Verdun news & patch notes

Hello everyone!

Did you enjoy the Gallipoli release date reveal last week? We hope you're as excited as we are for the release on August 20. If you didn't see the trailer yet, you can watch it here:

That's not all either. We invited Flakfire to explain the Expedition Game Mode, with gameplay! Take a look here:

Now that you're up to speed, let's proceed with the blog.

Progression in Gallipoli receives some major changes compared to the previous games. Our aim was for goals to be something extra on top of what’s already available, instead of gating already available content behind a goal. That means that when you launch Gallipoli for the first time, you’ll immediately have all available classes, weapons, and tools unlocked. Neat.

So, what will you actually be getting when you reach certain goals?

Keep in mind that any numbers mentioned and UI elements shown in this blog may be subject to change.

Class Progression

Back from Isonzo, class progression allows you train any class to gain additional perks. Additionally, you unlock some new cosmetic uniform and equipment options along the way.

The perk each class gets are unique to the class, and allow you to do your job that little bit better. The strength of the perk increases as you reach specific level thresholds. As an example, let’s look at the Bomber that gain benefits from, uh, exposure therapy.

Bomber

• Level 02: Grenade Training - Stunning received reduced by 34%

• Level 06: Unlock M1909 Equipment - Bomber

• Level 10: Grenade Training - Stunning received reduced by 50%

• Level 15: Unlock P1908 Haversack - Bomber

• Level 20: Grenade Training - Stunning received reduced by 75%

And an additional example of the Officer, who gets more charismatic with experience.

Officer

• Level 02: Leadership Training - Points bonus area effect increased by 50%

• Level 06: Unlock Sun Helmet - Wide

• Level 10: Leadership Training - Points bonus area effect increased by 75%

• Level 15: Unlock Wolseley - Officer - Squashed

• Level 20: Leadership Training - Points bonus area effect increased by 100%

As you can see, the benefit you get from a perk can get quite substantial, either improving your specialty or tackling your weakness. However, to get your level 20 reward, you’ll need to complete a Class Challenge as well. This Challenges ties in with your role, so we don’t expect these to be an issue if you do your part.

• Bomber: Stun 20 enemies with grenades

• Officer: Kill 50 enemies using call-ins

Weapon Progression

New in Gallipoli is weapon progression, allowing you to grow accustomed to the weapon in your hands. The system is similar to Class Progression: level up your weapon through usage to gain perks. Unlike Class Progression however, some weapons may have multiple different perks instead of one perk that increases in strength.

The types of weapons you can level are as follows:

• Rifles (3 perks)

• Pistols (3 perks)

• Light Machine Guns (3 perks)

• Melee weapons (2 perks)

• Grenades (2 perks)

Certain rifles have variants with certain attachments, like sights, bayonets and rifle grenades. For weapon progression, rifles with specific sights are considered different weapons from variants without sights. Let’s take a look at a couple examples:

• SMLE MK.III - Default, Bayonet, Rifle Grenade

  • Level 5: Endurance Runner - Stamina drain when sprinting reduced by 25%

  • Level 15: Expert Shouldering - Weapon kick reduced by 25%

  • Level 20: Practiced Reload - Reload speed increased by 15%

• SMLE MK.III - Telescopic Sights

  • Level 5: Gunbearer’s Arms - Weapon arm fatigue reduced by 25%

  • Level 15: Iron Lungs - Hold breath time increased by 33%

  • Level 20: Eagle Eyed - Scope usage improved by 50%

• FN MLE. 1903

  • Level 5: Endurance Runner - Stamina drain when sprinting reduced by 25%

  • Level 15: Snap-sight Drill - Aim speed and smoothness increased by 100%

  • Level 20: Nerves Of Steel - Weapon hand wobble reduced by 33%

• Type 2 Infantry Grenade

  • Level 10: Grenadier’s Arm - Grenade throwing distance increased by 25%

  • Level 20: Fuze-prep Drill - Grenade pulling speed increased by 25%

• Improvised Club

  • Level 10: Trench Brawler - Stamina cost to melee attack reduced by 25%

  • Level 20: Charge Discipline - Stamina cost to melee charge reduced by 25%

Including the different weapon variants (sight vs. no sight), there are 150 different weapons to level up when Gallipoli launches!

Prestige

Once you’re level 20 in a class or weapon, you can prestige it! For classes, your class challenge needs to be completed as well.

Prestiging grands you a medal as well as an icon so you can show off your expertise. For your class, this icon is next to your name on the scoreboard. For weapons, the icon sits below the weapon icon in the killfeed. However, prestiging resets your level, locks your perks and increases the XP needed to level up again!

The Prestige Levels are the same as Isonzo, which are as follows:

• Bronze I, II, III

• Silver I, II, III

• Gold I, II, III

• Gold ⭐

So, we hope you like these changes! We think it opens up the early game significantly, while still properly rewarding you for grinding out a single class or weapon. See you again soon!

You’ve been asking about it, and we’re glad to finally reveal the new release date of Gallipoli. Of course, this announcement comes with a brand new trailer!

Gallipoli is now releasing on August 20th!

The trailer highlights a bunch of feedback points we’ve received from you over the years. These are a handful of the ones we’ve addressed in Gallipoli, so we hope you’re excited to jump in next month! Let’s take a look at them in more detail.

Movement Improvements

Movement has gotten a lot more flexible and snappy. Instead of the binary system of ‘you can only sprint if you have stamina', you can now also sprint while out of stamina, albeit more slowly. If your stamina is full, you’ll also run faster than in Isonzo for a short while, allowing you to charge the enemy or run for cover a bit better.

You can now also sprint while crouched or prone, allowing you to keep your head in the trenches without sacrificing too much speed. And if you have a bayonet on your rifle or a melee weapon in your hand, you can charge down your foe with a burst of speed and all the yelling you’d expect!

If you’d like to learn more about the movement improvements, check out this devblog:

Squad Play

There’s a larger emphasis on squads in Gallipoli. Coordination with your squad is more important, especially with the addition of teamwork-focused roles like Stretcher Bearers (medics) and Heavy Machine Gunners. You can now also ping any location or marker to help steer your squad towards it!

The type of squad you join determines the roles you should focus on. Your Squad Type gives you more slots for specific classes and gives the Officer specific off-map support – both will steer your squad in a certain direction.

For more info about Squads and Call-ins, check out this devblog:

Immersion

A lot of effort has been put into making Gallipoli as immersive as it can be. Through intricate audio design, VFX, and detailed environments, we really think we’ve made a convincing slice of the Ottoman Fronts for you to immerse yourself in, and we hope you’ll agree.

This also extends to gameplay! Explosions kick up sand and dust that lingers around and slowly disperses. This is more than just an annoyance – these dust clouds can be used as cover for a brazen assault or a tactical retreat.

Crossplay

Last but definitely not least: Gallipoli has full crossplay! Squad up with players across PC, XBOX Series X|S & PlayStation 5 and work together as one.

We still have a lot of exciting things planned from now until the release of Gallipoli on August 20th, from new game details and collaborations with content creators and historian alike. Be sure to wishlist and follow Gallipoli to stay in the loop with all that!

Hello everyone!

We wanted to give you some historical background on the events depicted in Gallipoli, so we asked historian Chris Kempshall to help us explore the real-world context behind the campaign. In this first blog, we’ll be looking at the strategic thinking and circumstances that led the British and their allies to attempt the Dardanelles operation, and how those decisions ultimately shaped the Gallipoli landings of 1915. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ At the end of 1914, combat on the Western Front of the First World War had begun to enter a deadlock. The emergence of well-defended trenches and fortifications that stretched from the Belgian coast down through France to the Swiss border made attempts to break through costly and dangerous. This was a significant problem for the Entente allies. It was their lands now being occupied by a German army that seemed happy to dig in and keep what it had gained. Defeating them would either require a solution to trench warfare or something imaginative that could remove the need to attack on the Western Front. Map of the stabilised front Jan 1915 - Dec 1916, Emerson Kent

On the Eastern Front the hoped for Russian steamroller had failed to materialize. Huge losses during the Battle of Tannenberg had weakened the Russian military and were worsened by an inability to properly supply their soldiers in the field. If a solution could be found to the deadlock on the Western Front and the supply issues of the Eastern Front then the Entente may yet be able to emerge victorious. Such a solution might just lead straight through the Ottoman Empire which had joined the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. This is the historical and strategic background to the Entente’s experience in the Gallipoli campaign.

Historical Context

Before getting to the events of 1915, there are some important historical details that we’ll need to cover relating to the alliance of Britain, France, and Russia first. In many ways it was quite an odd alliance. Revolutionary France and Czarist Russia had very little in common with each other except the threat posed by Germany. Britain and Russia had been long-term rivals, due to concerns about Russia gaining access through territorial expansion to India.

Battle sites during the Crimean War (1853-1856), Britannica

In fact during the 1850s, Britain and France had allied with each other to help the Ottoman Empire fight against Russia to prevent them from capturing the Crimean peninsula. Through various quirks of geography, Russia had no access to a ‘warm water port’. Capturing Crimea would have strengthened the Russian position in the Black Sea and undermined the Ottoman Empire. If that nation were to collapse then the possibility existed that the Russians may be able to find a way to access the Mediterranean Sea.  In the 19th century this was viewed as absolutely unacceptable by Britain and France. Russia was bottled up and reliant on sea routes either over the top of Scandinavia (which was only really feasible in summer), through the Baltic Sea (having to pass above Germany), or from Siberia on the far side of Asia. All of these outcomes could be controlled or influenced in ways by the other Great Powers of Europe. But at the outbreak of the First World War, Britain and France suddenly became very invested in finding solutions to Russia’s supply problems. Russia did not have the industrial power to supply its own forces with the arms and ammunition they would need to successfully fight the Central Powers. The British and the French could provide these weapons - but how would they get them to Russia? Now access to a warm water port would be of great advantage to Russia and the alliance as a whole.

Map of the Russian Empire in 1914, New Zealand History

There was one potential option, and it was the same one that had interested Russia during the Crimean War. The Ottoman capital of Constantinople lay at the joining point of Europe and Asia. Shipping could pass through it between the Black Sea to the east and the Sea of Marmara to the west. Beyond the Sea of Marmara, on the other side of the Dardanelles Straits, lay the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean. The British in particular were already taking a great interest in the possible strategic advantages that could be unlocked by capturing the capital of the Ottoman Empire. Some of their considerations were fairly sound. For example, an attack on the Ottomans would enable the Royal Navy to make a potentially decisive impact on the war. With fighting on the Western Front entirely land-based so far, the British navy had no opportunity to influence events.  Map of the Ottoman Empire in 1914, New Zealand History

Also if Constantinople was captured a new front could be opened against the Central Powers in the Balkans. Germany and Austria-Hungary would be forced to try and divert forces away from their existing positions, and that would help the Western Front a lot. It might also allow British, French, and Russian forces to fight shoulder to shoulder and spread the burden around. However, the British also held a big misunderstanding about the nature of the alliance between the Central Powers. They believed that Germany was not capable of waging war without the support of Austria-Hungary and the Ottomans. That if one, or both, of these allies were to be knocked out of the war then Germany would collapse. The reality was that Germany was propping up both of its allies and supplying them with the supplies needed to fight. This misunderstanding led some within the Entente Alliance to believe that capturing Constantinople could be an immediately war-winning move.

The Dardanelles Straits

For any Entente naval vessels to move east from the Aegean and the Mediterranean Seas and threaten Constantinople, they would have to pass through the Dardanelles Straits. These were a narrow sea route between Europe and Asia that was never more than 4 miles wide at best, and less than a mile at its tightest. The Ottomans had long recognized the strategic importance of these Straits in defending the route to their capital. Fortresses and artillery positions existed on both the European and Asian sides and the mouth of the Straits was guarded by castles at Sedd-el-Bahr and Kum Kale. The Ottomans also placed mines at narrow points of the Straits which could easily sink even the largest enemy ships.

Map, pictorial of Gallipoli campaign, IWM

To capture Constantinople, the joint British and French fleets would have to force the Straits, run the gauntlet of guns and mines, and push on into the Sea of Marmara. So determined were the Entente forces to attempt this operation, Britain and France also promised control of the Dardanelles to Russia if Constantinople were to be taken. Which is an astonishing change from their determination in the 1850s to keep Russia out of the Mediterranean. The British and French made several attempts to attack the Dardanelles but the most determined came on 18th March 1915 and was disastrous. The Ottoman artillery forts that lined the Dardanelles were often placed so that they could hit any attacking ships below but those ships could not easily return fire. Additionally the Ottomans had laid substantial numbers of mines just below the surface of the water. The combination of these defenses took a heavy toll on the Entente fleet with three ships sunk and a number of others damaged.

