Square Enix Collective has announced that competitive shooter Battalion 1944 has launched alongside a major new update titled Eastern Front.
Battalion, which first prepared for early access last year and had a tournament at Insomnia, will also feature integration with competitive platform FACEIT.
Players will be able to access the main FACEIT features, including competitive matchmaking, rankings and leaderboards, without leaving the game. Battalion will be available through the FACEIT client and website.
As part of the launch, developer Bulkhead Interactive is also releasing an update that introduces a new Russian faction.
Other new features in the update include:
- 8 new weapons (PPSH41, PPS43, Mosin Nagant Rifle, Mosin Nagant Scoped, TT-33, Baikal 22, SVT-40, Fedorov Avtomat)
- 3 new maps – Italy, Russia and France
- New game mode: Free for All
- Improved game modes – Wartide, CTF, DOM and TDF all updated with ‘more modern and rewarding design, with audio that reacts to your gameplay’
- Match replay system and match history
- New BattleRank season
- Challenges, medals and leaderboards
- Community modding, the ability for players to create their own maps using the Battalion 1944 Development Kit
“We are excited to work with Bulkhead Interactive to provide the Battalion 1944 community with an engaging and rewarding competitive experience at launch,” said Niccolo Maisto, CEO & co-founder of FACEIT.
Joe Brammer, CEO of Bulkhead Interactive, added: “I’m so excited. Early access isn’t easy but the feedback from the community has been imperative to this massive overhaul of the game.
“We had a lot to improve on but I think it shows in the full release of Battalion 1944. Personally, I’ve learned a lot about being accountable to players and communicating issues from the players across all social media to the developers who are toiling away on the game. I think that link between the players and devs is now more important than ever in 2019.”
Battalion 1944 is available out of early access on Steam for £15.99.
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
