Player-Influenced Development Makes ‘Company Of Heroes 3’ A True RTS For The Community

When it comes to a franchise as beloved and revered as Company of Heroes is in the real-time strategy space, the amount of pressure on the shoulders of everyone at Relic Entertainment is likely to be tremendous. Thankfully, for Company of Heroes 3, the development team has turned to the hardcore audience that lives and breathes the series for some help.

The team calls the concept COH-development, a clever wordplay on the title, but also, in essence, the very way of thinking that is making the game possible. As Executive Producer Steve Mele shared, it was an inevitable development.

“Relic wanted to test and validate ideas during development. We no longer felt comfortable with working in isolation and hoping our fans would enjoy the end result. It’s easier to pursue a design when we’ve already gotten a thumbs up from our players.”

Many new features in Company of Heroes 3 come directly from hearing players out, be it “breaching, towing, tank riding” and others. Without necessarily changing the core of the franchise, improvments have been made for a fresher expereince.

And as we took our first steps into North Africa as part of our preview, the pillars that have made the series what it is were quite apparent. Whether you are looking for cinematic warfare that is the hallmark of Company of Heroes, the emergent storytelling that creates unique opportunities for tension and drama, or simply humanising the battlefield, the brief time spent in the first mission of the North African Operation had all of that.

Taking control of the infamous Afrika Korps faction (DAK), one of four factions available in Company of Heroes 3 (a franchise first), it is distinctly different compared to the rest of the factions present.

“This is double the quantity from previous CoH titles and it’s taken a huge amount of effort, collaboration and playtesting to get the feel just ‘right’,” shared Mele. A heavier emphasis on vehicular power in the open desert made for exciting battles, and the smart use of scouts paved the way for longer-ranged weaponry to dominate the opposition, and showed off the incentive of planning that continues that signature in Company of Heroes 3.

Speaking of planning, the fact remains that such games are not meant for those that are adverse to taking things a little slower, where calculated moves are often more valued than overwhelming power. It can sometimes be challenging even for veterans, but newcomers interested to jump in has something working in their favour for Company of Heroes 3.

The new innovation of tactical pause simply does as it’s named, giving you a breather amidst the chaos to plan out your next moves like a turn-based strategy game. This can be for groups, or individual units, allowing more meticulous strategists to map out just what needs to happen at any given time.

“Tactical Pause lets you control the pace of action. Some players prefer turn-based gameplay or just a slower pace of real-time gameplay. We wanted to give players more time to think and strategize if that’s what they prefer, it’s a tool that players can use to manage encounters and execute complex tactics,” Mele explained further.

As for newcomers, this will be a great way to ease into things, espeically as Company of Heroes 3 maintains the focus on “squad control and combat” compared to stockpiling resources. This way, you can always ensure that your units are in the best positions, targeted abilities can be utilised best, and retreat becomes more measured than desperate.

While Tactical Pause will make a difference in single-player, those that love their multiplayer battles can also look forwad to many of the new features being present when you fight against others. Compared to earlier titles, there will be more systems and content that will change things up.

Even with such limited time, the scope and scale of what Relic is trying to accomplish with Company of Heroes 3 are exciting, to say the least. Rather than reinventing the wheel, the studio is looking to make everything else surpass the quality fans are accustomed to while adding more bells and whistles that improve on existing features.

“Company of Heroes 3 is by far the biggest game in the franchise’s history. We’re eager to see players pursuing their own strategies on the dynamic campaign map and having unpredictable experiences in skirmish and multiplayer. We like to say “every battle tells a story”, and that’s more true than ever in CoH3,” Mele emphasised, and we couldn’t agree more.

Company of Heroes 3 will launch on Steam this coming 17 November, with pre-order bonuses up for grabs. The Digital Premium Edition comes with the Devil’s Brigade DLC Pack, containing cosmetics based on the first elite commando units of World War II, together with access to the first expansion coming to Steam in 2023.