Church service on HMS 'Queen Elizabeth', 1915, National Army Museum

The British and French decided to withdraw back the way they had come. There is still ongoing historical debate about whether this fleet could have pushed forwards and through the defenses but their commanding officers believed it to be impossible. If the Dardanelles were to be forced then the artillery forts that defended them would need to be captured or destroyed. The only way to do this was to land ground forces and attack the forts from behind. These landings would become the Gallipoli campaign.

Gallipoli

The landings at the Gallipoli peninsula were not the only use of land forces against the Ottoman Empire. The Mesopotamian campaign had been ongoing since November 1914, but for the Entente these landings represented what they believed to be their best chance to win the war against the Ottomans. For the Ottoman Empire it represented the most dangerous situation of the entire conflict.

Map of the Gallipoli peninsula, 1915, National Army Museum

In order to undertake the landings both Britain and France drew upon the armed forces of their empires. Alongside significant numbers of Scottish, Irish, and English soldiers the British also drew upon Australians, New Zealanders and Indians. Gallipoli has become synonymous with the Australians and New Zealanders in particular - these were the men of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, or ANZACs. The French Corps Expéditionnaire d'Orient consisted of a mix of soldiers with some from Senegal and Algeria. By using imperial and colonial soldiers both Britain and France would not have to weaken their own forces on the Western Front to launch the Gallipoli landings. The actual landings themselves were divided across multiple beaches that were selected either because of strategic significance - such as V Beach beneath the fortress at Sedd-el-Bahr - or because of potential suitability as a landing spot. The British forces would make the actual attack at the Gallipoli peninsula on the European side of the Straits, whilst the French would launch a diversionary landing at Kum Kale on the Asian side. The hoped for plan was that soldiers landing in the early hours of the morning would overwhelm any Ottoman defenders in the area - and some of the British commanders held a fairly low opinion of the abilities of their opponents - and then begin to march inland capturing key strategic high points on various hills and ridges and, from there, begin operations to capture the artillery forts of the Dardanelles from behind. The landings would take place on 25th April 1915 and would feature soldiers arriving on the beaches in row boats and, at V Beach, something much more inventive. The British converted the collier ship SS River Clyde into a Trojan Horse. The ship was intended to beach itself just offshore and then disgorge British soldiers down ramps directly onto the beach.

The converted steamer 'River Clyde', anchored at V-Beach, Gallipoli, Spring 1915, National Army Museum

But this attempt, along with those on the other beaches, swiftly ran into problems. Firstly the Ottoman resistance was much stiffer than had been expected. Partially through fear of being overrun but also in likely recognition of how dangerous the situation was, the Ottoman forces in the area - led by Mustafa Kemal - put up an incredibly strong fight and launched repeated counterattacks to recapture positions that had been lost. Many groups of British and ANZAC soldiers struggled to even get out of their boats and off the beach under heavy fire. Pushing inland soon brought them into ongoing hand to hand combat with Ottoman soldiers. The attackers soon learned that the terrain was much harder to navigate than had been expected. The Gallipoli peninsula is a maze of gullies and sharp ridges. At places like Anzac Cove the land rose up steeply straight from the beach and soldiers would sometimes have to climb on their hands and knees whilst under fire. Soldiers got lost. Battalions and regiments got spread out and couldn’t remain in contact with each other. Trying to resupply forces that had vanished into the landscape proved incredibly difficult. By the end of the first day the situation was so grave that some commanders tried to convince General Sir Ian Hamilton - the commander of the Mediterranean Expedition Force - to evacuate the beaches entirely to avoid their soldiers being pushed back into the sea. But Hamilton resolved to hang on. Whilst the worst case outcome was avoided, the landings had failed in their prime objective. The various attempts to move inland had universally failed. Many soldiers didn’t get much further than the beaches themselves.

Australian forces in Gallipoli, 1915, IWM (Q 112876)

What followed was a grinding and attritional campaign fought in harsh conditions. The heat and the landscape were very different to what was being faced on the Western Front. Many ‘trenches’ at Gallipoli were little more than ditches scraped into the dirt or the rocks.

During the days the temperatures could rise very high and drop dramatically at night whilst flies were also a constant problem. The Entente also struggled to provide enough supplies, ammunition, and drinking water to their forces on the beaches and reinforcements and hospital ships that travelled from Malta and Egypt were vulnerable to mines and torpedo attacks by German U-boats who were attempting to disrupt the operation against their ally. Soldiers had to develop inventive solutions to the situation they faced. Trench catapults and jam tin grenades were created to make up for the shortfall in weapons and the need to fight a more vertical war than was being experienced in Western Europe. Whilst there were offensives across 1915 to try and push the Ottomans off the high ground that they occupied, none were successful. The largest of these came in August 1915 with the landings at Suvla Bay and the attempt by New Zealand forces to seize Chunuk Bair - a large ridge in the area - whilst the Australians ran the gauntlet of Ottoman machine guns at a narrow strip of land called the Nek. These attempts also failed at the cost of significant casualties. 

Rhododendron Spur with Chunuk Bair on right, Australian War Memorial

But for the New Zealanders who engaged in brutal hand-to-hand combat at the top of Chunuk Bair they were very briefly able to gain a view of something that no other soldiers in the area had done so far. On the other side of Chunuk Bair, down through the valleys and scrubland beyond, was a strip of silvery water. The Dardanelles Straits. The whole point of the operation. They could see it. But they could not reach it. Having been relieved on the 9th August by British soldiers, the top of Chunuk Bair was lost in an Ottoman counterattack on the 10th. Never again would the Entente forces on the peninsula get so close to their objectives.

Evacuation and Aftermath

By the end of 1915 it became clear that whatever hoped for outcome of the Gallipoli campaign was never going to transpire. Rumors of heavy artillery pieces arriving from Germany concerned the British and French who feared they could be used to drive their soldiers back into the sea.

The Gallipoli campaign, April 1915-January 1916, IWM (Q 13679)

In the dead of night on 8th January 1916 the Entente forces at Gallipoli secretly evacuated the peninsula and escaped. It was the only part of the entire campaign that went exactly to plan and the Ottomans were not aware it was happening until the evacuation was completed. The Entente forces at Gallipoli had sustained over 220,000 casualties (which includes wounded, missing, and dead) out of 500,000 men deployed. The consequences of failure were severe. There would be no resupplying of Russia through the Black Sea. Already greatly weakened they would have to struggle on alone. In 1917 Russia would collapse into civil war. The success of the Ottoman defense had been a huge morale boost for them and they had survived the most serious threat to their capital of the entire war. Additionally, having seen the failure of the Entente attacks, Bulgaria had joined the Central Powers in October 1915. It now blocked any route into the soft underbelly of Austria-Hungary and Germany through the Balkans. Not only had the attempt to force the Dardanelles Straits and capture the peninsula failed, they had collectively made the strategic picture for the Entente significantly worse. 

British fleet entering the Dardanelles 12th November 1918, Australian War Memorial

However, despite the disastrous nature of the campaign, the Entente would eventually emerge from the war victorious. The huge strain of fighting on multiple fronts would eventually cause the Ottoman Empire to collapse and seek a separate armistice in October 1918. After the war, when the allied powers moved in to occupy Constantinople they did so by finally sailing their navy through the Dardanelles Straits. For Australia and New Zealand the Gallipoli campaign has taken on a hugely important role. Gallipoli was the moment that both nations really took their first steps out onto the world stage and fought as recognizable states. In the years after the war many Australians and New Zealanders came to consider that the modern versions of their countries were ‘born’ on the beaches of Gallipoli.

Hello everyone!

Today we'd like to give you a little update for the Ctesiphon & Anzac Cove maps. We've last shown them not long after the initial announcement of Gallipoli, but they have not been gathering dust! While the general lay of the land has not been changed, both maps have received lighting work and changes to weather.

While it may be hard to spot, we've also made balance changes to both maps based on the results from rigorous testing by our QA team and all of you participating in the Closed Playtests. Most of these changes are related to cover, either hard cover like sandbags or visual cover like smoke. We're saving the deep dive into map creation and map balancing for later down the line.

One final thing before we get into the screenshots: the long awaited third episode of our collab with the Royal Armouries and Jonathan Ferguson is here! Grab a brew and put your legs up.

Ctesiphon

For the original deep dive into Ctesiphon along with the history of the battle, head here:

Before we get started with the blog, we’d like to highlight the announcement we made last week.

Thank you all for the kind messages we got following this announcement! We hope to bring you news on our next steps sometime soon. For now, enjoy a new Gallipoli blog!

Cosmetic Customization

Hello everyone!

In Gallipoli, we're expanding on the cosmetics system we introduced with Isonzo. There will now be more item categories that will be modifiable:

• Subfaction (where applicable)

• Upper body

• Equipment

• Lower body

• Face/Body type

• Headgear

• Facial Hair

• Facial Accessories

As there’s quite a bit to how these options work together, let’s go through the list one by one!

Can't see the images? Check the Reddit version!

Subfactions

While Gallipoli is about the battles between the British Empire and Ottoman Empire, there are several subfactions of the British Empire to choose from: the British, the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) and the British Indian Army, with some limitations depending on class selection. More subfactions will be introduced for the Ottoman and British Empires later down the line. 

Your selection of subfaction and role then determines the gear and clothing pool from which you can then start building your look. Many options like tunics, undershirts and equipment and headgear are shared across multiple roles. Uncommon gear and clothing is available and limited to specific role types, notably officers and specialised troops. 

The look you end up with will be saved to the subclass/role you were editing. With one setup for each role, 9-10 roles for each faction, and the multiple subfactions, there's a lot of dressing to do! 

Keep in mind that subfactions are reflective of the maps you are fighting on. For example, Kut-Al-Amara will see only Indian and British troops represented for the British faction. This means that if you don’t want to run the default equipment, you should have your customized looks ready to go – or quickly throw something together while waiting for the battle to commence.

Gearing up

Once you’ve selected your subfaction and class, you can get into the individual equipment pieces available to you.

Headgear

You can select a series of headgear types per (sub)faction. These include headgear with different cap badges, wear/tear and angles at which they're worn, as well as other details . Iconic pieces of headgear seen on this front are available (where applicable!) including the famous Wolseley sun-helmets, AIF slouch hats, Punjabi turbans, and Ottoman Bashlyks, Kabalaks, and Kalpaks. 

Upper Body

Tunics, shirts and other options will be available in this option. These may vary between neat tunics, tunics with undone buttons, undershirts with long sleeves or rolled sleeves. Further options like whether the equipment is worn high or low are available particularly with the Ottoman forces. The British forces will have access to field modified undershirt variants like those commonly seen in photographic references from the time.

Lower Body

Everything trousers, leg-wrap, boot, and/or shorts related! We have a range of items available for the lower body which include some really interesting looks, unique to these fronts. There's different ways of wearing legwraps as well as the option of shorts for British troops.

Equipment

There's a wide range of equipment available across both factions and variants of said equipment. This may include lighter setups – a belt, bayonet and some pouches – to the full kit: pouches, bayonet, entrenching tools, packs – the lot!

We've put a lot of effort into creating the correct kit & gear with both factions, with the British having a wide selection of P1903, P1908 and Sam Browne options and beyond. Similarly the Ottomans have a wide variety of their German type field equipment, as well as the many different ways of wearing them. Ottoman troops also have some particularly fancy bandoliers in their stores too.

Body

A series of body & face types are available. With new details including body hair, teeth variation, and sunburn being something we have included.

Facial Hair & Items

Across all factions, a medley of facial hair and facial items will be available for you to adorn your mug with! Historically influenced moustaches, beards, glasses, goggles and of course tobacco pipes & cigarettes. Smoking is dangerous, but participating in a battle is far worse!

Combined, there's a smorgasbord of looks and fits to achieve! as well as in game unlocks which will help fill out your wardrobe further.

We aim to allow as much freedom as possible with the character customisation but there will be some items where compatibility might not be entirely historical, particularly when considering subfactions. There will be some combinations of outfit that can't be used together; these are few and far between, but an important consideration in our approach.

As with Isonzo, we'll expand the number of items across all categories beyond launch! However, this is a topic for another day.

Hello everyone!

Last week, we announced the release date of Gallipoli to be May 21, 2026! We really hope you enjoyed that trailer. Today, we’d like to dive into some new mechanics you can expect to see in Gallipoli.

If you didn't see the Release Date Trailer yet, watch it here:

Gallipoli puts a strong emphasis on squad gameplay. Each squad is kitted out for a different purpose; one may be best for scouting, while another for capturing objectives or locking down an alleyway with suppressive fire. Nothing prevents you from going off to do your own thing, but staying with your squad and playing to your strengths will give you an edge over an enemy that doesn’t.

Squads get benefits and unique advantages in three categories.

Note: if you can't see some of the visuals in the blog, check the version on Reddit!

