Stronghold: Warlords will allow players to control AI commanders across the battlefield.

From the 3rd century BC China through to the coming of the Mongol Empire in 1200 AD, Stronghold: Warlords allows players to relive famous historical battles and sieges against great khans, imperial warlords, and shogun commanders.

Stronghold: Warlords is Firefly’s first Stronghold to recreate the castle economies of the Far East. Stronghold: Warlords lets you take command of Mongol hordes, imperial warriors, tribal fighters and samurai clansmen as you lay siege to Japanese castles and fortified Chinese cities. Besiege historical rulers using new gunpowder-fuelled siege weapons, classic units and a completely new way to play Stronghold.

Stronghold developer Firefly Studios has announced that series stalwart Robert L. Euvino will be returning to compose music for the latest entry in the castle-building franchise. Influenced by Japanese, Chinese, Cambodian, Mongolian, and Vietnamese culture, the music of Stronghold: Warlords comes together as a unique hybrid of different styles.

“Creating high-octane siege music was an interesting challenge,” said Robert Euvino, Composer and Sound Designer at Night Owl Productions. “Many far eastern instruments have a truly distinctive flavour and are never tuned to minor scales and harmonic minors, the scales that create darker sounds associated with war. In most cases, film and game music tends to abandon the instrumentation in favour of more traditional contemporary orchestral ‘war’ music. What we end up with is an interesting hybrid that should hopefully satisfy both longtime fans and purists.”

Firefly Studios will be returning to the modular ‘Oud’ system for Stronghold: Warlords, last seen in the original Stronghold: Crusader. Focusing on slower mood loops during city building gameplay and shifting to faster-paced energetic sounds during combat, the ‘Oud’ system will react to player input. The idea is that the ebb and flow of a mission will be reflected in the game’s ambient music, with full orchestral compositions reserved for key missions and narrative beats.

In addition to the ‘Oud’ system, Stronghold: Warlords will feature a number of full orchestral tracks set to be made available with the game at launch. Taking influence from musicians like Yo-Yo Ma and master Shakuhachi players, the Stronghold: Warlords soundtrack covers a wide geographical area and hundreds of years of history. It will be made available to purchase or stream at launch for veteran Stronghold fans to enjoy.

For the first time ever Stronghold: Warlords allows you to recruit, upgrade and command AI warlords across the battlefield with their own unique perks and characteristics. Each warlord under your command boosts your control of the battlefield allowing you to fortify borders, forge weapons or team up for a pincer attack! Each campaign mission, skirmish game, and multiplayer battle means a fresh set of warlords to command and new strategic depth. By unlocking more powerful castles, armies and abilities each Warlord has the potential to disrupt the flow of battle and turn the tide in your favor.

Stronghold: Warlords is scheduled for release on PC in 2020.