#EL 3 COMPANY OF HEROES 2 SERIES#

'Through all of this, we can't exactly pull priorities from the bottom of the request list, but again, if you only take whatever's on top, you risk alienating and upsetting a different section of players. 'We have our community, it's very vocal, and we listen to the players that are out there' Steve Mele, producer When they prioritize a set of features, we listen to that priority list, and we have our influence there too.' We are always trying to be informed in order to make decisions – and we're always talking to our community about priorities. When we make decisions, occasionally the odd one doesn't click we take the data, we make a decision and we move forward. 'We have our internal community, the player council that we are working with closely, and we're bouncing ideas through them and constantly receiving feedback.

'We have our community, it's very vocal, and we listen to the players that are out there,' explains Company of Heroes 3 executive producer Steve Mele. For the most part, this devotion comes from a place of love and respect, but nevertheless, it's impossible to satisfy the wants and needs of a community on a universal level. Video game players are passionate about what they like and do not like across the board, but strategy fans are among the most decisive and determined communities I've ever had the pleasure of chatting to and playing alongside. The obvious complication of leaning heavily on players when sculpting the short and longer-term plans of game development, of course, is that you cannot please everyone. Here we are now, it's been a long road, but I think everybody believes this was the right thing to do, to get the player council in place, and to make Company of Heroes more appealing to more potential players, but also just to offer more for players to stick with and to keep playing for longer and to stay engaged with.' People pleasing 'We tried a number of things, and then we said: 'We know we want a strategy experience that's bigger, and it has a different style of strategy. 'That process took a long time, and it wasn't just a direct path to where we are now,' says Ryan.

#EL 3 COMPANY OF HEROES 2 SERIES#

Ryan says it was during the latter end of this timeline that Relic and publisher Sega began looking at the series as a whole: where it had been and where it may go next. Compared to the original game – which received multiple Game of the Year accolades in 2006 – Company of Heroes 2 didn't quite hit the same heights, despite being supported years into the future with its Western Front Armies and Ardennes Assault DLC packs. It's an intoxicating mix, and it's something Relic has spent a long time refining. Creeping ever-closer to your goal is a great feeling, and every death feels like your fault and never an arbitrary punishment on the game's part. Like old school Company of Heroes – and the military RTS hits it drew inspiration from before it – each failed mission fuels a desire to start again, and again and again. 'Developing video games in silo is something we've recognized does not work for us, so co-development has been hugely important to Company of Heroes 3.'

How does developer Relic Entertainment plan to succeed? By leaning heavily on early feedback delivered by a pre-established council of modders, and competitive and casual players. 'The idea of co-development with players, I think that's now an essential initiative in everything Relic does as a company moving forward,' says Sachin Ryan, the lead single-player designer for Company of Heroes 3. With an ardent desire to satisfy strategists who enjoy competitive multiplayer and single-player campaigns alike, Company of Heroes 3 revives the series almost a decade on, and is likewise its most ambitious undertaking to date – helping propel it to one of our most anticipated new games for 2023.

Company of Heroes breathed new life into the well-established and somewhat waning military RTS scene in 2006, before Company of Heroes 2 breached the scene in 2013.

El 3 company of heroes 2