Call-ins

Officers are able to call in off-map support in many shapes and sizes. The type of support you get to call depends on your squad; your options are tailored to the mission of your squad. For example, squads that focus on scouting and intel get call-ins that are more agile or gather intel for you, like the Recon plane! Assault squads instead get heavy bombardments that can easily clear an objective if the enemy doesn’t take cover.

Each squad has two different options for call-ins, which can consist of a few different shell types in a couple different form factors.

For shell types, we have:

• Airburst Shrapnel: Strikes that split off into shrapnel before impact.

• Mortar: Numerous smaller explosions, less destructive but more numerous.

• Howitzer: A couple larger explosions, more destructive but less numerous.

• Percussion Impact: Howitzer shells with delayed impact for stronger concussive effect and kicking up lots of dust.

Airburst Shrapnel strike.

For barrages, there are:

• Standing Barrage: Continuous barrage that saturates a large area.

• Creeping Barrage: Walking barrage that slowly moves into a specific direction, only available for attackers. Covers more ground and provides great cover for a force advancing right behind it.

• SOS Barrage: Donut-shaped Standing Barrage, intended to be called on your own position. Only available for defenders.

• Precision Barrage: Small salvo fired in a precise location, great against static targets like machine gun nests.

The shells and barrages are mixed and matched in many different ways. For example, Howitzer strikes exist as Standing, Creeping or SOS Barrages, while Airburst Shrapnell is available as Standing, SOS or Precision Barrage.

Howitzer Creeping Barrage strike.

Additionally, there are a couple options for aircraft support:

• Recon: Spotting over a large area.

• Strafing Run: Aerial machine gun fire, good at suppression.

• Bomber: Drops a bundle of grenades that roll around on the ground before exploding. Don't use uphill!

Dust

Speaking of explosions, they kick up dust in Gallipoli, which obscures vision and generally makes things even less pleasant on this front. The amount of dust depends on the size of the explosion and any other special properties the explosion may have. This applies to grenades, but the more powerful explosions of call-ins take this to the next level. Even if your call-in didn’t get any kills, it can still offer some much-needed visual cover.

Beacons

Beacons are buildables that provide a benefit to any teammates nearby, even if they’re not in your squad. Allies can grab more ammo, grab water for a temporary boost to sprinting speed, or locate enemies and their equipment in a small area. Additionally, one of the most powerful features of a beacon is that the squad can use them as a forward spawn point!

Each squad can only have one active beacon at a time, and they can easily be destroyed by an enemy, especially so by Engineers specialized in sabotage. How beacons function depends on what side you’re fighting for. 

Attackers

On the attacking side, anyone can build a beacon, but doing so will disable the existing one. You’ll be warned if there’s already an active beacon and how far ahead of or behind your current position it's placed. They should be placed in a safe position close to the action, but maybe not in the middle of combat.

Defenders

On the defending side, each squad gets one pre-placed beacon per sector. They cannot be rebuilt once destroyed, so it’s in your best interest to protect them! Beacons are placed halfway each sector, so they function as forward spawns for the defending forces. However, this also makes them prone to sabotage.

Bonus Slots

Finally, your squad type gets you a couple bonus slots for a specific class best suited for your mission. For example, Support squads get extra Ammo Bearers and Stretcher Bearers, Scouting squads get an extra Sniper, and Machine Gun squads get more, well, machine guns, with an extra spotter!

Squad types

With all of this mentioned, our selection of squads and the advantages they get will look something like as follows:

• Infantry: all rounders with support options for ammo, suppressive fire and health.

• Scouting: squads focused on intel gathering and spotting.

• Support: units to support themselves and other squads through ammo and health.

• Assault: squads great at destructive charges and capturing objectives, with strong aerial support and mobility.

• Machine Gun: sections carrying around a Heavy Machine Gun capable of locking down an approach, with support options for ammo and spotting.

Do keep in mind that while some squads types may excel in certain areas, they still have slots for every class in the game. Even if a specific squad type isn't as useful in a certain situation, they can still hold their own in battle just fine. If needed, you can switch squads in the middle of battle if you’re not currently deployed and another squad has an empty slot available.

There are some differences between squads of the British and Ottoman Empires, but they’ll mostly mirror each other. All this information can be found upon selecting a squad, so you’ll know what your mission is and what you have available to help you succeed.

That’s it for today, but we’ll soon be back with more info! Make sure to wishlist Gallipoli ahead of its release, as it really helps us and you get notified the moment it releases.

The landings of the Gallipoli campaign were launched in the early morning on April 25th, 1915. The forces of the British Empire and France stormed the beaches at what they dubbed Anzac Cove and Cape Helles. The landings were a success, but a lot of lives were lost to achieve it. What followed was almost a year of fighting over the Gallipoli peninsula that ended in the Ottomans coming out victorious and maintaining control.

The day of the landings is now remembered as Anzac Day, for the bravery and sacrifice of the Australia and New Zealand Army Corps at Anzac Cove specifically. Australia and New Zealand were Dominions of the British Empire and were brought in from the other side of the world to lay down their lives for a war they weren’t directly involved in.

To commemorate Anzac Day, we’ve dedicated the Release Date Trailer of Gallipoli to the Landing at Anzac Cove. Check it out!

That’s right! Gallipoli is releasing in only a month, on May 21st! 

About Anzac Day

25th April is a day of national remembrance in Australia and it marks the first major military action that was undertaken by soldiers from Australia and New Zealand during the First World War. It is timed to coincide with the date in 1915 when Australian and New Zealand soldiers undertook their landings at what would become Anzac Cove on the first day of the Gallipoli Campaign.

Australian Forces in Gallipoli, 1915, IWM (Q 112876)

The first Anzac Day was marked in 1916 both across Australia and in London and was seen as an expression of patriotic support for soldiers still fighting. Since the 1920s it has become a day of national commemoration in both Australia and New Zealand. An important part of this ceremony has become the Dawn Service which is marked across Australia, New Zealand and at Anzac Cove itself.  

Anzac Day has become an important moment in Australian national identity and marks the point when Australia took its place on the world stage. It plays a similar level of importance to New Zealanders though they also recognise the attack on Chunuk Bair in August 1915, as a moment of national importance.

A small part of the BlackMill Games team is at Gallipoli right now participating in ceremonies to mark the anniversary of the Gallipoli Campaign and the soldiers from all sides who fought and died there. This includes the Dawn Service at Anzac Cove which is held each year to commemorate the more than 8,000 Australian soldiers who died during the campaign.

The Dawn Service at Anzac Cove, 2019, Australian War Memorial

Below, you can find a summary of everything of Gallipoli we’ve revealed so far in terms of maps, weapons and improvements on all fronts of gameplay, so you’re up to speed with what you can expect. Of course, you can expect much more info about Gallipoli between now and May 21st!

Gallipoli Campaign

Anzac Cove

The Australian and New Zealand soldiers of the British Empire land on the beach at Anzac Cove to capture various key points beyond the ridges near the coast. However, the defending Ottomans are more than prepared to die to prevent the Diggers and Kiwis from moving inland.

V Beach (Cape Helles)

British Forces use the SS River Clyde as a Trojan Horse to take V Beach at the mouth of the Dardanelles Straits. However, the castle of Seddülbahir gives the Ottomans an imposing bastion from which to defend the beach.

Mesopotamia Campaign

Ctesiphon

After British Forces landed in Lower Mesopotamia and captured Basra, they moved further inland to secure the oil fields. Following the capture of Kut Al Amara, Baghdad now seems within reach. However, they’ll need to get past the Arch of Ctesiphon and the Ottoman defenders waiting there.

Kut Al Amara

The Ottoman Army defeated the British at Ctesiphon, pushing them back to Kut Al Amara. Here, the Ottomans lay siege on the town, making multiple attacks to attempt to break through the British defenses.

We do have another surprise in store for you; there’s one more map from another campaign coming to Gallipoli on launch! However, you’ll need to wait until the release of the game to find out which.

Gameplay

Weapon Handling Mechanics

Gallipoli features excellent weapon handling, with very detailed animations and deep mechanics, like suppression! Every rifle feels unique, with its own strengths and weaknesses you’ll get to know.

Damage calculations are also deeper, with more granular segmentation of the body and bullet drop over distance.

Gameplay

The Expedition Game Mode in Gallipoli has you fight like they did on the Ottoman Fronts, through Expeditionary Warfare! As the attacker, you’ll need to stay agile and be ready to adapt to the situation; the objectives of each sector are randomized.

Gallipoli gets a bunch of new classes, as well as some returning from Isonzo. Some will let you build fortifications, some make you better at supporting your peers, while others make you better at locking down your target.

When you receive non-lethal damage, you’ll be downed and still able to move around. You cannot fight back however, so your focus is getting to safety so your allies can pick you back up.

Movement got big improvements, giving you the option to sprint while crouching, and even while prone!

Now you’re caught up with everything we’ve revealed! Be sure to check back regularly for more information, and be sure to wishlist Gallipoli to be notified of the release on May 21st.

Hello everyone!

It’s time to dive into V Beach, the second map on the Gallipoli peninsula! Here, British forces attempt to capture the southernmost tip that protects the entrance to the Dardanelles Straits, using the SS River Clyde as a trojan horse.

Before we get started, do check out the first episode of our interview with Jonathan Ferguson! We sat down in the weapons vault of the Royal Armouries museum in Leeds to discuss the weapons used on the Ottoman Fronts, and also got to fire a couple. This first episode: British Rifles!

Landing at Cape Helles

Having been thwarted in their attempts to force the Dardanelles Straits in March 1915, the Entente allies planned a series of amphibious landings on the Gallipoli peninsula. The intention was for infantry to land onto the beaches and then march and fight their way overland to attack and capture the Ottoman forts and guns that protected the Dardanelles.

Gallipoli: New Perspectives on the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, 1915-16 by Rhys Crawley & Michael Locicero

A series of landings were planned for Cape Helles, with landing sites being assigned an identifying letter. V Beach was located near the village of Seddülbahir and had strong defenses. The beach lay beneath an old castle which protected both a nearby harbor and the village itself. On the left were a series of more modern fortifications whilst, further inland, the ruins of a pre-Byzantine fort lay atop Hill 141. The castle in particular would be heavily shelled by British warships in preparation for a landing.

Sedd el Bahr fort photographed from the SS River Clyde, IWM (Q 50473)

In order to safely deliver soldiers to the beach, the British chose to be inventive. They converted the collier ship, SS River Clyde into a trojan horse. It would, whilst accompanied by smaller steamtugs with row boats in tow, beach itself before releasing the infantry aboard directly onto the beach. However, the River Clyde became beached further out than anticipated and many soldiers drowned or were killed by the Ottoman defenders as they tried to get ashore. Pinned down on the beach, it was only after nightfall and the eventual success of landings and reinforcements on their flank that the attackers were able to move inland, and capture the village itself.

SS River Clyde beached at Cape Helles, The War Illustrated in June, 1915

V Beach in Gallipoli

The battle starts with the landing of the British forces on the beach, consisting of numerous smaller rowboats and the SS River Clyde. Choosing to spawn in a rowboat will get you to shore quicker, provided you can stay alive for the trip. If you opt to board the River Clyde, you have much more cover and a scenic view, but it takes a bit to run aground and come to a complete stop. 

Once the River Clyde is parked, you can walk across the gangways and lighters – flat boats used as a bridge – to make it to shore with mostly dry boots. This is now the quickest way to get ashore, but the rowboats remain available if you’re looking to take another avenue.

At the beach, you’re already close to the objectives of the first sector. On the right side from the British perspective, you have the old castle that provides the defending Ottomans with a lot of cover. The closest tower already took some big hits, but the walls give excellent elevation and cover from arrowslits, while the narrow entryways force the Brits to funnel into potential machine gun fire. The central courtyard serves as the objective!

On the other side, the Ottomans are dug into the grassy incline with a clear shot on the water. It may not be a castle, but this position can still hold its own against a frontal assault. If the British manage to capture the castle first, they could try to use the elevation to help with capturing this objective!

Moving towards the second sector, we’re entering the village of Seddülbahir. The densest part of the village follows on the side of the castle, with two main streets leading you to the next objective. While combat can get close quartered in the side streets and many homes can be entered, these main streets create long sightlines where snipers will feel right at home.

The objective itself is in the remnants of a large building struck by artillery. With half-collapsed walls and debris covering the floor, as well as allies and enemies shooting from across the street, it is sure to be an interesting fight.

This sector’s other objective sits in a more open area of town, right next to the graveyard. How morbid. This position provides low-wall cover and has been prepared with sandbags and a few small trenches. There are also gravestones that work as basic cover, but you wouldn't, right?

For the third sector we move back out of the village, into the farmlands. Following the incline, this open area takes you to the final headquarters of the Ottomans at the top of the hill. With only some bushes to break line of sight from the machine guns and artillery impacts to dive into, this final stretch will be a difficult one to cross for the Brits. 

