Strategy and Wargaming News – 4 January 2026 – TFA New Demo, Terra Invicta Launching Soon, Tally-Ho Corner Goes On Hiatus

by

Happy New Year, and welcome to 2026! I hope you had a wonderful holiday season and received some great strategy and wargames as gifts. This week brings some exciting news: a demo for Task Force Admiral is available, the full version of Terra Invicta is almost here, and we have an update – with some mixed feelings – from our friends at Tally-Ho Corner.

Task Force Admiral New Demo

View post on imgur.com


Task Force Admiral is now available to play thanks to a new demo released on January 1st! The demo puts you in charge of Task Force 17 during the historic battle against Carrier Division 5 in the Coral Sea in May 1942. You can experience the events through two individual scenarios – one based on actual history and another with a unique alternate history twist – plus a battle generator for endless replayability. It’s a great opportunity for strategy fans to try out the game!

I really appreciate the Task Force Admiral team for being brave enough to let players try out their game before buying it. Demos used to be a big part of gaming, and it’s great to see them coming back. I’ve played the demo again, and my initial positive impressions haven’t changed – I’m confident this will be one of the top wargames of 2026.

Players Aren’t Happy With Arms Trade Tycoon’s New Roadmap

View post on imgur.com

I’ve been watching Tanks for a while now, but I’ve been waiting to play it until it’s further along in development. I generally prefer to play tycoon games when they’re nearly complete or fully released.

The creators of Arms Trade Tycoon: Tanks, FunGi, have shared an updated plan for the game’s future. This new roadmap is significantly different from the one they released on October 11, 2024. Here’s a look at the revised plan:

View post on imgur.com

The original 2024 announcement promised major expansions covering World War II, the Cold War, and modern settings. However, the updated plan is much more limited, concentrating on building the basic tools for modding. This has led players to worry the game’s development is winding down and will eventually be left to the modding community.

I don’t have enough information to comment on this, but I’m hoping things aren’t as bad as they seem. The game’s concept is really interesting, and my first experience with it was promising. The latest roadmap mentioning a larger focus on military aspects makes me optimistic about its future.

Terra Invicta Goes Gold

Terra Invicta, a complex strategy game created by the developers of the popular XCOM: Enemy Unknown mod ‘The Long War,’ has been in development for several years. After extensive work and improvements, the full version of the game will launch on January 5th, 2026, following a significant update in November. This release will reflect current world events and add support for five new languages: Czech, Italian, Korean, Russian, and Ukrainian.

Development on the game is still ongoing, and there’s more work to be done. The developers want to be clear that these plans could change based on what players think, their own assessment, budget, and how much time the team has. Here are some of the ideas that I found most interesting:

  • Sea zones and wet naval warfare (for a Cold War scenario);
  • Off-Earth regions and nations;
  • Cold War scenario;
  • Foothold (far-future alien invasion scenario);
  • Aftermath (alien invaders are exhausted, and Earth is rebuilding);

Read the whole roadmap here.

Legendary Pilots Looks Awesomely Retro

For 2026, I’m planning to explore more types of games I like, and I certainly didn’t anticipate getting excited about a relaxing, old-school flight simulator. But that’s exactly what happened when I first saw Legendary Pilots, a game from BerkBox published by MicroProse Software.

I love games that prioritize fun over strict realism. This one seems to focus on the exciting aspects of flying and running an airline – like piloting different planes, planning routes, and even handling emergencies – without getting bogged down in tedious details. Plus, it has a really cool, retro Dreamcast-era aesthetic!

Mars Tactics Coming Along Nicely

View post on imgur.com

The developers of the upcoming strategy game, Mars Tactics, recently revealed that switching to a real-time-with-pause system for the campaign layer was key to fixing the game’s biggest problems. Players can expect classic turn-based combat during battles, but the overall campaign will allow for real-time expansion, research, and diplomatic interactions with Earth. This makes Mars Tactics a particularly promising turn-based strategy game, and it’s currently slated for release in May 2026.

Tally-Ho Corner Goes On Sabbatical

View post on imgur.com

Tally-Ho Corner, where Tim Stone writes his popular Flare Path column, is taking a break for six months. Tim will use this time to update the website and finally pursue his dream of creating his own video game.

I’m a big fan of his work and I’m really excited to try his upcoming game and share my review.

Transformers Battlegrounds Delisted from Steam

Sadly, the strategy game Transformers Battlegrounds is no longer available for purchase on Steam. It was removed from the store on December 31st, 2025. Released in 2020, its removal highlights the importance of preserving digital games for the future.

Conclusion

That’s all the news I have for this first week of 2026. Get ready, because things are only going to get busier from here! 2026 is shaping up to be an incredible year for games, and I’m really looking forward to what’s coming.

Read More

2026-01-04 17:44