Stronghold Crusader 2 to release Worldwide on September 2nd 2014

Stronghold Crusader 2, the long awaited sequel to cult classic RTS Stronghold Crusader, will be released worldwide on September 2nd 2014, Firefly Studios has announced.

In a new blog post on the game’s official website, Firefly Co-Founder and Design Lead Simon Bradbury explains the company’s decision to release the game slightly later than expected:

“We are thrilled to finally give Stronghold players a release date for the game. Fans of the Crusader series have high hopes for Crusader 2 and although many want to get their hands on a copy as soon as possible, it was never our intent to rush the development process. Since the beginning of the project we have maintained that Crusader 2 will pop its head above the parapet only when we are happy that it is truly ready for battle. Well now we think it is almost there, we are about to go into final testing and have recently been confident enough to demo our baby at public events such as EGX London, Rezzed and PAX East. We will have a sequel worthy of the Crusader name come September 2nd.”

The September 2nd release date will be a worldwide simultaneous retail and digital release. On launch day Stronghold Crusader 2 will be available both online through Steam and in stores, with a physical copy of the game on offer to fans looking to add Crusader 2 to their collection. Both physical and digital versions of the game will be exclusive to the Steam platform, requiring the software to active.

Stronghold HD and Stronghold Crusader HD were released on Steam at the end of 2013. The games have gone on to sell more than 100,000 units across Steam, GOG and other online retailer, despite the fact that existing owners of the games were given the option to upgrade to HD at no cost via a free patch. Combined lifetime sales of the original Stronghold and Crusader currently sit at over four million.