Stormgate

*For information on the device, see stormgate.*

***Stormgate*** is an upcoming RTS game from Frost Giant Studios. It is expected to launch on Steam in 2024.

## Plot

*Stormgate* is classified as science-fantasy. It takes place hundreds of years in the future on a ruined Earth in what has been described as "post-post apocolypse," where a significant amount of time has passed since the initial devastation.

It is intended that each faction operates in shades of gray. Characters will die, some will change sides, and the power dynamics of the setting will change over time.

## Gameplay

*Stormgate* is set to be free to play, not including "pay-to-win" transactions, NFTs or lootboxes. It is possible to experience each game mode without spending anything. Additional Campaign Chapters, Co-op Heroes and in-game cosmetics will be available to purchase.

*Stormgate* operates in the same style as the *StarCraft* and *Warcraft* RTS games. Time-proven mechanics, including resource harvesting, base construction, worker training and army production will be present. Compared to the *StarCraft* and *Warcraft* games, there will be more focus on ground combat. It has been said that massive fleets of air units, especially in the lategame, will not be strategically viable , as air units will serve more specialized roles rather than being core units. The game supports at least 1300 simultaneous units. Hero units will be featured in the Campaign, 3v3 and Co-op modes, not in 1v1 PvP. Heroes will function similarly to the commanders in the Co-op Missions mode of *StarCraft II*.

Creeps can be found and killed in-game for benefits to a player's army.

Fog of war is present and operates similarly to other games in the genre: the player must explore the map to discover it, units must be present to provide vision.

There will be no naval units. Some units are spellcasters.

*Stormgate* is designed to be approachable. Micro and macro are still important parts of the game, but the game is intended to have a low 'skill floor.' Control groups will feature, and units produced are automatically added to said groups.

The game will have a lower unit lethality than *StarCraft II*, giving players more time to respond to events on the battlefield. The lethality is designed to be somewhere between the original *StarCraft* and *Warcraft III*, and the speed of gameplay lower than *StarCraft II*, in order to make the game more approachable. Up to hundreds of units can be on the field at a time. There is no limit to how many units a player can control at a time.

Two resources can be harvested—luminite and therium. It is planned that each faction will harvest the resources differently.

The game will launch with a map editor. Players will be able to create new maps and modes. Points of interest feature in the game that tell visual stories about Earth's history. They also serve as landmarks for casters or coordinating teams.

Blood will be in the game, but this can be toggled on and off. A number of biomes are present in the game's maps.

Players will be able to customize their armies through skins. Initially, skins will be grounded within the lore of the setting, though this could change over time.

### Factions

*Stormgate* currently has two confirmed factions—the human Vanguard, and the demonic Infernal Host. At least one more faction will be playable, and will be revealed in 2024. There is no hard cap on the no. of factions that may be implemented. Each faction has a unique playstyle is asymmetrical, and has a maximum supply cap of 300. However, each faction's median supply (per unit) is different, so while the max. supply is the same, the number of units each faction can field varies. The no. of units available to each faction won't be uniform.

### Campaign

*Stormgate* will launch with campaign missions. Designed for social interaction, the game's campaign can be played cooperatively. The campaigns are referred to as "chapters," and each chapter will launch with three missions. Its is the developers' aim to release several chapters per year. The chapters will be released alongside new units, maps, and game modes. This will use an episodic model, similar to the model used by *StarCraft II: Nova Covert Ops*. The first campaign will be free, while subsequent campaigns will have to be paid for. The campaign missions can be played individually or cooperatively, with 2 players at a time. Plans exist to allow players to explore the perspectives of more than one faction in the same mission. The campaigns will be character-focused in a manner similar to *Warcraft III*, with a core protagonist/group of protagonists players follow. It is planned that real-world events affect the outcome of campaigns. For instance, if there is an e-sports match where one faction wins, there may be a buff to that faction in the next campaign.

The first campaign will release in early access, and be centered around the Human Resistance.

As of mid-2022, five years worth of story content has been planned. New characters and factions will be introduced over time. Via the game's service model, the power of factions can change as time goes on.