The Arsenal

Lewis Gun

The Lewis Gun is a gas operated light machine gun invented by the American Isaac Newton Lewis. He established Armes Automatique Lewis in Belgium to produce the Lewis Gun, but the production didn’t kick off until the Birmingham Small Arms Company purchased the license, resulting in its adoption by the British Army a year later.

The US Army never adopted the Lewis Gun, going as far as taking the gun away from US Marines in France and replacing it with the Chauchat. This was allegedly done simply because General Crozier just really disliked Lewis and his gun.

The Lewis Gun struck a healthy balance between ammunition capacity, maneuverability, and versatility. It was well regarded among the troops that used it. 

Maxim M1909

The MG09 was one of several export models from Germany based on the MG08 and purchased by a multitude of nations including the Ottoman Empire.

Mounted on a tripod (rather than the sled more common for the MG08) its form and function was the same as other Maxim guns from the period. It was, however, chambered in the ottoman 7.65mm cartridge rather than German 7.92mm Mauser.

These weapons are frequently seen with optical sights and would wreak havoc on the large open battlefields seen on the Ottoman fronts.

Jam Tin Grenade

Jam Tin Grenades were improvised grenades ‘designed’ by Anzac Troops as a response to a lack of equipment on Gallipoli. They were produced by a ‘factory’ set up in Anzac Cove where soldiers could churn out around 200 grenades a day made from used tins. Incidents weren’t unheard of.

The official recipe for Jam Tin Grenades is as follows:

“Take a tin jam pot, fill it with shredded guncotton and tenpenny nails, mixed according to taste. Insert a No. 8 detonator and a short length of Bickford's fuse. Clay up the lid. Light with a match, pipe, cigar, or cigarette and throw for all you are worth.”

Don’t try this at home.

Type 2 Grenade

The Turkish Type 2 Grenade is similar in design to the British No.5 Mills Bomb. The grooved design made it easier to grip with muddy hands and its form factor was excellent for long-distance fragmentation.

It has a fuse in an elongated brass cap as opposed to the Mills Bomb’s percussion cap. Its inscription reads “Type 2 Infantry Grenade”.

That's what we got for you today! We're really looking forward to seeing all of you aboard the SS River Clyde. A part of the team is at the Gallipoli booth at PAX East in Boston as this blog goes live. If you're attending, find us at booth 15102 and play some Gallipoli!

Remember to check out the video we did with the Royal Armouries Museum. Part 2 is coming soon, see you there!

Hello everyone!

Today we’re taking a look at how classes work in Gallipoli, as well as the classes you can expect to see!

Gallipoli has a new class system, with each class having a perk and “Kits”, or subclasses, to choose from that give you various advantages and equipment options tailored to a specific role you’re looking to fill.

Each class has two kits to pick from. A kit comes with a perk, equipment, a choice of a primary weapon and sometimes a choice of a secondary weapon as well. Based on everything you’ll be carrying around, each kit also has a set weight and ammo count.

To illustrate the new class system, let’s look at an example: the Ottoman Engineer. Do keep in mind that Gallipoli is a work in progress and everything mentioned in this blog can still be subject to change, especially when it comes to balancing.

Engineer (Ottoman)

Construction Training

Faster construction and sabotage

Saboteur Kit 

“Seek and destroy!”

Barbed Wire Spool

Automatically spot nearby enemy equipment

Weight: Light

Ammo Count: Medium

Equipment

• Sapper Spade

• Tourniquet

• Water Bottle

• Barbed Wire

Primary (choose 1)

• FN1903

• C96

• S&W No.3

Secondary (choose 1)

• Tufenjieff

• Type 2 Grenade

Frontline Builder 

“Fortify the line!”

Engineer Backpack

Extra construction marker

Weight: Medium

Ammo Count: Medium

Equipment

• Sapper Spade

• Tourniquet

• Sandbags

• Barbed Wire

Primary (choose 1)

• M1905

• Peabody 1874/12

• Peabody 1874

• FN1903

Secondary (choose 1)

• Tufenjieff

• Type 2 Grenade

• Stielhandgranate

In general, your kit options include a more offensive option that provides mobility, better weapon handling or capture weight, as well as a support or defensive option, granting buildables and improved suppressive abilities. You can tell what role each kit fills by the name and the ‘task’ next to it.

Looking back at the example above, the Saboteur Kit with the task “Search and Destroy” is great for a more offensive role, with passive equipment spotting, a water bottle for stamina and a pistol primary weapon to keep you lightweight. Frontline Builder is generally better to “Fortify the line!”, with defensive structures and rifles to choose from.

Selecting a kit

When you’re in a match or the barracks and wish to select your class and kit, the progress is largely the same as in Isonzo. Once you’ve picked a class, you can select a kit right next to the class button. Here, you’ll see all the same details from the table above. If you select a class, it will default to the last kit you’ve used.

Your weapon selection will be saved within the kit, just like with classes in Isonzo. The same thing goes for cosmetics, so you can dress the part for each kit!

Classes

With the explanation out of the way, let’s see what the classes of Gallipoli are! A couple return from Isonzo, but there’s a bunch of new ones we’d like to highlight!

We won’t give you all the details quite yet, we do want to keep some surprises for launch, but we’ll give you a general description of each.

Ammo Bearer

The Ammo Bearer supports their allies by supplying them with plenty of ammo! They have the ability to spawn on squad members and move faster when holding an ammo box.

The kits allow you to pick between an offensive role or a defensive role, with the former allowing teammates to resupply from your backpack, and the latter allowing you to place extra ammo crates.

Bomber

If you see a Bomber running towards you, you better start running the other way. Bombers carry around extra grenades, ideal for clearing trenches and suppressing enemies, but don’t carry much else. They themselves have increased resistance to being stunned by grenades.

One kit makes you faster and gives you more grenades, but you can only use a melee weapon. The other provides an extra grenade slot, allowing you to carry two different types of grenades at once.

Heavy Machine Gunner

These units excel at throwing lead down range, receiving less suppression while on an HMG and allowing squad mates to spawn on you while you’re in your element. Not to mention they can build HMG positions in most places.

Their job is to pin enemies in place with suppressive fire, either opening an opportunity for their allies to attack, or deny the enemy’s approach. They’re a sitting duck however, easy targets for Snipers.

The first kit allows you to fortify your position with sand bags and gives you more benefits while on an HMG. The second kit decreases HMG build time and cooldown, allowing you to change position a lot quicker.

Stretcher Bearer

Finally, the Stretcher Bearers are the medics. They carry syringes and medical crates, move faster while holding a syringe and can spawn on squad members. Their place to be is right behind their squad, ready to patch wounds or pick downed allies back up.

The first kit allows teammates to heal from your backpack, while the second gives you faster heal speeds and additional medic crates.

Other classes

From Isonzo, you’ll also recognise:

• Officer

• Rifleman

• Engineer

• Light Machine Gunner (similar to Assault)

• Spotter (previously Mountaineer)

• Sniper (previously Marksman)

They’ll fill the same or similar roles in Gallipoli, but with new perks, equipment and buildables from their kits that better suit the Ottoman Fronts.

That’s all the classes! The abilities and equipment provided by subclasses are mirrored between the British and Ottomans, except for Light Machine Gunners, which are exclusive to the British Empire. Of course, your weapon options do depend on your faction.

We'll see you again soon with more Gallipoli information!

Hello everyone!

Today is a very exciting day, as we have a brand new trailer in store for you. This brand new look at Gallipoli focuses on the Siege of Kut, where the Ottomans attacked the British Army holed up in the town of Kut Al Amara in lower Mesopotamia.

The Siege of Kut

The Indian Expeditionary Force (IEF) captured the Mesopotamian town of Kut al-Amara in September 1915. Situated in a horseshoe bend of the River Tigris it provided a base of operations for the British to consider a further advance towards Baghdad. However, after a defeat by Ottoman defenders at Ctesiphon in November of the same year, Major General Charles Townshend’s 6th (Poona) Division retreated back to Kut, where the Ottomans laid siege. 

Aerial view of Kut Al Amara, IWM (Q 107237)

The British built trench lines out across the horseshoe and incorporated an old fortification - what the British referred to as the ‘Mud Fort’ - into their defensive lines. The Ottomans, commanded by Khalil Pasha, made numerous attacks on the outer defenses but could not break through. With the town besieged - and enough rations for around 60 days - the only hope for the British was for a relief force to be dispatched from Basra to break through the Ottoman lines. In order to accelerate this intervention, Townshend misrepresented his supply stores in messages back to Basra, claiming he had less food than he did. As a result, an ill-prepared British force was defeated by the Ottomans at El Hanna.

Charles Townshend and Khalil Pasha after the surrender of Kut, IWM (Q 79344)

With no prospect of relief, the supply situation became desperate and some defenders began to eat the animals within Kut. Townshend attempted to negotiate with Enver Pasha - then Minister for War - but he refused any terms. Townshend then surrendered the town after 147 days of siege and was taken to Constantinople. However, his army underwent a series of forced marches to prisoner of war camps where an estimated 70% of the British-Indian rank and file soldiers died during their captivity. The Siege of Kut was one of the worst defeats for the Entente of the entire war.

Kut Al Amara in Gallipoli

Kut is a map of two halves. The battle starts out of town in a no man's land of a scorching desert, dominated by the sun and heavy shelling. The other half transitions into full-on urban combat, with alleyways and doorways allowing threats to pop up from around every corner. However, let’s go back to the start of the battle and follow the Ottoman approach.

As the Ottomans begin their charge across the open dunes, their first obstacle is the lovingly nicknamed ‘Mud Fort’ and the fortified redoubt connected to its trench network, both of which make up Sector 1. It has been softened up by prior shelling already, but the British will still be able to put up a fight here; they have cover, the Ottomans have not.

Once past the fort, more opportunities for cover arise. On the left, along the river Tigris, you can ditch the sand and opt for mud instead. As the region’s lifeline, the Tigris allows for vegetation in the shape of palm trees to grow, providing you with some much needed cover to mask your approach to the objective. On the right side, the frontal assault option won’t be as punishing as before. The terrain here has a lot more trenches and prominent dunes, leading you to the kilns that mark the other objective of this sector.

Pushing past the palms & kilns, we dive into Kut proper. Entry into the town is divided into a left and a right approach by a large central building, with some sneakier options in the middle. Once beyond this building, we’re a short jog away from the objectives of Sector 3: the historical British Headquarters on the left and the Mosque on the right. Don’t get too comfortable though, as some of the rooftops are accessible and offer prime ambush opportunities. If you don’t see the enemy in front of you, you may need to look up!

As we approach Sector 4, the final sector, a perpendicular road opens up a whole lot of options. You can pick from any of 5 lanes that will take you through or past the Bazaar (or Souq) straight to the final objective, but all will bring chaos. The streets are cluttered, there are fires all over the place and the British have dug themselves in for their last stand. Some doors take you to the adjacent lanes, others are a dead end, while others still allow you to hide to reload or ambush a foe.

The long sightlines are a prime opportunity for machine gun fire, but if you manage to break through, you’ll find the final Headquarters in the warehouse at the docks of Kut.

The Arsenal

Martini-Henry Mk.IV

The Martini-Henry is a breech-loading lever action rifle from 1871. As it was replaced by the Lee-Metford, all existing Martini-Henry variants were converted to .45 calibre to limit the amount of different calibres in service, creating the Martini-Henry Mk.IV. 

Even though the Lee-Metford had also already been replaced by the Lee-Enfield by WW1, the Martini-Henry Mk.IV saw service during the war, as reserves of the newer rifles started to run out – especially on the Ottoman Fronts.

Peabody-Martini M1874

As the Ottoman Empire was unable to purchase Martini-Henry rifles from the British, they bought rifles identical to the Martini Henry Mk.I from the United States. The main difference between the weapons was the lack of barrel rifling that gave the Martini-Henry the ‘Henry’ part of its name. Instead, it took the name of the Peabody action both rifles have.

Much like the Martini-Henry, the Peabody-Martini was already replaced long before WW1. However, it continued to play a role in Ottoman culture as the every man’s rifle, appearing in tales of outlaws and folk heroes like Hekimoğlu. During WW1, it reappeared on the battlefield as the Ottomans started to run out of Mauser rifles.

Hotchkiss Portative Mk.I

As we’ve established, much of Kut Al Amara provides great opportunities to dig in behind some sandbags or a low wall with a machine gun in hand. So let’s take a look at one of the options for the British Empire!

The Hotchkiss Portative is an Austrian design sold to Hotchkiss in 1893. It was improved upon by the American manager of the manufacturer and saw limited production by Springfield and Colt. Production officially began in the Hotchkiss factory in Paris, but the factory was moved to Lyon when the Germans threatened the city. The following year, Hotchkiss was invited to set up a factory in the UK, where 40,000 units were made. Quite the journey.

