Battalion 1944began as a collaboration between two studios, which merged to form Bulkhead Interactive. A multiplayer first-person shooter set during World War 2,Battalion 1944was intended to challengeCall of DutyandBattlefield, with the developer hoping to “revive old-school FPS for the next generation.”Even after securing Square Enix as a publisher for the game, though, that’s not entirely how things ended up.
In 2016, Bulkhead launched aKickstarter campaign to fundBattalion 1944and met with unexpected success, hitting the funding goal in just three days and going on to raise approximately $375,000. Part of the success of the campaign, however, was due to the developer’s promise to eventually launch PS4 and Xbox One versions of the game to accompany the 2019 PC release. To this day, backers are still waiting to playBattalion 1944on console.
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It seems that is never going to come to pass. On August 9, Bulkhead Interactive announced that it has cut ties withSquare Enixand will be releasing a new version of the game calledBattalion: Legacyon August 16. The refreshed iteration will be free-to-play, down from $19.99 forBattalion 1944,and will be available on Steam. Additionally, all console Kickstarter backers will be receiving a refund, and the message concluded by thanking the game’s fans for their support and apologizing for leaving everyone hanging for so long.
From the announcement, it’s not entirely clear why Bulkhead decided to part ways with Square Enix. However, right after the sentence announcing the split, the company said, “We want to start this exciting new chapter where we began, focusing on the players.” That might provide a hint into the possible conflict between the publisher and developer of theWorld War 2 multiplayer game.
On theBattalion 1944Steam page, there is a new developer update that expands on what players can expect from the newLegacylaunch of the game. It will be the “revisited and final version” ofBattalion 1944,implying that players shouldn’t expect any additional updates to the game. Bulkhead has added another faction, new weapons, and a game mode called Search & Destroy. There has also been an overhaul of the game’s graphics and UI, and a server browser has been implemented to facilitate finding or hosting matches.
While it may be disappointing to some to hear that there will be no console version ofBattalion 1944after all, many gamers will probably not be surprised to hear it. The game launched three years ago with no updates from Bulkhead about the status of the PS4 and Xbox One ports. Currently,Battalion 1944has a Mixed rating on Steam, and a lot of the reviews are requesting a free-to-play version of the game, so at least some players will be appeased with the change. In the meantime, there are plenty ofMedal of HonorandCall of Dutygames forBattalion 1944fansto play on console.
Battalion: Legacywill release for PC on July 26, 2025.
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