### Multiplayer

*Stormgate* has three multiplayer modes—1v1 PVP, 3v3 PvP, and a co-operative 3vE mode against an AI. It has been indicated that the 3v3 mode will be added after the other two.

*Stormgate* will have a number of customization options in co-op, building off the mode from *StarCraft II*. The 1v1 system will have a ladder system, and will be ranked. A multiplayer match is intended to last around 20 minutes, with an expected range of 15 to 30 minutes. 3v3 is designed to be played more casually than its counterparts.

*Stormgate* will have a tournament system for its multiplayer. People will be able to create leagues within the game itself.

## Development

The idea for *Stormgate* came in part out of a desire to 'evolve' the co-op mode of *StarCraft II*. The game has a budget of around $35 million. Feedback was gathered from professional RTS players. The developers chose between attempting to re-imagine the RTS genre, or evolving what had come before, based on feedback. The developers settled with the latter approach.

Development began c. 2020. Feedback was gathered from leading RTS community members for game design. The majority preferred 1v1 games to not have heroes, but others said that they enjoyed having heroes in co-op and campaign.

The primary inspirations for *Stormgate* (from a gameplay perspective) are *StarCraft*, *StarCraft II*, and *Warcraft III*. The RTS's of Relic Entertainment have also served as an inspiration, but *Stormgate* will not be a Relic-style RTS. According to Kevin Dong, the 'inspiration split' is 25% *StarCraft*, 25% *Warcraft*, 25% "other," and 25% Frost Giant. Other RTS inspirations include the *Command & Conquer* and *Age of Empires* series.

In April 2022, the game's name was under consideration. Names considered include "Sigma," "Stormgate," "Earthrise," "Wargate," and "Third Dawn." *Third Dawn* was a topic of discussion, as two years ago, Blizzard had ceased development on *StarCraft II*, and "Third Dawn" might seem like a retort. It was asked if this was a bad a thing. Eventually, the name "Stormgate" was chosen.

The game's 1v1 mode was tested first.

During development, the developers toyed with removing supply structures. Inspiration was taken from *Warcraft III*, namely that supply structures would have additional benefits beyond their supply properties.

As of June, 2022, the game’s units and interfaces were still being iterated upon. The team considered both swarms of smaller units, and massive, lumbering mega units. They experimented with faction numbers, with some having fewer maximum units than the protoss, and some having more maximum units than the zerg. Another things experimented with was the idea of each faction having different “tracks” of their tech tree, skewing their unit number significantly.

The game's art style, Stylized Realism, focuses heavily on readability.

When designing the game's factions, lore and gameplay are both considered.

### Testing

Closed testing for *Stormgate* will began with a very small pre-alpha phase, rolling into a slightly larger alpha phase, and will be followed by a much larger beta phase. Signing up for the closed beta makes players eligible to take part in these early phases.

The developers expect the beta to launch until the game launches in its final state. More waves of testers will be added over time, well into 2024. The game has had a number of testing phases, each named after an RTS unit:

* Apocalypse: Closed, pre-alpha testing
* Baneling: Second close alpha test, held over August 2023
* Chronosphere: Occurred in late 2023, will allow the Infernals to be played in the alpha
* Devastator: Beta test 1, launch of Kickstarter campaign.

The beta will be available to play during Steam Next Fest from February 5-12, 2024. During this time, access to the game's 1v1 and 3-player co-op vs AI modes will be available to the public.

The game will enter early access in Q2, 2024. The early access version will include 1v1, Co-op, and campaign.

### Story

"There’s two goals here. One, we want to support the gameplay, so our factions are designed in a way to enable our designers to pursue their ideas for strong gameplay, colourful characters, interesting unit designs, and things along those lines. And then the second part of it is we’re building a universe that we can tell stories in for years to come."