That’s everything for today! We hope you enjoyed the new look at the game and are excited for Kut Al Amara. If you haven’t already, add Gallipoli to your wishlist! It really helps us out by giving us more opportunities to spread the word about the new game.

We have some exciting collaborations coming up soon as well as some substantial news next month. See you soon!

Hello everyone! Today we’d like to take a look at the movement improvements we’ve made to Gallipoli. Not only have we really improved the animations when switching stance and improved collisions so you don’t run into smaller objects, we’re also making gameplay changes to stamina and sprinting. Let’s get into it!

Can't see the images? Check out the Reddit version!

Stamina

In Gallipoli, stamina plays a bigger role than before. Many more actions will now drain your stamina: sprinting, meleeing, jumping, vaulting will all tire you out. However, we’ve also changed stamina to be a bit more forgiving. You’ll never be prevented from doing an action if you’re exhausted. Your movement is less rigid, your aim sways more and you’ll sprint slower, but you can still get the job done.

Your maximum amount of stamina depends on your state. As you get hurt more and more, the limit is decreased more and more, until about half if you’re downed. This means that if you’re injured, you won't be able to run as far, or keep your weapon as steady as before.

The speed at which you regenerate your stamina depends on the equipment and weapons you have on you. Heavy weaponry like the Lewis Gun will slow regeneration down quite a bit, while only carrying a humble side arm will get you back on the road in a jiffy.

Sprinting

How fast and far you can sprint varies. If your stamina is nearly full, you’ll sprint faster. As it starts to drain through your actions, like sprinting for a longer time or getting involved in a brawl, you’ll slowly lose speed. Once you’re out of stamina, you’ll still be able to run, but at a slower pace. If you’re not smack dab in the middle of no man's land, it may be better to catch your breath instead of running on.

If you’re in need of a momentary speed boost, be sure to take a sip from your water flask. Hydration is important!

Crouched Sprinting

If you start sprinting while crouched, you’ll no longer stand up automatically. Instead, you’ll sprint while remaining crouched, combining speed and a low profile. Very useful if you’d like to keep your head in the safety of a trench while still keeping pace, but you’ll drain stamina quicker than regular sprinting, and you’re not as fast.

Proned “Sprinting”

You can also “sprint” while prone. I wouldn’t really consider it sprinting per se, but you can get out of a sticky situation while keeping the lowest possible profile a bit quicker, at the cost of much of your stamina. Useful when you’re suppressed!

That’s it! You’ll be doing a lot of running around in Gallipoli, so we hope these improvements and extra features will make movement more grounded and tactical. 

The keen eyed amongst you may have noticed that Gallipoli is listed in the IGN Fest lineup. ‘Tis true! We have a brand new trailer to showcase live during the event, so be sure to tune in.

Hello everyone! We’re here to kick off the new year (halfway through January) with one of the biggest new additions to Gallipoli: the Downed State. In a previous blog, we briefly talked about health and making damage calculations more granular. While before we distinguished between the head, arms and body, it’s now split into neck, belly, pelvis, upper limbs, lower limbs, hands and feet. This is one of the reasons for this change.

Can't see the images? Try the Reddit version!

The Downed State

Imagine this: you just got shot in the thigh from some distance away. First things first: Ouch! However, the damage is unlikely to be lethal immediately. Instead of you biting the dust immediately, you’ll be downed; you’re lying on the ground, extremely busy bleeding out. If any allies remain close by, they’ll have the opportunity to bandage the wound and get you back into the fight in a severely wounded state.

While downed and shouting for help, you have two options: either lay still and try to slow the bleeding to give your allies more time to pick you back up, or try to crawl to a safer position, hopefully making it easier for your allies to help you. However, crawling around will make you bleed out faster. You can also just give up if you’re done with the war.

You’re unable to pull out your weapon or melee while downed. Your only focus is the fact you’re about to bleed out and need help immediately. Taking any amount of damage or bleeding out will finish you off, giving the person who downed you credit for the kill. On the other side of the engagement, we’ve made sure this all feels fair. Hitting centermass within a weapon’s intended range, shooting someone at close range, shooting someone in the head or meleeing will kill without downing a target. Your target is more likely to be downed when you use a weapon outside its effective range, or if you hit someone’s arm or leg from medium range onwards. Explosions can down you if you’re outside of their lethal radius, but close enough to take considerable damage.

Our Intention

The Downed State is about giving someone who positions well and works with their squad a second chance if they were grazed by a bullet. If someone is downed in a trench close to their squad, it’s likely they’ll be revived. However, if someone is out in the open with no allies in sight, getting downed will still leave you alone, out in the open, and thus easy to finish off.

The one shot, one kill gameplay we’ve always had is still here. This puts a bit more emphasis on being accurate on the shooter’s side, and teamwork & positioning on the target’s side. Balance-wise, killing targets at long range is a bit more of a challenge now, especially if you try to do so with a pistol.

That's it for today! We hope you're excited for this addition. Be sure to wishlist & follow Gallipoli to be the first to know about the many more details coming soon.

What do you mean you’ve already had way too many recaps this year?

Hello everyone!

We hope you’ve had a great 2025! For the WW1 Game Series, it was a very special year. We’ve been very busy behind the scenes preparing for the release of Gallipoli in 2026, but let’s take a moment to look back on everything that happened in 2025.

The Moschin Expansion & free DLC Upgrade

Isonzo got its final expansion: Moschin! This map is the only night map in Isonzo, set in the burning woods of the Grappa massif. As the Austro-Hungarians attempted to circumvent the Piave river in June 1918, they commenced a heavy bombardment on the Italian defenses. However, the Italians knew what they were up to, and counterattacked at just the right time.

Along with the map came the Beretta M1918, an Italian semi-automatic carbine with an incredible fire rate and capacity, perfect for aggressive manoeuvers. For the Germans looking for a grenade with a bit more bang for your buck, the M1917 Geballte Ladung 6x is all you need!

The Avanti Savoia Units DLC that came for free with Isonzo for those who got the game in the first week of launch had a huge uplift. It’s now a fully- fletched DLC with over 50 rare and late-war items. The best part: if you already had the original DLC, this upgrade is completely free. Thank you for your continued support!

The Big Gallipoli Announcement

Of course, the highlight of the year is the announcement of Gallipoli! This fourth game is taking the series to the Ottoman Fronts, where the Entente, notably including Anzac and Indian forces, open up the attack on the Ottoman Empire.

For Gallipoli, we put a big focus on the look & feel of the game, taking the immersion and simulation aspects to the next level. It’s set to release in 2026, so be sure to add it to your wishlist if you haven’t already!

Anniversary Trailer

We celebrated the 12 Year Anniversary of the WW1 Game Series with a huge sale and a compilation trailer for a trip down memory lane!

More Gallipoli Info

In the months following the announcement, we started sharing more info about Gallipoli. 

Expedition Game Mode

We first took a look at the game mode of Gallipoli: Expedition. This mode captures combat as it was like on the Ottoman Fronts, revolving around momentum and all-out assaults. Objectives are now also randomized to a degree, so work with your squad to make decisions on the go!

For the full explanation of the Expedition game mode, check out the blog!

Ctesiphon & Anzac Cove

Next, we looked at two of the maps coming to Gallipoli! 

Ctesiphon is set on the Mesopotamian front, where British and Indian forces landed to secure Basra and the oil fields further inland. This is an arid region with vegetation along the banks of the river Tigris, but it’s prone to sandstorms. You may want to take shelter by the Arch of Ctesiphon!

Anzac Cove is known for the landings by the British and Anzac forces on the shores of Gallipoli. Their goal was to capture Constantinople and knock the Ottoman Empire out of the war, but they faced much stronger resistance from the Ottomans than expected. The terrain consists of ridged hills and vegetation that can provide both some cover and make you cross wide-open areas.

First Gameplay Details

Then, we shared some of the work-in-progress gameplay changes planned for Gallipoli. From pacing to animations, damage and ballistics, we showed a lot of the improvements coming to the game. Take a look for yourself!

Changing the Gallipoli Subtitle

Now with Gallipoli coming together, we’ve taken a close look at the scope of the game. To better reflect the fronts outside of the Middle East that saw Ottoman action, like the Gallipoli campaign itself, we’ve decided to change the subtitle of Gallipoli from “Middle Eastern Front” to “Ottoman Fronts”. 

In the upcoming months, we’ll reveal more maps coming to Gallipoli at launch. Stay tuned!

Movember Returns!

Back in Isonzo-land, the Movember Handlebar moustache is back! If you’d like to stick this mighty moustache on your upper lip, be sure to get it now. It’s still available until January 5th!

Proceeds are donated to the not-for-profit Movember Organization in support of their cause.

Christmas Truce starts today

The Christmas Truce just went live! Be sure to join the festivities, throw some snowballs, write a Christmas card and challenge friend and foe for a little game of football. Find out more here:

Those are the highlights of 2025! We have a lot of Gallipoli news and showcases in the works for early 2026, so please look forward to that. For now, we really hope you have the merriest of Christmases and a great New Year. 

December 24, 1914. On Christmas Eve, 5 months after the hostilities started, war was still raging on at its fullest around the Western Front. Even still, roughly 100,000 British and German troops were reportedly involved in the informal ceasefire along the Front, later dubbed 'The Christmas Truce'.

The Germans began the celebrations with singing Christmas carols, soon met with carols in return from the British lines. What followed were friendly calls of Christmas greetings across No Man’s Land, eventually leading to soldiers from both sides meeting in person where they exchanged small gifts. Artillery had also fell silent, which allowed the burial of the fallen from both parties, and hold joint services. In some areas the truce lasted through Christmas night, and in others it continued all the way into the New Year.

The Christmas Truce Event

To get a glimpse of what the Christmas Truce in Verdun was like in 1914, select Christmas Truce from the Play menu to join others in a peaceful ww1 inspired winter setting. Once inside, you can take part in festive activities like snowball fights, friendly football matches, exploring decorated trenches, or warming up around the fire. Just as they did 111 years ago! You can also send digital Christmas cards from the front using the post offices scattered around the map.

The Christmas Truce runs from December 18th to January 5th, 2025, and participating earns you the special Christmas Truce medal!

Have fun soldiers and Merry Christmas!

Aside from gun play, we’ve also taken a close look at damage and ballistics for Gallipoli. We’ve taken a more granular approach, which makes firing weapons feel more realistic, as well as different from each other. As an added benefit, having more numbers to tweak will also help us with balancing! 

If you missed our reasoning and gun play changes, be sure to check out our previous blog.

We would like to preface this blog with a little disclaimer that everything in this blog is a balancing matter and so very much subject to change.

Note: If you can't see the images, try the blog on Reddit!

Ballistics

We’ve introduced simulated ballistics in Gallipoli! Bullets should now much more closely behave like you’d expect from the caliber and weapon they’re fired from.

Two of the included changes are bullet travel time and bullet drop. We no longer use hitscan; bullets now take a bit of time to travel over great distances and drop a bit along the way, depending on the weapon and the bullet. The effect will be quite minor in most circumstances if you use a weapon for their intended range, but you’ll really notice it if you try to snipe with a revolver.

Damage

One area we looked at is damage fall-off, the amount of damage lost when hitting a target from long range. The amount of damage fall-off depends on the weapon you’re using: damage from small arms like pistols start to drop off after 10 meters, while rifles start to be affected between 50 and 100 meters. Regardless of weapon used and damage lost over range, a headshot will always take out your target in one hit.

On that topic, the body has been split up into more parts, each with their own damage modifiers to make damage more granular. In our previous games we distinguished between the head, arms and body when it came to calculating damage, but we now make use of all the different body parts: neck, belly, pelvis, upper limbs, lower limbs, hands and feet. Each of these has its own damage multiplier based on how much it sucks to get shot there.

Penetration

Bullet penetration also got some attention! Materials now more accurately affect bullets passing through. Fabrics have little effect, wooden poles a lot more! The harder the material, the more stopping power is lost once the bullet comes out the other end – if any stopping power remains.

It’s generally not recommended to use your squad as a human shield.

How it’s calculated

Damage, bullet travel time, bullet drop and penetration are all calculated based on the muzzle velocity of the weapon used, bullet weight, bullet diameter and the shape of the bullet nose.

On an individual level, every weapon does have unique characteristics that reflect what they were like in real life. Now, we don’t expect you to learn the ins and outs of every single weapon, so you’ll be able to compare the stats in-game!

What it all means

These changes both really make firing weapons feel more realistic, but also makes sure weapons aren’t too effective outside of their intended role. Semi-automatic pistols should feel great at close range, but shouldn’t be effective at longer ranges as well. Scoped rifles should be best suited at long range, but hitting your target should still be a fair challenge!

