What many are calling the “spiritual successor” of StarCraft II is (eventually) on the horizon and Esports Heaven looks forward to keeping you up to date on the latest regarding Stormgate. While updates have been a little slow since our last coverage of Stormgate , the hope and salvation of the RTS genre for esports has revealed a bit more. While pros and StarCraft community figures did have some negative things to say about the clarity of the game during the last gameplay reveal, we now see a new terrain tileset, which looks breathtaking when zoomed out. Perhaps the biggest update is a new look at the faction, Infernal Hosts. The faction—for those familiar with StarCraft and WarCraft III—appears to be an offshoot of Zerg and Undead.

Here’s an update on the science fantasy strategy game @PlayStormgate AND a first look at one of the factions, the Infernal Hosts! #OpeningNightLive pic.twitter.com/m2ghpurqyH

— The Game Awards (@thegameawards) August 22, 2023

If you’re a fan of video game OSTs, you’ll enjoy some of the music brought forth for the new faction, which you can see below.  Also, if you’re a fan of random celebrity integration, as most esports fans tend to obsess over, then you’ll be happy to know that The Chainsmokers are in an advisory role overseeing the composing of the game’s music.

As announced at gamescom, @FrankKlepacki will be forging the sound of the Infernal armies when Hell marches on Earth in @PlayStormgate. 🤘👿🤘 Coming to Steam: https://t.co/PcQm27JRwN pic.twitter.com/SlEOjyrvg3

— Stormgate (@PlayStormgate) August 25, 2023

While reception of the game has been fairly critical thus far, Frost Giant Studios seems very receptive and willing to implement based on fan feedback. It is difficult to fault the RTS community for having a skeptical eye, given the state of the RTS community. An article on on PCGamesN discusses the prospect of an “RTS for everyone,” which almost paradoxically goes against the wishes of the more hardcore parts of the community. It brings concerns to other RTS projects, making claims like the reduction of the high APM demands which, while great for inclusivity, is repulsive to members who have been playing RTS since the series became popular two decades ago. That said, the above game Zero Space—much like Stormgate— was also designed by previous professionals who have worked on and played StarCraft II. Stay tuned for more information and updates on Stormgate and the rest of the developing competitive RTS space.

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