Headquarters: World War II

Headquarters: World War II

Released Apr 2024

Headquarters: World War II is a fast-paced turn-based strategy game where your battlefield tactics are as important as your army management skills. Experience both sides of the war, battling in Europe as the USA, the UK, or Germany. Storm bunkers, occupy houses, win tank duels.

74% positive · 688 reviews
Not yet
Released, but still in active development
Medium confidence
Active Development
Not yet
Released, but still in active development
Medium confidence
Active Development

Where to buy

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Evaluation

Headquarters: World War II launched on April 11, 2024, and has maintained a consistent pattern of major content releases since then. The Market Garden DLC shipped on September 25, 2024, followed by the Ardennes DLC on February 18, 2025 (adding two campaigns, 12 new units, and winter mechanics), and a free Urban Warfare update on September 9, 2025 (six new maps and a full AI overhaul). These major content drops have come roughly every 4–7 months, establishing a clear ongoing development cadence. On March 19, 2026, the developer announced and released Headquarters: Cold War — a new entry in the Headquarters series — and posted simultaneously about the World War II title going on sale. A bug fix update for the World War II game itself was issued on April 8, 2026, citing that engine work done on Cold War directly benefits the WWII game. This cross-product engine sharing suggests the developer's ongoing work on the Cold War entry continues to feed improvements back into the WWII title. The 2025 roadmap published on February 10, 2025 outlined paid DLC, free updates, AI improvements, and Steam Workshop support across the year — all of which appear to have shipped. No post-roadmap developer statement has declared the World War II title complete or announced the end of support. The most recent developer communication for this game was the April 8, 2026 bug fix patch. With the last major content arriving in September 2025 (Urban Warfare), we are now approximately 13 months past that point as of October 2026. The historical cadence between major releases has ranged from 4 to 7 months. This places us well outside the typical update window. However, the developer has not communicated that WWII development has ended, and the April 2026 patch confirms continued engagement with the title. The launch of the Cold War sequel may have shifted the team's primary focus, but no statement rules out further WWII content. Given the absence of any developer statement closing out the WWII game, and the ongoing engine-level maintenance as recently as April 2026, the game remains in active development — albeit at a slower pace as the studio's attention has shifted to the new series entry.
Evidence
Urban Warfare free update released with six new maps and a complete AI overhaul — a major free content drop for all players.
news post · Sep 9, 2025 source content shipped
high
Ardennes DLC released, adding two story-driven campaigns, 12 new units, and winter warfare mechanics — the second major paid DLC for the game.
news post · Feb 18, 2025 source content shipped
high

Content

3 of 3 released · no outstanding content

Media

Details

Developer
Publisher
Slitherine Ltd.
Achievements
102
Platform
Windows
Controller
partial support
Steam Deck
Playable
Players
Single-player · Multiplayer · Co-op · PvP · Local/Split Screen

About this game

Headquarters: World War II is a fast paced turn-based strategy covering the Battle of Normandy in the three plot-driven campaigns and a number of skirmishes. Choose your side, form your force, assign heroes, level up your units, and use Headquarters skills to overcome the enemy.

Face a real tactical challenge

The game's combat system is based on an easy to learn - hard to master approach. Deceptively easy at a first glance, it offers lots of possibilities:

  • Units have front/side/back/top armor and their positioning matters a lot

  • Fences and other obstacles offer a directional cover that depends on the angle of attack

  • Different terrain types offer various bonuses and affect Line of Sight

  • Destroyed vehicles and other large objects affect the battlefield and provide cover

  • High Ground mechanics allow multiple levels of terrain elevation that affect Line of Sight and combat effectiveness

  • Destructible buildings with different stages of demolition create unique challenges

Enjoy the striking visuals

All units and scenery are created with the finest attention to detail using Unreal Engine 4 to achieve a very realistic visual style:

  • Realistic unit models with proper physics in place

  • Visceral elements of devastation - burning tank hulks, ruined houses, shell craters, smoke, death, and destruction. You will witness this and many other horrors of the war

  • Varied surroundings - your troops will come across war-torn battlefields as well as peaceful villages with cattle and fields of grain. Mind your tanks - this quaint beauty is quite fragile

Go through numerous battles

See all sides of the story by completing 3 campaigns with 9 operations in each.

The game features United States, United Kingdom, and German campaigns all set in the Normandy landings period of the war.

Manage your troops

Between the battles, you can upgrade or change your units, level them up, and assign heroes to them, granting unique abilities

Keep your crews safe

Every unit has a crew - and the crew is the heart of any unit. Losing different crew members results in different penalties for the unit. Losing a gunner means the unit has fewer attacks, losing a driver means the unit has reduced mobility, and so on.

Be victorious in any skirmish

Test your skills against an AI on each of the 6 skirmish maps. Different victory conditions require versatility in your planning and tactics.

Prove yourself as a masterful tactician

Play skirmish battles against real opponents or 2x2 team battles with friends. The game supports multiplayer battles with up to 4 players both with real-time connection or using Slitherine’s CombatHQ system.

Play your own game

Use the Editor tool to create your own skirmish/multiplayer maps and share them with the community.

Last evaluated Oct 8, 2026
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