While everything we mentioned here may sound complicated, it all feels natural in practice. Firing and aiming weapons is more realistic, but there’s no need to whip out a calculator to hit a distant shot with a rifle. Gallipoli is not a full-on simulator, but closer to a ‘milsim-lite’ than our previous games!

Thanks for reading! This blog was a bit more technical, but we hope you found it interesting. More blogs are coming your way, so be sure to wishlist and follow Gallipoli on Steam to get everything right in your library.

Some of the biggest changes in Gallipoli compared to the previous games can be found in the gunplay. It has received a major set of improvements and reworks to really improve the realism and pacing of the game, while also making it more satisfying. You’ll feel greater differences between the weapons in the game.

Before we get into the actual changes, let’s discuss our reasoning!

Note: if you can't see the images, try the blog on Reddit!

Pacing & Immersion

While we believe our previous games were a good showcase of what fighting in WW1 was like, we really wanted to take it to the next level with Gallipoli. For this, we took a close look at pacing and immersion, how we could more closely capture what combat was like as a soldier on the front. We hope to push teamwork and smart decision making more in Gallipoli and make battles feel more realistic. Every weapon should have their own challenges, yet be fun and rewarding to use.

Now, that’s easier said than done. There’s no ‘immersion slider’ we can tweak a little. So to achieve this, we’ve made some major improvements in all kinds of different areas of the game. A lot of these are related to weapon handling and player status, how a soldier would react in the heat of combat. Let’s take a look at some of the improvements we’ve made!

Reloading

Reloading got a lot of love in Gallipoli. All of the reloading animations are upgraded massively and are completely unique for each and every single weapon! Reloads and bolting are a bit slower and methodical in Gallipoli to better reflect real life, which also requires you to be more tactical with when and where you reload.

Each weapon in Gallipoli has their reload split into three stages: unloading, reloading and closing the bolt. For single-round reloaded weapons like rifles, every round inserted functions as an extra stage.

Completing a stage essentially functions as a checkpoint in case you need to interrupt the reload. It’s more realistic that way; once you put a round into the weapon, you won’t have to do so again after getting interrupted.

Suppression

One of the other biggest changes is how suppression works and affects you at the receiving end. In Isonzo, getting suppressed was mostly a visual effect, restricting your vision. In Gallipoli however, it triggers your fight or flight instinct!

Being suppressed initially increases sway and recoil. As you continue to get suppressed, you’ll start to panic and the effects get much more severe. Your vision darkens and you lose color perception. Your hands start shaking, making it very difficult to aim and return fire. Near misses from bullets cause you to flinch and throw off your aim. 

If you’re heavily suppressed, you may also struggle to properly close the bolt, the last stage of a reload. It’s not a gun jamming mechanic that requires manual input. You will always succeed in reloading, but it takes a second longer than usual. Of course, this comes with another unique animation!

Suppression by bullets happens when bullets are whizzing past you. Machine guns have the easiest time suppressing others due to the volume of fire, and doing so should be the main priority. Bullet suppression is stronger at longer ranges, to make sure you don’t get all shaky in one-on-one close-quarters combat.

Explosions also suppress. The strength and range depends on the size of the explosion. Explosives that are designed to stun instead of destroy, like certain types of grenade, cause relatively more suppression. Explosions and stunning are a big topic on their own, so more on that in a later blog!

The best way to combat suppression is to go prone, preferably behind cover. Lying on the ground makes you partially resist the effects of suppression and helps you recover quicker.

Weapon Handling

Once you spawn in, weapon in hand, you’ll first notice some general changes we made to handling. We’ve built on the systems used in Isonzo to add more layers of depth and realism to the weapons in Gallipoli. 

Drag & weight

Drag is a new feature in Gallipoli and determines how quickly your weapon follows your movement, based on its weight. Lightweight weapons like pistols respond only slightly slower to turning around, aiming down sights and the end of a sprint. Heavy weapons like machine guns take a bit longer to do all of that. Overall we balanced it to make it a bit more challenging to snap on target, but not take 3-5 business days to do so either.

Weapon modifications do affect a weapon’s weight, so an SMLE MK.III without bayonet or scope will be snappier than one with.

Sway

Weapon sway has gotten a lot of attention and now more closely reacts to your status! The basic ‘breathing sway’ pattern has been completely reworked to match reality more closely, but we’ve also added two new factors: ‘hand wobble’ and ‘arm fatigue’. Both add a bunch of little movements that come with handling a weapon of different weight classes.

Hand wobble is the inaccuracy that comes with handling lighter weapons like pistols, while arm fatigue is the strain on your arms from carrying around a big chunk of metal like a machine gun. Of course, holding your breath to focus on aiming massively reduces all sway for a limited time. 

Surface Resting

You can now rest any weapon on any surface! Previously only an option for weapons with bipods, it’s now extended to all weapons in various degrees. 

If you’re aiming from behind cover or are lying prone on the ground, you’ll have an easier time aiming your weapon. Unlike bipods, there’s no setup required to benefit from it. Bipods are still available on some weapons and do still require deployment, but have a way stronger effect on aim than surface resting.

That’s all for now! There are a bunch more improvements that really elevate the immersion, but we’ll show those another day. If you’d like to stay up to date, be sure to wishlist and follow Gallipoli on Steam!

If you’d like to learn more about the history of the Middle Eastern theater of WW1, be sure to check out our new video with Dr Chris Kempshall!

Hello everyone!

Today we’re exploring another map coming to Gallipoli, and the map that probably comes to mind first when you think of ‘Gallipoli’: Anzac Cove.

Landing at Anzac Cove

Following the failure to force a naval passage through the Dardanelles Straits in March 1915, the Entente allies decided that they would need to change their strategy. If they were to achieve their goal of capturing Constantinople and knocking the Ottoman Empire out of the war, they needed to land infantry on the Gallipoli peninsula to capture or destroy the Ottoman fortresses that guarded the straits. 

Landing at Anzac Cove, source: https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C53771

In the early hours of the 25th April 1915 soldiers from the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) approached the shore. They were aiming to land on Z Beach but had drifted a mile further north. Their plan was to take the beaches and then move on to capture various key ridges beyond. The Ottoman defenders detected their approach whilst the boats were still offshore and opened fire. The attack was on. Upon reaching the beach, the Australian soldiers fought uphill to capture their first objective: Plugge’s Plateau. However, the landscape beyond proved hugely difficult to traverse. 

Steep hills of Anzac Cove, source: https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1000859

The defending Ottomans were hard-pressed. Whilst awaiting reinforcements, the commanding officer, Mustafa Kemal (later Kemal Atatürk, founding father of modern day Turkïye) issued his famous ‘I order you to die’ command to his men as he launched counter attacks. The Anzacs struggled to hold out against determined Ottoman attempts to force them back to the beaches. Their commanders decided to abandon the plan of capturing further ridges and instead dig in at Russell’s Top and hold the little territory they had gained. They would not progress much further for the rest of the campaign.

Mustafa Kemal (Kemal Atatürk, fourth from the left), source: https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C196601

Anzac Cove in Gallipoli

Steep hills, sharp ridges and enough shrubberies to make someone shout “Ni!” characterize Anzac Cove. There’s not much in terms of visual cover when you’re running around, but you can make use of plant cover if you lay down in the right spots. As for the battle itself, well, it starts off with a grand entry of the British Empire… by boat.

The battle starts with the British forces divided across multiple boats. Soldiers will then row you towards the beach. In the meantime, you can focus on providing covering fire with your weapon of choice. This continues until the first sector is captured, halfway up Plugge’s Plateau.

On the Ottoman side, you’re sitting relatively comfortably at the objectives. While the British forces are splashing about, they’re a sitting duck with a complete lack of cover. These early stages of the battle are the best time for the Ottomans to really hack away at the attackers’ momentum. Be sure to bring some rifles!

The objectives themselves provide plenty of cover, but more worryingly perhaps, Krupp 75mm and HMG positions that can be used to send the attackers on a quick one-way trip to the bottom of the Aegean Sea.

It’s an uphill battle for the British forces, both literally and figuratively. Once the first sector is captured however, they’ll be able to use it as their forward base and continue over Plugge’s Plateau and head for the Sphinx.

After running down the other side of Plugge’s Plateau, the climb back up begins. Along the ridge sits one of the two objectives, one that doesn’t have much in the way of cover. Aside from some sandbags and the odd shrubbery, this steep objective is sure to get chaotic. 

The other objective sits right on the shoulders of the Sphinx – or Yuksek Tepe amongst the Ottomans, an eye-catching geographical outcrop – and is likely easier to defend. Not only does it feature an underground cabin, some shooting nests, and plenty of foliage, it’s also one of the highest points on the map. You can spot people all the way back on Plugge’s Plateau, and even the beach in some places.

Running towards the third sector at Russell’s Top, the terrain evens out a bit. On the attackers’ left side, it’s only a slight incline. The right side sits lower, but leads to the same objective at the very end.

The final Headquarters is a series of trenches complete with tunnels, shooting nests and a nice view. Everything you need for a final Ottoman stand!

The Arsenal

Let’s have a look at two more weapons commonly used on the Ottoman Front! This time, two standard issue sidearms you would’ve seen during the Landing at Anzac Cove.

Webley Mk.VI

The Webley Revolvers are a series of top-break revolvers adopted in 1887, where it became the standard issue service revolver of the British Empire. It fires the .455 Webley cartridge, making it amongst the most powerful revolvers of its type. 

Compared to its prior models, the Mark VI had its barrel extended from 100mm to 150mm for better effectiveness at range – though its typical engagement range was quite short.

FN M1903

The FN M1903 is a Browning-design semi-automatic pistol firing the 9mm Browning Long cartridge, comparable to the 9x19mm Parabellum of the German Luger. The design was popular for its ease of use, reliability and accuracy.

8,000 FN M1903 pistols were ordered by the Ottoman Empire for police use prior to WW1, but ended up in the hands of Officers and specialized units during the war. More were produced for the Ottomans after the FN factory was captured by the Germans. 

It is one of many famous foreign-made semi-automatic pistols fielded by the Ottoman army.

Got all that? Great. If you haven’t already, be sure to check out the Ctesiphon blog as well to learn more about the battles in Mesopotamia and the ancient Arch of Ctesiphon. You can expect more information from us again soon, so be sure to add Gallipoli to your wishlist!

We released a small patch fixing the Unity vulnerability issue, CVE-2025-59489.

• Unity Editor update to 2022.3.67f2,

• Security patch

Download is expected to be around 3.3 GB.

Hello everyone!

Now that you have an idea how the Expedition game mode works, it’s time to explore one of the maps of Gallipoli: Ctesiphon! We’ll also be taking a look at two of your standard rifle options. But first, let’s dive into the Battle of Ctesiphon!

Battle of Ctesiphon

British forces landed in Mesopotamia in November 1914 to capture the valuable port of Basra and secure ongoing access to the oil fields. The following year, having been reinforced, Major-General Charles Townshend commanding the 6th (Poona) Indian Division resolved to march inland, following the River Tigris. Having captured the city of Kut Al Amra in September 1915, Baghdad now seemed to lay within reach. However, Townshend’s supply lines were becoming stretched and his single division was a long way into Ottoman territory.

© National Portrait Gallery, London, NPG x81092,

https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/use-this-image.php?mkey=mw73623

Despite this, Townshend was determined to push on. It was whilst moving towards Baghdad that his forces encountered a well-prepared Ottoman defensive position in the ruins of the ancient city of Ctesiphon on 21st November 1915. A strong defensive redoubt, known as the Vital Point secured one flank of the Ottoman line. Capturing this became Townshend’s prime objective and he ordered a dawn attack to begin on the 22nd November. However, although attacking forces – heavily composed of Indian and Gurkha soldiers – were able to seize part of the front line, they could not break through. Furthermore, the battlefield was proving to be deceptive – the Ottomans were able to flood various hidden irrigation ditches to make reaching the trenches much more difficult. 

Source

Casualties at the end of the first day were heavy and after trading attacks and counter-attacks on the 23rd, both the British and Ottoman forces were nearly at breaking point. The Ottoman general in command – Nureddin Pasha – decided to withdraw his forces rather than risk them being overrun. However, upon realising that the British were also retreating, he changed his mind and took up the pursuit. The remnants of Townshend’s forces retreated back to the city of Kut where they were soon besieged.

Ctesiphon in Gallipoli

Ctesiphon is an open map set on the ruins of the ancient city of its namesake. The Arch of Ctesiphon, or Tāq Kasrā, is most of what remains to this day, close to the current course of the river Tigris. It has three sectors to control, with a Headquarters each and an Optional Objective for the first two. Be sure to check out the Game Mode blog if you haven’t already!

The first sector features a small section of the wall that once protected the ancient city of Ctesiphon. It doesn’t stand as tall as it once did, but still provides great cover to whoever’s dug in here. The other objective is the Vital Point and allows you to spot anyone who dares go over the top.