- Tim Morten(src)

When thinking of the setting of the game, the developers explored all kinds of ideas, from superheroes, to westerns, to sci-fi, to fantasy. They were particularly inspired by the Marvel Cinematic Universe, in that its setting allowed all kinds of characters and stories. Ergo, the developers chose to create a science-fantasy setting, where the developers and writers had the creative freedom to explore all kinds of unit designs and stories without feeling constrained. In regards to Blizzard's RTS games, Stormgate's primary inspiration in this area is *StarCraft II*. The maturity level and tone is intended to be similar to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The setting was primarily developed by Chris Metzen and Micky Neilson.

As of June, 2022, the development team had multiple writers working on characters and worldbuilding, in order to lay the groundwork for the campaign missions. As more campaigns are released, the state of the setting (e.g. characters and the world) will change accordingly. Part of the campaign content will be free, but other pieces of content have to be purchased.

The game’s story is designed to be optimistic; filled with hope, despite the dire circumstances. It is intended that each faction has shades of grey associated with it,

## Reception

Reaction to the game’s art style was predominantly positive. Fan art was quickly created after the game’s reveal. However, the art style has also proven controversial in some circles.

The game's Kickstarter reached its goal in less than 15 minutes after being launched.

## Trivia

* The game uses both the Unreal 5 and Snowplay engines.

* The game is planned to have an e-sports scene. Programs will run in the game’s beta.

* It has been indicated that *Stormgate* may have supplementary story material explored through other mediums (e.g. novels).

* Stormgate's development codename is "Pegasus"; a reference to *StarCraft II*, whose development codename was "Medusa." The codename remains in-use as of March, 2023.

* The game's art style has been described (not necessarily by Frost Giant themselves) as "a mix of the bright, optimistic aesthetic of *Overwatch* and the red, hellish imagery of the *Diablo* series (both Blizzard IPs, per Frost Giant's development lineage).

