Strategy and Wargaming News – 16 November 2025 – Age of Wonders 4 Free To Play, Fields of History: The Great War, Finest Hour, And So Much More!

A Lot of Trailers, Age of Wonders 4 Free To Play, and Age of Empires 4 Roguelike Mode

Here’s your weekly update on all things Firaxis! This week brings a bunch of new trailers, including looks at ‘Finest Hour,’ ‘Fields of History,’ and ‘Carthage: Bellum Punicum,’ plus a few more. MicroProse has announced two upcoming games, and Wargame Design Studio fans will be happy to hear about a new update. That’s all for this week’s Firaxis News!

Gates of Hell: Finest Hour Trailer Goes Hard

As a huge Gates of Hell fan, I just watched the trailer for their new ‘Finest Hour’ DLC and wow! It’s seriously epic. They’re focusing on key battles for the British and Commonwealth forces during the war – everything from the incredible Dunkirk evacuation to the D-Day airborne assault and the tough fighting in places like Holland during Market Garden. And the trailer itself is amazing, using two of the most powerful speeches ever given by Winston Churchill – “This was their finest hour” and “We shall fight on the beaches” – to really set the mood. It’s going to be incredible!

Fields of History: The Great War

I was surprised to learn about a new World War II grand strategy game from the creators of the popular Hearts of Iron IV mod, The Great War. Even more surprising was Microprose’s announcement that they’re publishing a World War I game called Fields of History: The Great War, which seems to have been in development for some time. The trailer looks promising, but it’s hard to say how good the game actually is until I’ve played it – it could be great or not so great. The game boasts an impressive scale, including a massive 3D map with 10,000 provinces, historical events, 250 technologies, 300 different unit types and equipment options, plus features like espionage, politics, production, logistics, and army management.

MicroProse Takes Command of Battlefield Commander WWII

This week brings another look at a game from MicroProse. I previously tried Battlefield Commander WWII during a Steam Next Fest, and unfortunately, it didn’t make a strong impression. It was buggy, and the visuals and movement felt quite basic. I’m hoping the development time in Early Access has improved things significantly. Now that MicroProse is publishing the game themselves, I’m curious to see if they can polish it into something truly worthwhile.

Anno 117: Pax Romana Releases To a Mild Reception

View post on imgur.com

Anno 117: Pax Romana, a highly anticipated city-building game set in ancient Rome, hasn’t quite lived up to the hype. While it promised to be the ultimate historical city builder, players have had a mixed reaction due to technical issues and the use of AI-generated art and voices in a full-priced game. Many feel it’s disappointing to see major studios cutting corners like this, and argue that if they’re going to use cheaper AI assets, they should at least offer the game at a lower price.

Squad Battles: Advance of the Reich Gets New Graphics