WarPlan

WarPlan

Released Mar 2020

WarPlan is an incredibly accurate World War II simulation engine. It is a balance of realism and playability incorporating the best from 50 years of World War II board wargaming. Play a recreated World War II in every detail, thanks to the engine flexibility and database

81% positive · 230 reviews
Done
All announced content has been released
Medium confidence
Done
All announced content has been released
Medium confidence

Where to buy

Steam $39.99
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Evaluation

WarPlan launched on Steam on March 26, 2020. Following release, the developer delivered a steady stream of feature patches and balance improvements throughout 2020 and 2021. A notable milestone came on March 17, 2022, when Kraken Studios released WarPlan Pacific — a companion title built on the same engine covering the Pacific theatre — which represents the studio's major creative output stemming from this game's foundation. For WarPlan itself, the last meaningful update was a feature patch on April 26, 2023 (version 1.00.25), which added three new scenarios designed in collaboration with the US Marine Corps University. This was followed by a final bug-fix patch on July 27, 2023 (version 1.00.26). There have been no developer communications of any kind since July 27, 2023 — nearly three years of silence as of June 2026. The developer has made no announcements of future content, roadmaps, or expansions for WarPlan. There are no unreleased DLC listings on the store. The game's post-launch update history — while active for its first few years — shows a clear tapering off, with the last two posts being increasingly minor patches before going fully silent. The pattern strongly suggests the game has reached the end of its update cycle and shipped as a complete product. The most reasonable completion date is the final patch on July 27, 2023.
Evidence
Version 1.00.26 was a bug-fix patch — the final developer communication for WarPlan to date.
news post · Jul 27, 2023 source development ending
high
Version 1.00.25 added three new scenarios designed for the US Marine Corps University alongside various fixes — the last feature update for the game.
news post · Apr 26, 2023 source content shipped
high

Media

Details

Developer
Publisher
Kraken Studios
Achievements
—
Platform
Windows
Controller
—
Steam Deck
Not rated
Players
Single-player · Multiplayer

About this game

WarPlan is a World War II simulation engine. It is a balance of realism and playability incorporating the best from 50 years of World War II board wargaming. Players have a choice of many scenarios and scale.

Developer Kraken Studios places their emphasis on games that are easy to use, hard to win. WarPlan employs one of the best interfaces to lower micromanagement as much as possible so players can focus on playing and thinking.

SCALES

The game's scale is massive, covering 70 different potential countries, in a map large 30 miles / 50km per hex using a Peters map scaling (which better represents real distances). The land scale is 15k - 60k men, air scale is 300-400 aircraft and naval scale is 2 capital ships + support ships.

COMBAT SYSTEM

Combat takes place on Land, with multihex attack based on operation points allowing for multiple moves and attack tactics allowing for frontline breakthroughs, on Air, where you can attack selected targets and may automatically support land attacks, and on Sea, where fleet and raider modes affect detection. Night action, Surface, Sub, and Carrier combat are available. Use the Zone of control to restrict the movement of the enemy.

20 different units with 15 different attributes, 17 different technological advancements, 5 different specialties. Each country has their own units with their own attributes. Additionally, units can be impacted by: Breakdown - Land units can be split or reformed, corps may detach a division, armies may split, Formation – Small formations may be grouped into larger ones, Generals - Each player comes with their own generals that affect combat, mobile attack, and retreats, Support pool Units - 11 different support types. Naval units stack in fleets. 1 land, 1 air, 1 fleet per hex. Land units have the capacity of having a specialization. This is an attachment of equipment, elite trained units, or gear. With advancements, this allows for 120 different land unit configurations.

COUNTRY MANAGEMENT

Production takes into account oil, manpower, logistics, strategic resources, trade agreements, convoy zones. The system allows you 17 different advancements and each unit has at minimum 2 advancement choices. You can have 47 different unit configurations. The supply system is based on cities, rail, ports, headquarters, and distance from railways. The supply system more accurately represents the North African Campaign. From a diplomatic standpoint, players may declare war, influence, attempt a coup, or negotiate a surrender. Each country has a loyalty score and an entry-level. Actions in-game may alter the entry and loyalty of various countries.

MAP

The map is Hex based, with 15 different types of terrains subdivided in to sizes with each different features including motorized and non-motorized movement, airfield capacity, and defensive bonuses; 12 different resource types, 5 different strategic resources. Realism is enhanced by the presence of Fog of War, with detection levels that determine information of units. Moreover, 5 different weather conditions make the whole gameplay more challenging.

FEATURES

  • 70 different potential countries

  • Map scale 30 miles / 50km per hex using a Peters map scaling which better represents real distances

  • 15 different types of terrains subdivided into sizes with each different features including motorized and non-motorized movement, airfield capacity, and defensive bonuses

  • 12 different resource types

  • 5 different strategic resources

  • Fog of War – detection levels determine information of units

  • 5 different weather conditions

  • 20 different units with 15 different attributes, 17 different technological advancements, 5 different specialities

  • 17 different advancements. Each unit has at minimum 2 advancement choices

  • Automatic repair and advancement

  • Multiplayer: play vs the A.I., in hotseat, and PBEM mode

WarPlan includes an editor to allow modding and creation of scenarios

Last evaluated Jun 24, 2026
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