## References

1. ↑ 2023-06-11, Stormgate brings back that StarCraft feeling with a new RTS universe | hands-on preview. *VentureBeat*, accessed on 2023-06-14
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Homepage, *Frost Giant Studios*. Accessed on 2022-06-25
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 2022-06-09, Frost Giant Studios' Stormgate Looks To Revitalize The RTS Genre. *Game Informer*, accessed on 2022-06-25
4. ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 2023-06-12, The Perfect Mix of Warcraft & Starcraft? Stormgate Developers Deep Dive. *YouTube*, accessed on 2023-06-14
5. ↑ 2022-06-16, STORMGATE Dev Interview: Doing RTS the "Right Way" & Addressing Criticisms (with Tim Morten, CEO). 'YouTube*, accessed on 2022-07-13*
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 2022-12-14, Devs Want To Make Stormgate An RTS Service Title. *SegmentNext*, accessed on 2022-12-15
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 2022-10-15, Stormgate Developer Interviews with Frost Giant Studios. *YouTube*, accessed on 2022-10-19
8. ↑ 8.00 8.01 8.02 8.03 8.04 8.05 8.06 8.07 8.08 8.09 8.10 8.11 8.12 29-06-22, Frost Giant AMA - All Questions and Answers. ‘’Reddit’’, accessed on 2022-07-04
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 2022-06-09, Frost Giant Studios unveils social real-time strategy game Stormgate. *VentureBeat*, accessed on 2022-07-05
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 10.6 2022-06-22, Everything We Know About Frost Giant's New RTS: Stormgate (And My Thoughts About It). *YouTube*, accessed on 2022-07-13
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 2022-06-18, STORMGATE: In Depth Game Design Discussion (with Kevin "Monk" Dong, Lead Game Designer). *YouTube*, accessed on 2022-07-13
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 2022-12-09, PC GAMER COVER FEATURE: GAME MODELS AND ART. *Stormgate Nexus*, accessed on 2022-12-14
13. ↑ 2023-02-09, Heroes Confirmed in 3v3 & Co-op, Lore To Come In Short Stories. *Stormgate Hub*, accessed on 2023-06-11
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 2023-06-11, Stormgate fuses StarCraft and Warcraft in new gameplay footage. *Video Games*, accessed on 2023-06-14
15. ↑ 2023-01-19, EXCLUSIVE: First Impressions of Stormgate Pre-Alpha Gameplay! | Stormgate Snapshots Ep. 1. *YouTube*, accessed on 2023-01-20
16. ↑ 2023-01-19, "IT'S LIKE AN F1 RACECAR": AN EXCLUSIVE LOOK INSIDE STORMGATE'S INTERNAL PLAYTEST. *Stormgate Nexus*, accessed on 2023-01-22
17. ↑ 2022-06-09, Ex-StarCraft 2 devs reveal their new RTS, Stormgate. ‘’Polygon’’, accessed on 2022-07-06
18. ↑ 2023-06-12, Official stormgate PR Fact sheet!. *Reddit*, accessed on 2023-06-13
19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 19.4 2022-06-10, Stormgate Is an RTS Built for 1v1, Co-Op, Casual Play, Esports and, Well, Anyone. *IGN*, accessed on 2022-07-05
20. ↑ 2022-09-02, Stormgate Twitter. *Twitter*, accessed on 2022-09-04
21. ↑ 2022-08-26, Interview with Art Director Jesse Brophy. *Reddit*, accessed on 2022-08-29
22. ↑ 2023-05-30, STORMGATE SUMMIT: CONCEPT ART. *Stormgate Nexus*, accessed on 2023-05-31
23. ↑ 2023-09-28, What's New at Frost Giant Studios? Spriggan Infernal Unit Reveal. *YouTube*, accessed on 2023-10-01
24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 Stormgate, *Kickstarter*. Accessed on 2023-12-06
25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `AnhaltMortenInterview`
26. ↑ 2022-06-10, StarCraft 2's veterans left Blizzard to make Stormgate, the co-op RTS of their dreams. ‘’PCGamer’’, accessed on 2022-07-06
27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 2023-06-17, Stormgate Gameplay Reveal AMA - All Answers. *Reddit*, accessed on 2023-06-21
28. ↑ Stormgate F&Q, *Kickstarter*. Accessed on 2023-12-07
29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 2023-08-22, More RTS games should have gross ogres that burst open for a reverse Alien-like surprise. *Rock Paper Shotgun*, accessed on 2023-08-26
30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 Stormgate, *Steam*. Accessed on 2022-07-13
31. ↑ 2022-06-16, STORMGATE Dev Interview: Doing RTS the "Right Way" & Addressing Criticisms (with Tim Morten, CEO). *YouTube*, accessed on 2022-07-13
32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 2023-12-18, The Stormgate Showdown - LIVE from DreamHack Atlanta. *YouTube*, accessed on 2023-12-19
33. ↑ 2023-08-27, StarCraft successor Stormgate is an RTS game everyone can enjoy. *PC Games*, accessed on 2023-08-28
34. ↑ 2022-08-19, Frost Giant - Stormgate Q&A w/ Ryan Schutter & Howard Xing. *Indie DB*, accessed on 2022-12-24
35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 35.2 2023-03-31, Frost Giant wants to build a real-time strategy game for everyone. *Washington Post*, accessed on 2023-04-03
36. ↑ 36.0 36.1 2023-05-18, Stormgate. *Twitter*, accessed on 2023-05-23
37. ↑ 2023-10-19, Stormgate Closed Alpha Update - Gameplay and Community Tournaments. *YouTube*, accessed on 2023-10-19
38. ↑ 2024-01-14, Most Highly-Anticipated RTS Will Be Free To Try February 5. *ScreenRant*, accessed on 2024-01-14
39. ↑ 2022-06-21, Frost Giant Studios CEO Tim Morten on ‘Stormgate’: “The RTS genre’s best days are ahead”. *NME*, accessed on 2022-07-05
40. ↑ 2023-12-08, StarCraft successor Stormgate teams up with top Blizzard veteran. *PC Games*, accessed on 2023-12-09
41. ↑ 2023-12-06, Kickstarter Update #1 - FUNDED!, *Kickstarter*. Accessed on 2023-12-07

## External Links

* Homepage
* Steam page
* Twitter page
* Stormgate Reddit
* Kickstarter page