Sector 2 has you battle under the Arch of Ctesiphon itself. It provides great cover to those who control the objective and funnels the engagement into a few chokepoints. The other side of the sector sits on top of the Gurkha Mound, providing a view over most of Ctesiphon.

The third sector sits right by the banks of the Tigris. Sand makes way for more fertile soil and crops as we close in on the final Headquarters objective. This large HQ is a series of supply and artillery pits, split in two by an offshoot of the river.

As the battle progresses, a sandstorm rolls in and changes the battlefield completely. Not only does the sand get everywhere, it also decreases your vision to just a couple meters ahead of you.

It’s not all bad news though, as limited vision also brings new opportunities. No man’s land is now a lot less dangerous than before, so a lot more engagements will take place on and around the objectives. Maybe ditch your sniper rifle for something with a little less magnification.

The Arsenal

Now, if you’re heading to the front, you’re going to need something to fight with. Let’s take a look at two staples of the British and Ottoman armies!

Short Magazine Lee-Enfield Mk.III

Commonly known as the SMLE Mk.III, or “Smelly”, this is the quintessential Lee-Enfield rifle used by forces of the British Empire on the Ottoman Front. Over 5 million SMLE Mk.III rifles and variants thereof were produced during WW1.

The SMLE Mk.III has a 10-round box magazine to be loaded with two 5-round charger clips. It comes equipped with a rear sight arrangement, fixed charger guide, a magazine cut-off system and a handy field cleaning kit stored in the buttstock. Got to keep it in mint condition!

Mauser 1903

The Mauser 1903, or Ottoman Mauser, is a Gewehr 98 modified for use by the Ottoman Army, produced in Germany. The bolt arm had been curved to block the stripper clip when inserting rounds, the receiver, cocking cam and firing pin were made larger and longer and the rifle could be fitted with older Ottoman bayonets, to name a few of the changes made.

Around 200,000 rifles were received by the Ottomans by 1905 and distributed across the empire, remaining in Turkish service until the 60s. 

That’s it for today! Hope you like this first (proper) look at Ctesiphon and two of the weapons coming to Gallipoli. Stay tuned for more information coming soon, and please double check if Gallipoli is on your wishlist!

Hello everyone!

We know you’ve been eagerly waiting for more information about Gallipoli, and here it is! Today, we’ll walk you through the game mode of Gallipoli: Expedition.

With the war spread over huge distances, combatant nations moved their troops in expeditionary forces by sea and rail to fight on new fronts. These forces were specialized in mobility and self-sustainability, capable of heading deep into enemy territory and taking key positions. 

The Expedition Game Mode seeks to reflect the faster-paced combat, rewarding attackers who adapt on the fly and book results efficiently.

We would like to preface this blog with a disclaimer: everything mentioned and shown is work in progress and subject to change!

Introducing: Expedition

A battlefield is split into several sectors, laid out horizontally between the attacker and defender spawn points. Each sector has two objectives to control in order to take it. Sectors need to be taken in order towards the defenders’ spawn area. 

The defenders, of course, need to give everything in order to stop any of this from happening. If the attackers manage to capture every sector with the time and resources they have, they win. Otherwise, the defenders claim victory.

So far, those of you who’ve played Isonzo may think all this sounds a little familiar. Don’t worry: this is where all the differences come in.

Momentum

While capturing objectives and pushing towards the next sector, the attackers have to manage their Momentum. In essence, this resource represents how well the Expedition is proceeding. The attack starts with 100 Momentum, one of which is lost whenever an attacking soldier perishes. In the simplest terms, 1 Momentum = 1 attacker life.

Of course, you’re not expected to complete every single objective with just 100 men. There’s a multitude of ways to regain your Momentum. 

• Kill Threshold: A portion of Momentum is regained once 50 defenders are taken out. The amount regained depends on how long it took to reach this threshold.

• Capture an objective: A small amount of Momentum is regained when an objective is captured for the first time.

• Secure an objective: A large amount of Momentum is regained when an objective is secured.

Defenders don’t have Momentum. Instead, it’s their goal to either drain the attackers’ Momentum by killing them without taking casualties, or holding on to their Headquarters by any means necessary.

Objectives

Both teams can capture an objective. Once captured, the objective will be supplied with static weapons to aid the defense. However, that’s not the end: the other team can recapture the objective if not secured!

Objective types

Each sector has two objectives: the Headquarters and a Support Objective.

The Headquarters is the primary objective you need to secure in order to advance. Securing is something only the attackers can do after capturing the objective. Once secured, it can never be recaptured by the defenders, and the attackers may proceed to the next sector.

The Support Objective is different. This objective isn’t required to advance, but the attackers can target the Support Objective to regain Momentum if running low. Additionally, it acts as a forward spawn point for the team that controls it and it’s equipped with mortars, as well as a field gun, to support the battle for the Headquarters. Since it cannot be secured, the enemy can always try to recapture it.

Randomized Objectives

No two battles are the same; not in history, not in Gallipoli either. The spawn location of the Headquarters is randomly picked between two possible locations per sector. The Support Objective will be at the other of the two locations.

But wait, there’s more! The Headquarters also has two types it will randomly select: Build to secure and Detonate to secure.

Build to secure requires you to build 3 buildable structures on the objective, randomly placed in 5 possible locations. Multiple people can work on a single structure at a time to speed up progress, but you’ll also want some people to deal with the enemy! Build progress is never lost, not even when the objective changes hands. Finish building to secure!

Can't see the gif? Click here!

Detonate to secure may be a bit more familiar: plant a bomb on the objective in order to destroy it. Once destroyed, it’s secured. However, the defenders can disarm the bomb at any time!

With 11 different possible layouts per Headquarters, 2 layouts per sector and up to 5 sectors per map, this means that a large map can have up to 5,153,632 different layouts! However, you’ll only get to see what the layout of the next sector is once you secure the preceding sector.

Foothold

Not overloaded with information yet? Good, because here’s Foothold.

Foothold is an overtime system that triggers upon Momentum reaching 0. Foothold counts down unless the attackers are contesting an objective that can still give them Momentum.

Any actions that would normally give Momentum now extends Foothold instead. However, there’s no way to remove Foothold; once in effect, it will remain until the end of the battle.

As long as they have allies fighting on the Headquarters objective or keep extending the timer, attackers can still defeat the defenders. It is even possible for the attackers to activate Foothold in the first sector and still win the battle – if they lock in.

If Foothold reaches 0 and none of the attackers reach an objective within 3 seconds, the battle ends in favor of the defenders!

That sure is a whole lot of information, so here’s your TL;DR:

• Attackers need to be fast and efficient to maintain their Momentum while securing objectives.

• Defenders need to dig in and stop the attackers in their path by wasting their Momentum.

• Capturing Headquarters is required to proceed, Support Objectives give more Momentum, weapons and a spawn point. Objectives are randomized per sector.

• Foothold is a last ditch effort for the attackers after they run out of Momentum.

Be sure to check out the new Verdun event inspired by the Battle of Broodseinde! You can read the blog to learn about the battle, or jump right into the game on support of your allies!

At dawn on October 4th, 1917, the British launched a massive artillery barrage along Broodseinde Ridge near Ypres. This was part of the ongoing Third Battle of Ypres. The attack was carried out by the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, alongside British units, against the German 4th Army dug in on the ridge.

As the creeping barrage rolled forward, infantry advanced behind it in close coordination, a tactic perfected after years of brutal trial and error. The Germans, who were preparing their own counter-attack at that very moment, were caught out in the open. The result was devastating: German stormtroopers were cut down before they could even begin their assault, and the Allies pushed through to seize Broodseinde Ridge.

This was not just a small tactical success, it was one of the clearest victories of the entire Passchendaele campaign. The Allies inflicted heavy losses, captured thousands of prisoners, and took control of vital high ground. But the success came at a cost: over 6,000 Australian casualties alone in a single day, with similar losses for other units involved.

By late 1917, the Entente was under immense strain. On the Western Front, the fighting at Passchendaele had already become a byword for mud, exhaustion, and endless attrition. Yet at Broodseinde, the coordinated use of artillery and infantry showed what could be achieved with meticulous planning.

The victory forced the Germans to further stretch their manpower and reinforced the image of the ANZACs as formidable troops. However, heavy rains soon returned, bogging down future attacks and turning the battlefield into a quagmire. Though Broodseinde was a shining moment, the wider Passchendaele offensive would grind on until November with far fewer results.

In-game event

From today until October 9th, you can take part in the Broodseinde Campaign event across Verdun and Tannenberg. All casualties in Frontlines and Maneuver game modes will count towards the grand total.

Just as in history, this time it isn’t simply about taking ground, it’s about survival. The winning side will be whichever army suffers the fewest casualties during the event, and those survivors will be awarded a special campaign medal!

Can the Central Powers turn the tide and hold their ridge this time, or will history repeat itself? It’s up to you, soldiers.

Time really flies, doesn’t it?

It’s been 12 years since Verdun first launched in Early Access back in 2013, marking the start of what would become the WW1 Game Series. Verdun will always hold a special place in our hearts, not just as the game that started it all, but as the one that built the foundation for everything that came after. From browser prototype to Steam release, and now a global community, it’s incredible to see how far Verdun has come.

Let’s get this party started with a trip down memory lane. Featuring our most iconic trailers and moments going all the way back to the Verdun Game Trailer from almost a decade ago, here’s a compilation of our legacy!

Watch the 12 Year Anniversary Compilation:

If you’re interested in a WW1 Game Series timeline, be sure to check out our website!

Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, for joining us on this journey. Especially to those of us who’ve been here since the early days of Verdun (anyone remember playing Verdun in your browser?) supporting us with each new release. What started off as a passion project by a few enthusiastic rookies turned into an amazing series played by millions and a space for us all to nerd out over WW1 history.

Be sure to join us this Saturday (September 20th) at 8 pm CEST for a game night with 128 player matches! We’ve been testing large scale battles and – while not perfect – it should be good fun for a game night! Be sure to join us on our Discord.

Now, we also have something a bit newer for you. During the gamescom Awesome Indies showcase, an extended version of the Gallipoli trailer aired, which you can now watch on our YouTube channel as well! Don’t expect any big new reveals, but you’ll want to give it a watch if you’re eagerly awaiting Gallipoli.

Check out the Gallipoli Extended Reveal Trailer:

Closed Playtests for Gallipoli are officially starting this week! We’ve already made our selection for the first playtest, but if you’d like to join future playtests, be sure to sign up here!

The Great Franchise Sale with even greater discounts!

Whether you’re looking to complete your WW1 Game Series collection or have been considering taking your first plunge, we have some great news for you. To celebrate our 12 Year Anniversary and the newly announced Gallipoli, we’re hosting a franchise sale with some of our biggest discounts yet!

Check out the Great Franchise Sale page below for everything on offer. Be sure to take a look at Isonzo especially, as this is the first time it’s on sale with an 80% discount!

Take me to the Great Franchise Sale!

Again, thank you so much for supporting us all the years. We hope to see you around as we work towards the release of Gallipoli!

- The BlackMill Games team

Hello everyone!

We hope you enjoyed the reveal of Gallipoli last month and are excited to learn more about the game! There are a lot of reveals and deep dives planned for the months ahead, but we’d like to rewind to the early stages of World War 1 and explore how we even got to the events in the Middle Eastern theater.

We’d like to formally introduce you to Dr Chris Kempshall, a historian who has been helping and advising us on all things historical during the development of Gallipoli. So, whether it’s a history lesson or a refresher for you: take it away, Chris!

Greetings to you all! I have been working as the historian for BlackMill Games on Gallipoli since June last year and it is very exciting to come out of the shadows now that the game has been announced! 

My background is as an academic First World War historian specialising principally in allied relations and on the way that the war is portrayed in computer games. I’m also the current President for the International Society for First World War Studies and an Associate of the Imperial War Museum Institute. So, working on Gallipoli is a very exciting prospect for me!

Whilst there are more reveals of the game to come, when it comes to the historical aspect a good place for us to start is by exploring the background and motivations of the Gallipoli and Mesopotamian campaigns. Why were they attempted? What was the thought and strategy behind them? Were they really a viable option of winning the war? And what had brought the Ottoman Empire into the conflict in the first place?

Taking Sides

As with many of the major European powers at the outbreak of the First World War, the Ottoman Empire had its own internal instabilities and considerations that would inform its decision to ally with the Central Powers. It had previously had a notable relationship with the British Empire. Both the British and the French had fought against the Russians - long-term rivals of the Ottomans - during the Crimean War to help preserve Ottoman territory and the balance of power in Europe.

But those relationships had deteriorated over time and the Ottoman Empire had become politically isolated by July 1914. As with other nations like Italy, the Ottomans were also concerned with which potential alliance and outcome might help them secure their ongoing status as a Great Power. This was easier said than done. 

