Flashpoint Campaigns: Southern Storm

Flashpoint Campaigns: Southern Storm

Released Apr 2023

Flashpoint Campaigns: Southern Storm is a grand tactical wargame set at the height of the Cold War, with the action centered on the year 1989.

88% positive · 115 reviews
Done
All announced content has been released
High confidence
Done
All announced content has been released
High confidence

Where to buy

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Evaluation

Flashpoint Campaigns: Southern Storm launched on April 20, 2023 and received a DLC expansion (Central Storm), several feature updates, and bug fixes over its lifetime. The most recent update to Southern Storm itself was on February 6, 2025, which brought quality-of-life improvements to the radio log and command cycle. On November 20, 2025, the developer released Flashpoint Campaigns: Cold War — a new, separate game in the series described as "the biggest entry in the Flashpoint series yet." The store page for Southern Storm has been updated with a prominent notice stating that the game is "entering its legacy phase and will eventually be retired," and explicitly directs both existing and new players toward Cold War as the current and future-supported product. The developer is offering existing Southern Storm owners a discounted upgrade path. This is a clear developer statement that Southern Storm's active development has concluded. The game shipped a complete package of content — base game plus the Central Storm DLC — and is now in a maintenance/legacy state with no further content planned. The last content-bearing update was on February 6, 2025.
Evidence
Flashpoint Campaigns: Cold War launched, with Southern Storm owners offered a 50% upgrade discount. Developer describes Cold War as the series entering 'a new and exciting chapter.'
news post · Nov 20, 2025 source development ending
high
Store page states Southern Storm is 'entering its legacy phase and will eventually be retired,' directing players to Flashpoint Campaigns: Cold War as the current and future product.
description source development ending
high

Media

Details

Publisher
Matrix Games
Achievements
—
Platform
Windows
Controller
—
Steam Deck
Unsupported
Players
Single-player · Multiplayer · PvP

About this game

Experience the definitive evolution of the series with Flashpoint Campaigns: Cold War, our latest and most advanced simulation yet. While Southern Storm is entering its legacy phase and will eventually be retired, Cold War offers deeper content, refined mechanics, and long-term future-proofing.

Don't get left behind on an aging engine:

  • Existing Players: Use the "Complete the Set" bundle to "trade up" to Cold War at a massive discount.

  • New Commanders: Start here for the most comprehensive and modern tactical experience available.

Description

Flashpoint Campaigns: Southern Storm is a grand tactical wargame set at the height of the Cold War, with the action centered on the year 1989. As the force Commander, you will plan and then issue orders and Standard Operating Procedures to your battalion, brigade, or regimental forces shaping the fight by maneuver and your intent.

The game engine is based on asynchronous WEGO turns. This means you will issue orders then watch a variable amount of time unfold on the battlefield. Then issue or adjust orders to react to what has happened as you execute your battle plan.

Flashpoint Campaigns: Southern Storm is a deep simulation of combat operations where your forces are arranged in maneuver units of companies, platoons, and sections of tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, infantry squads and teams, recon forces, engineers, air-defense and anti-tank systems, helicopters and more. As the Commander, you will need to use available off-map assets like long-range artillery, rockets, or airstrikes. You may be faced with the specter of using chemical or nuclear weapons to support your forces on the map and win the day.

The Manual: if you order a physical copy of the game, you will receive a hardbook manual. This hardcover 300-page full-color handbook leaves no stone unturned in fully documenting every aspect of the game system, from game mechanics to advanced systems and strategies as well as designer notes and helpful appendices.

Features

  • Your forces will engage the enemy on 20km x 15km or larger rendered real-world map locations. Each hex is 500m of militarily significant terrain. Each battle can last 4 to 24 hours of in-game time.

  • Your troops will meet their foes during any time of day and any weather.

  • Your efforts in this complex battlespace will be constantly challenged by modeled features like Electronic Warfare, Air Superiority, Realistic Weather, Line of Sight and Fire, Terrain and Elevation, Smoke and Mines, and Human Factors like training, morale, and readiness. All these elements must be considered if you are to be victorious on the battlefield.

  • To help you navigate these critical factors, the game is packed with information dialogs, map overlays, and range rings to aid you as Commander, master the situation, and understand the capabilities of your forces.

  • Southern Storm covers areas of Southern Germany on 40 plus maps and an extensive selection of military equipment from 1980 to 1989. You will lead forces from the United States, France, Canada, West-Germany, Soviet Union, East-Germany, and Czechoslovakia. These nations will be fighting in many replayable scenarios and campaigns, both in solo efforts or with allied nations fighting by your side.

  • You will be immersed in is a data-rich simulation where each nation has information on National Characteristics, Command Parameters, and Orders of Battle. Data Tables are packed with era-specific equipment and troops. Weapon Systems of the time such as guns, missiles, precision munitions, small arms, and much more are comprehensively modeled.

  • As a toolkit, you can create your own scenarios and campaigns. There is also the ability to dive deeper and create or modify game data, artwork, and sound effects as you see fit. All these modding capabilities are supported by detailed documentation.

Last evaluated Jun 21, 2026
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