The good news: We’ve got a new trailer for Men of War 2 (opens in new tab), the upcoming sequel to the 2009 WW2 RTS Men of War, and it looks pretty good. The bad news: The trailer is here to let us know that the release has been delayed until 2023.
Ironically, given the trailer’s focus on the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, developer Best Way said the delay was caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“The Ukrainian studio Best Way was based in Severodonetsk and had to help its staff and their families relocate after the events of February 24th, 2022, during which period the development was put on hold,” the studio said. “Despite this, the Best Way team has eagerly returned to development in the last several months, and with the help of the supportive community of fans surrounding the franchise, already ran several rounds of closed playtests and the participants were satisfied with the combination of classic Men of War gameplay and new features like the Frontline, Direct Control, and much more.”
Severodonetsk is located in the Luhansk Oblast, the easternmost region of Ukraine, and was captured by Russian forces (opens in new tab) in June after being heavily damaged during the battle for control of the Donbas.
Best Way said that player feedback during the tests gave the team ideas to make Men of War 2 “bigger and better than anyone originally imagined,” including a standalone campaign for Germany, new missions for the other factions, and an upgraded interface. But it won’t be possible to get it done within the original time frame.
“We believe that meeting a deadline should never compromise quality and we are happy that Fulqrum Publishing agreed to give us the time we need to produce a truly great game,” Men of War 2 producer Maxim Kamensky said. “Also, this delay provides us with enough time for all the polishing and balancing phases, much needed for a game the scope of Men of War 2. Thanks to our great community for their positive feedback during closed tests—this is very valuable. This extra time will give us a chance to deliver an exceptional experience to the players.”
Unfortunately, there’s currently not a more specific new launch target than 2023, so we could end up waiting more or less than a year before Men of War 2 arrives—we’ll just have to wait and see how it works out. For now, you can follow along with what’s happening on the Men of War 2 Discord (opens in new tab).