Whilst Mehmed V reigned as Sultan, his powers had been dramatically reduced before the war and the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) effectively ruled the Ottoman Empire. Although they favoured an alliance with Germany, the Germans viewed the Ottomans as a military liability and were not as keen! However, the concern of them instead joining the Triple Entente proved motivation enough to have them secretly join the Central Powers.

Source unknown, but referenced in various academic works

Anger at the Triple Entente increased within the Ottoman Empire when, in early August, the British seized two new dreadnoughts that had been under construction in one of their shipyards that had been ordered and paid for by the Ottomans. Despite this the secrecy of the new alliance held until October when the Ottoman Empire launched an attack on Russian forces in the Black Sea and, as a result, was formally involved in the conflict against the full Triple Entente.

Opportunism and Internal Strife

As seen at their entry into the war, the Ottomans were eager to launch early attacks against the Russian Empire and began a, largely unsuccessful, winter campaign against them in the Caucasus. Fighting here would rumble on in various forms for years.

Aside from that it was not entirely clear in what form the war would come to the Empire, if at all. The British and French appeared to be focusing most of their interests on the struggle against Germany on the Western Front. 

However, the British in particular drew a great deal of its oil supplies from Mesopotamia which could now be threatened by the Ottomans. They resolved to secure these oil fields and landed a division of Indian infantry in November 1914. They were immediately surprised by what they found.

The Ottoman Empire was enormous and covered huge swathes of territory. Whilst landmass could be important when it came to Great Power posturing, for the Ottomans it brought some significant problems. Firstly, how could you adequately defend an Empire that covered so much ground? At the start of the war the Ottoman army only numbered around 150,000 men. That was in no way capable of defending all its borders and also launching an attack on the Russians.

Map of Ottoman Empire in 1914, Manatū Taonga — Ministry for Culture and Heritage, https://nzhistory.govt.nz/media/photo/map-ottoman-empire-1914

Within the Ottoman Empire were also a significant number of competing identities and races. There were Turks, Arabs, and - particularly in Mesopotamia - there were various different tribes of Shiite muslims who had no real love for the Empire. The 23,000 Ottoman troops stationed in Mesopotamia by September 1914 were not intended to act as a defence against invasion, but instead to deal with issues along the border of Persia and also keep the local tribes at bay. It was hoped that these same tribes would, in the case of foreign interference, act against the invaders themselves as an irregular force. But this is not what happened.

When the British arrived they discovered very little in the way of defences. The Ottoman hope that the local tribes would rally to defend the Empire was largely in vain. Whilst some of the notable tribes would coordinate with the Ottomans most continued to operate independently and seemingly saw no reason to get involved.

National Army Museum, 1966-02-97-31, https://collection.nam.ac.uk/detail.php?acc=1966-02-97-31

So the British, after reinforcing their position, resolved to keep moving forwards and began capturing southern Iraq. Mascat and Oman both fell in short order before Basra was captured on 23 November 1914. This was followed by Qurna, which lay at the joining of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, on 11 December.

National Army Museum, 1987-01-70-33, https://collection.nam.ac.uk/detail.php?acc=1987-01-70-33

Suddenly the upper reaches of the region could be targeted. The British eyed the opportunity to capture Baghdad itself and deliver a serious blow to the Ottomans by compromising their territorial integrity. To reach it though they would have to travel further inland along the Tigris through the town of Kut and, beyond it, the ancient ruins of Ctesiphon.

Realising the danger they were now in, the Ottomans mobilised new forces in the region and prepared to meet them. We will return to the details of these battles in a future post!

Breaking the Deadlock

Whilst the Mesopotamian Front would prove an ongoing challenge for the Ottoman Empire, the greatest moment of danger was still yet to come. Its roots could be found on the Western Front. The British and French had spent much of the last months of 1914 and early 1915 struggling to find a way through the deadlock of trenches in Belgium and France. 

Assaults had been launched that had cost many lives but shown no real sign of rupturing the German defences. With their territory occupied by the invaders, the French had little interest in sending their infantry reserves anywhere other than the front line. But the British were still in the process of building themselves an army and did not necessarily want to destroy it against barbed wire if an alternative could be found. Furthermore, soldiers from their Empire were now being mobilised in greater numbers. What if they could be put to better use than in France? And what of the vaunted Royal Navy? It was the major military strength of the British Empire but, in a land war in Europe, had very little opportunity to impose itself.

Australian War Memorial, C02141, https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1012137

The leading members of the Triple Entente did not fully understand how the alliances within the Central Powers worked. They believed that Germany was being supported and maintained by allies like Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire. If one of them could be defeated, it would knock the supports out from under Germany and they would collapse. This was actually completely the wrong way round. Throughout the war it was Germany that was supporting its allies with military equipment and resources. But, if we accept the British and French view, then it makes what comes next make much more sense.

When looking at Germany’s allies, Austria Hungary was effectively out of reach. Though they were fighting against the Russians in Eastern Europe, there was no easy route for British and French forces to intervene there. Whilst Italy would join the war in 1915, they were still neutral at this point. So Austria-Hungary was not a viable target. The Ottoman Empire on the other hand looked much more promising.

A plan was formed that would see the Royal Navy ‘force’ the Dardanelles Straits that separated the Mediterranean from the Sea of Marmara. Beyond them, and across that sea, lay the capital of the Ottoman Empire: Constantinople. If it could be captured, the Ottoman Empire could be knocked clean out of the war. Furthermore a new supply route could be opened up to the Russians as well as a pathway into southern Europe and the supposedly soft underbelly of Austria-Hungary and, more importantly, Germany.

© The Times (Q 109143), https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205351875

The Dardanelles Straits were, however, narrow and the Ottomans had forts on both banks. They had also secretly laid numerous minefields in the region to prevent enemy fleets from pushing through. The initial attempt on 18 March 1915 by the joint British and French navies was a disaster; with three battleships – HMS Irresistible, Bouvet, and HMS Ocean – being sunk and three more – Gaulois, Suffren, and HMS Inflexible – were severely damaged. With no hope of progressing, the Entente forces retreated. 

By Royal Navy - Library of Congress, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=72443

If they were to get through the Straits then the forts in the area would have to be seized or destroyed. To do this would require massed infantry landings at key points along nearby coastlines. Those forces would be required to push in land, capturing key strategic points before eventually overwhelming the fort defences to clear the way for the fleet.

These landings would take place along the Gallipoli peninsula. They would represent the greatest challenge to the Ottoman Empire of the entire war and also become the foundation of modern Australian national identity.

Now that you’re up to speed with the events leading up to Gallipoli, it’s almost time we share a bit more about the game. In the meantime, we'd like to ask you to wishlist Gallipoli if you haven't already! It would truly help us out a lot. Anyways, see you soon!

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Zafer Bizim Olacak! For King and Country! 

The WW1 Game Series expands beyond the borders of Europe to the Middle Eastern Front. We’re incredibly excited to finally announce the fourth game of the WW1 Game Series: Gallipoli.

Watch the Gallipoli Reveal Trailer here: 

If you’re as excited as we are, please add Gallipoli to your Steam wishlist and follow the game! This would help us massively with spreading the word about Gallipoli, and you’ll get notified whenever there’s news and when the game releases. Thank you!

About Gallipoli

Early on in the war, allied progress on the Western Front had ground to a stalemate as breaking Germany’s defenses just seemed impossible. So, what about a different approach? Defeating the Ottoman Empire and taking Constantinople would not only open up a supply route with Russia, but also a new angle to attack Germany & Austria-Hungary from. The British believed it was a plan that could work, so they assembled an expeditionary force from across the empire and attacked. However, they would quickly realise that the Ottomans weren’t as weak as anticipated and would do anything to repel the invasion.

That’s the stage for Gallipoli! You’ll fight to control the beaches of the peninsula, defend key positions in Kut al Amara and charge across the deserts of lower Mesopotamia. The Middle Eastern Front will have you face challenges and exploit opportunities unlike those of any other theater.

Battles of Momentum

Each entry in the WW1 Game Series has its own signature game mode, and Gallipoli won’t break that streak! We’re saving the detailed rundown for a dedicated blog later on, but we’ll give you something to work with for now.

The signature game mode of Gallipoli is a 50-player battle all about momentum. If you’re on the attacking side, your aim is to complete your objectives as quickly as possible. Doing so keeps your momentum high and your allies motivated. The defenders however, will want to bunker down and hold the objectives as long as possible to waste the enemy’s momentum. Once that starts to bleed dry, the attackers are in trouble.

Throwing yourself at the main objectives may not be the best course of action for the attackers. Other opportunities will reveal themselves that can recuperate lost momentum. Battles in Gallipoli play out differently every time, and it'll be up to you to figure out the best approach!

Improvements as far as the eye can see

The BlackMill Games team has expanded significantly since the development of Isonzo. Now over 30 people strong, we have room to make major improvements to all facets of the game!

One of the more obvious examples from the trailer are the improvements to the graphics. What you see in the trailer and screenshots is what Gallipoli currently looks like! We’re using a lot of modern tech and techniques to crank the immersion to eleven.

Gunplay also receives a major upgrade with Gallipoli. We’ve gone to great lengths to faithfully recreate the weaponry used on the Middle Eastern Front, which was usually quite obsolete, weird or both. In Gallipoli, you’ll truly be able to see, feel & hear all the unique characteristics of each weapon.

You can also expect major improvements to progression, loadouts, cosmetics and the health system, to name a few. However, it would be too much to share all the details at once, so we’ll leave it at that for now. Though, who knows what you may already be able to spot in the trailer?

Much more to come

If you’d like to learn all the details about Gallipoli, you’re in the right place! We’ll be sharing more details on Reddit, YouTube and right here on Steam in the months leading up to release. There are a lot of surprises still to come, so make sure to not miss out!

You’ll hear from us again soon with new intel about Gallipoli. Until then, hoşça kal!

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Monday, July 28th, marks the start of World War 1 a whole 111 years ago. Political turmoil following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand reached its breaking point during the July Crisis, and Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. As more and more countries promised to support each other, the war grew to a scale no one anticipated.

Film Memoir

We commemorate this day every year by enabling the Film Memoir mode for free across Verdun, Tannenberg and Isonzo on PC! You can enable and disable the mode as you please in the graphics settings. It'll remain available for the rest of July, but owners of the Supporter Pack DLCs can of course continue using it for the respective games.

Share your stories!

We'd like to invite you to share your stories of World War 1, to help us all remember what it was like to be part of it. 111 years is quite a long time, and we could all do with a little refresher from time to time! After all, those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

Be it a heroic tale passed down the family, an overlooked historic event local to you, or a friend's friend found a little monument with an interesting story to tell. We'd like to learn about it!

Head on over the WW1 Game Series subreddit and make a post using the 'WW1 Stories' flair to tell your story. If you have any related memorabilia, be sure to include pictures! You can also include related images from the internet to illustrate your story, but include a source so we know it's not yours.

Take me there!

Browse others' stories

Do keep your own privacy in mind! You don't have to dox yourself to share a good story, so maybe leave out overly identifying details. We'll leave this to your own discretion.

This isn't a contest either, you don't have to one-up everyone with your story! Even small titbits of history are worth sharing.

We're excited to read about your connection(s) to World War 1 and learn about more local stories!

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In-game event

AVANTI SAVOIA!

New Map: Moschin

Learn more about Moschin and its history:

Full map flyover:

Map breakdown, first half:

Map breakdown, second half:

New Weapons

Reinforced Avanti Savoia Units – Free Upgrade!

• 6 Italian Uniforms
• 14 Italian Headgear Items
• 6 Austro-Hungarian Uniforms
• 14 Austro-Hungarian Headgear Items
• 2 Faces
• 7 Facial Items
• 4 Facial Hair options

Patch notes

New content

• New Map: Moschin (Solstice)
• New Weapons:
  • Moschetto Automatico Revelli-Beretta (Kingdom of Italy)
  • M1917 Geballte Ladung 6x (German Empire)
• 40 new items added to Avanti Savoia Units Pack DLC

Changes

• Localization Updates
• Fixed players sometimes not correctly bleeding out from explosion damage

PC

• New Player Satisfaction survey
• (Steam) New achievement: “Sunburnt” - Complete a full Solstice Offensive

Console

• Performance improvements
• Significant improvements for screen tearing on the PS5 and PS5 Pro
• Improved resolution for Xbox One S, Xbox Series S and PS4 Pro
• Fixed Xbox Controller inputs unbinding in rare circumstances.

Looking forward

Follow our socials:

How to enter:

The prizes!

• A handy thermos bottle to keep your drink warm in the trenches
• Mints in a custom tin to keep your breath fresh
• Postcards to send home to your family
• Poppy seed grenades to plant for the fallen soldiers