Stormgate Sets Steam Early Access Release Date for August

Frost Giant Studios took the time to announce a PC via Steam Early Access release date of August 13, 2024, for its sci-fi fantasy RTS, Stormgate, during the June 2024 PC Gaming Show.

The date arrived alongside a new trailer, a one-minute video also reveals that the game’s third faction is the Celestial Armada. It’s described as a “race of highly technologically advanced interstellar travelers” that seeks to challenge the Infernal Host faction for control of Earth.

Frost Giant says its playtesters have called the Celestial Armada the “most original RTS faction they’ve ever played.” You can dive into the details of this powerful new race here.

Stormgate is free-to-play but offers a trio of Early Access bundle deals for those looking to sweeten their RTS experience. You can read more about them, as detailed by Frost Giant, below:

• The Early Access Pack ($25 USD) includes the Amara Human Vanguard Hero, the first Chapter of the Vanguard campaign, and the Gold Vanguard Army Accent.
• The Deluxe Early Access Pack ($40 USD) includes everything in the Early Access Pack plus the Maloc Infernal Host Hero, the Auralanna Celestial Armada Hero, and the Chicken Pet.
• The Ultimate Early Access Pack ($60 USD) includes everything in the Deluxe Early Access Pack plus Chapters 2 and 3 of the Vanguard campaign (available sometime after August 13) and the Firestorm Fog of War Shader.

Each pack comes with its own variety of goodies, but the real benefit comes from the preview access. Every bundle grants owners two weeks of preview access, meaning you can play Stormgate as early as July 30, 2024. Progress made during these two weeks will not be reset upon the full Early Access launch.

“Launching Stormgate in Early Access represents a major milestone for our team and our community,” Frost Giant CEO and Production Director Tim Morten said. “We believe Early Access is a better way to make games, as it allows us to form a true partnership with our players. Their feedback and participation have already been invaluable in shaping the future of Stormgate, and we can’t wait to see what future contributions they’ll make as together we forge a bright future for the real-time strategy genre.”

Stormgate was revealed as Frost Giant’s debut video game in 2022. Its team is comprised of former Blizzard Entertainment developers with experience on titles like StarCraft 2 and WarCraft, and that background shows in their work. Late last year, we put Stormgate under the microscope to see what makes it tick and what sets it apart from other RTS titles.

While we wait for Stormgate to launch into Early Access, you can read our interviews with other ex-Blizzard developers who went on to start their own companies. You can also learn more about the developer who helped write Stormgate’s story before eventually heading back to Blizzard.

Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He started writing in the industry in 2017 and is best known for his work at outlets such as The Pitch, The Escapist, OnlySP, and Gameranx.

Be sure to give him a follow on Twitter @MikeCripe.