craft this expanded remaster hand-in-hand with the community. This player-first development focus has helped to shape this into a love letter to the golden age of isometric strategy games, one that will continue after launch with a robust roadmap of updates and DLC. The fundamental game will feel like an elevated version of the classic experience for returning fans and new players alike. With improvements and expansions to practically every core feature and beyond: reworked visuals, higher fidelity audio, new units, new AI Lords, new modes, 10k units cap, co-op, new missions, larger-than-ever maps, 8-player Steam multiplayer, Steam Workshop support, QoL improvements and more!

Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition is the culmination of almost a quarter century of development experience, fan support and technological advancements. Better-looking, smoother-running and bigger in all ways possible, Stronghold Crusader: DE is the ultimate way to take a trip down memory lane.

Critical Reception

Inverse (9/10) -- "This Definitive Edition is a genuinely massive update that improves the game in a handful of crucial ways. It’s taken one of the best castle builders of all time and transformed it into something truly definitive."

Finger Guns (9/10) -- "Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition sets a gold standard of what should be expected of remasters."

4Players (8.5/10) -- "Stronghold Crusader Definitive Edition offers the core of the RTS masterpiece in a beautiful, fluid, and improved form."

Stronghold Crusader DE is out NOW on Steam with a 10% launch discount!

Seen a bug? Got feedback? Please submit issues both large and small through the Firefly Studios support site. Between this and our planned post-launch roadmap we are dedicated to fixing any significant issues players are having and the more reports we get the faster and more effectively we can do that :)

Greetings Sire! We know there's still plenty of people who still have questions about Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition, so here’s a recap of everything you need to know about Stronghold Crusader DE – what it is, what it offers and what it doesn’t.

What is Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition? Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition is an expanded remaster of the original 2002 ‘castle sim’ Stronghold Crusader from Firefly Studios. Overhauled by the original game’s veteran developers, this new definitive edition features remastered artwork, animations and music, in addition fresh gameplay content, returning voice actors and many fan-requested improvements including larger maps. Improved with new playable units, characters, campaigns and more, Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition is the ultimate way to play this classic RTS. 

Will it have a skirmish? Yes. Skirmish was introduced to the series in the original Stronghold Crusader (it was never in the first Stronghold game), so it naturally comes with Crusader DE.

Can we finally play via Steam directly, without GameRanger? That’s right! Just like with Stronghold: DE, you can now besiege up to 8 friends and rivals via Steam multiplayer.

What makes it different to Stronghold Crusader HD (2012)? The 2012 HD version is simply the original with a slight HD visual uplift in order to make it better playable on Steam (which launched after the game was already released) and to add compatibility with Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8 and 10. It didn’t have any additional content or features.

Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition elevates the original in practically every way. On top of rebuilt visuals and high fidelity audio, it has all the Crusader Extreme content as well as numerous modern updates. This means at launch you can expect a 10k unit cap, 800x800 maps (4 times bigger than base), a new co-op, 8 new units types, new 4 Lords, new modes, new campaigns, ultrawide support and more!

What is going to be the launch price of Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition? $19.99, €19.99 and £16.99.

What languages are available? We’re providing support for 20 languages, more than the series has ever had. Depending on the language, this support may range from interface and subtitles to full audio. Languages that include both audio and text will be English, German, Polish, Russian, French, Italian, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese and Hungarian. Then we will have text-only translations for Arabic, Traditional and Simplified Chinese, Czech, Dutch, Korean, Ukrainian, Turkish, Japanese, Swedish and Thai.

Will SHC: DE be an add-on to Stronghold: Definitive Edition (2023)? No, Stronghold Crusader: DE is a completely new fully fledged title, combining the core Crusader formula with new gameplay content, fan-requested quality of life changes and key updates all enhanced by new art and animations. So just as Stronghold: Definitive Edition elevated the original Stronghold 2001 experience, Stronghold Crusader: DE stands on its own feet.

Are you still working on Stronghold Unreal? Yes, we are! Firefly is still actively engaged in developing Stronghold Unreal. With new ideas, new talent and new technology, it is our biggest undertaking yet and one that we can’t wait to share with you when we’re ready.

What can be expected after launch? Alongside community driven features coming at launch, which include new buildings and increased unit caps, Firefly has created a robust post-release plan so that players who have conquered the main game but want more have plenty to look forward to in the form of two free updates will be released alongside a paid DLC each.

The first free Autumn Update will feature a series-first economic campaign and a brand new CPU commander (AI Lord) as well as three new maps - one for skirmish, another in Free Build mode and a balanced multiplayer map. The economic campaign will challenge players to complete a series of economic objectives across five missions, leaning heavily into the city builder gameplay mechanics of the castle sim series. The new Lord can meanwhile be played as friend or foe, selectable in the game’s offline skirmish and online multiplayer modes as an opponent or ally. 

Following this, the game’s second free Winter Update will add perhaps the most requested feature by players so far... the ability to customise CPU opponents, castles and campaigns! Create the fierce rivals or stalwart allies of your dreams (or nightmares), design their defences and then place all of this into custom mission scenarios created by the community. The Winter Update also continues our community-first trend with the addition of a second co-op campaign of missions as well as a new pack of three maps being added to the overall pool, keeping things fresh for players after launch.

Alongside these updates, we’ll be releasing a pair of paid DLCs, which in Stronghold tradition, will each introduce two new CPU opponents and a new series of challenging missions (Stronghold fans know this as a ‘skirmish trail’). This would bring the number of CPU characters in the game to a total of 25!

We hope this answers the main questions you had about Stronghold Crusader DE. For even more details about what's in the game, please check out our YouTube Channel and socials.

Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition launches in one week on July 15th. Wishlist it now to be informed as soon as it's live!