Firefly Studios has announced real-time strategy game remaster Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition for PC. It will launch via Steam on July 15. A demo will be available starting today at 9:00 a.m. PT / 12:00 p.m. ET.
“We have tried to go beyond what our players expect,” said Firefly Studios and Stronghold series veteran Nick Tannahill in a press release. “This is their favorite game and it deserves to be remastered in all its pre-rendered isometric glory, but with plenty of extra bells and whistles! We would not be doing this were it not for those still playing multiplayer, designing maps and creating mods, like the awesome Unofficial Crusader Patch, so I can’t wait to hear what they all think of our upcoming public demos. We really are dedicated to taking our time with Stronghold and acting on feedback whenever possible.”
Here is an oveview of the game, via
Short Overview
Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition is an expanded remaster of the original 2002 “castle sim” from Firefly Studios. Overhauled by the original game’s veteran developers, this new definitive edition features remastered artwork, animations, and music, in addition fresh gameplay content, returning voice actors, and many fan-requested improvements including larger maps. Improved with new playable units, characters, campaigns, and more, Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition is the ultimate way to play this classic real-time strategy game.
Detailed Overview
Gird your loins and sharpen your steel because, a full quarter century since the studio’s inception, Firefly is ecstatic to announce Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition! Following Stronghold: Definitive Edition in 2023, which has sold over half a million copies, Firefly can now reveal their best-selling Crusader title will return with a new definitive edition releasing this year on July 15, 2025! This fan-favorite entry in the BAFTA-nominated Stronghold series has been rebuilt with the game’s original developers adding brand new content, elevated graphics, and extensive player-requested features.
Command war-honed Crusader warriors as they brave the merciless desert sands, then, as Saladin, lead a mighty army drawn from every corner of the Middle East and repel the invading zealots.
In Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition, players dominate the greatest frontier of the medieval age, waging brutal war across timeless battlefronts and sieging epic fortresses, to relive the glorious clashes that have shaped human history. Journey across the heart of the medieval world and take part in the legendary Crusades for the holy land. Witness the struggle of wills between Richard the Lionheart, King of England, and Sultan Saladin ibn Ayyub, spearhead of the Islamic domain and founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Command war-honed Crusader warriors as they brave the merciless desert sands, then, as Saladin, lead a mighty army drawn from every corner of the Middle East and repel the invading zealots.
Rebuilt from the ground up as a testament to the collective talent of the veteran developers, artists, actors and series composer Robert L. Euvino, Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition enhances the old-school 2.5D isometric Stronghold gameplay with major new features, fixes and custom options.
Catapulting from its towering 23 year history, Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition expands on the original real-time strategy city builder. Four new AI opponents, eight Bedouin warrior units, two historical campaigns to learn how to command these soldiers and four “Sands of Time” skirmish trails to test your skill means there is plenty to look forward to. Skirmish mode lovers meanwhile will also be rewarded with larger map sizes and new maps to battle across, along with enhanced graphics and audio. Add to this a new cooperative skirmish trail, custom options and other player-requested changes, and it is clear that Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition aims to realize the full vision of the development talent behind the multi-million selling original “castle sim.”
In upgrading the old and leaving the gold, the core essence of Crusader has been both carefully rebuilt and expanded on.
Interlacing fresh gameplay content, technical improvements, customizable conveniences and highly requested quality of life additions, Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition allows veterans and newcomers to rediscover a strategy classic and play it the way they want to. Whether that’s flexing their skills against the latest AI lords, charging through the new co-op campaign with a friend or marvelling at their majestic desert domain in all its isometric glory, in upgrading the old and leaving the gold, the core essence of Crusader has been both carefully rebuilt and expanded on.
Watch the announcement trailer below. View the first screenshots at the gallery.