Genre: Real Time Strategy (RTS), Strategy, Turn-based strategy (TBS), Tactical
Company of Heroes 3
End of Year Battlegroup Update
2024 has been quite the year for Relic. It’s safe to say that becoming an independent studio came with challenges, lots of learning, and adjustment. That said, we are proud of the work we’ve been able to consistently deliver for Company of Heroes 3, and we’re extremely thankful for your continued support and passion.
Heavy Tank Battlegroups
What’s more, we are now in a much stronger spot for 2025 and are very excited for what’s to come. Our team is hard at work on the new Heavy Tank Battlegroups, which will arrive in late February 2025. We still have more to do before we’re ready to really show them off, but for now, check out this little teaser we whipped up to keep you guessing over the holidays!
Though we can’t say much more about the Battlegroups themselves, we do have some new info we can share today. First, we’re excited to announce that we have four shiny new Battlegroups rolling off the production line — one for each faction. We’ve put a ton of work into them, and we genuinely think these will be our most exciting post-launch Battlegroups to date. Everyone loves a good heavy tank but believe us when we say there’s a lot more to these Battlegroups than just some big chonky armor.
Getting down to brass tacks, we want to keep creating amazing content for Company of Heroes 3. So, to that end, these Battlegroups will be arriving as a DLC pack on Steam in late February of 2025. Regarding pricing, we haven’t finalized anything and hope to share more with you in the New Year.
Stealth & Stronghold
We’re also going to make changes to how we offer the Australian Defense (British Forces) and Battlefield Espionage (Deutsches Afrikakorps) Battlegroups, which are currently free in-game. When we first released these Battlegroups for Company of Heroes 3, we made them available to claim for free as a thank you for sticking with us as we improved the game post-launch. This content wasn’t cheap for us to make, but we felt it was the right thing to do for our players at the time.
We’re not charging for these just yet, so there’s no need to worry. We are planning a major anniversary update in February 2025 and we want to give returning players the chance to grab these Battlegroups and take advantage of this thank you deal. We plan to remove the Australian Defense and Battlefield Espionage Battlegroups from the in-game store after the Anniversary update. We are targeting March 21st for this change. They will then be made available to purchase via the Stealth & Stronghold bundle for $13.99 USD on the Steam Store. This change will help us continue delivering new and exciting Battlegroups and additional free updates throughout 2025 and beyond. To claim them before we make this change, visit the in-game store in Company of Heroes 3 and navigate to the Battlegroups tab. So, “quit yer lollygagging" and don't miss out!
That’s all for us for 2024 folks. Happy Holidays and we’ll see you in the new year with more Company of Heroes action!
- The Company of Heroes Team
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Will the Stealth & Stronghold or new Heavy Tank Battlegroups ever be made available for Merit or War Bonds? A: Our plan is to offer these and future Battlegroups through the Steam Store so that players have more robust support options with their purchases. Additionally, this change will allow us to continue delivering new and exciting content throughout 2025 and beyond.
Q: Will you have anything new for me to spend my Merit or War Bonds on in the future? A: Yes! We are currently working on plans for additional items to be made available in the in-game store. We still need to finalize those plans before we’re ready to share more, but we hope to have more information for all of you in the coming months.
Q: When will the Stealth & Stronghold bundle be available in the Steam Store? A: March 21st, 2025.
Q: How long do I have to claim the Australian Defense and Battlefield Espionage Battlegroups for free? A: You can claim them for free via the in-game store until March 20th, 2025.
Q: If I already claimed the Australian Defense and Battlefield Espionage Battlegroups, will I lose access to them? A: No! Once claimed these Battlegroups are tied to your account.
Q: Will this change affect the Advanced Infantry (US Forces) or Italian Coastal (Wehrmacht) Battlegroups? A: No. The Advanced Infantry and Italian Coastal Battlegroups are available as part of the Hammer & Shield DLC pack available on the Steam Store.
Q: Once the Stealth & Stronghold bundle is released on March 21st, 2025, if I have a problem purchasing it on the Steam Store or want a refund, who should I contact? A: You should reach out to Steam Support here.
Hot Fix 1.9.4
Multiplayer Balance
Pathfinders
Population increased from 5 to 6
Manpower upkeep increased from 1/1.25 to 1.5 per population
Reinforcement cost increased from 30 to 32
Decapture speed reduced from 1.25 to 1
Bug Fixes
Made some UI improvements to the live Observer Mode tournament layout. The upgrade tracker pane is now paginated.
Fixed an issue where searching for a player would not show them as in an observable match in the leaderboards. Games will refresh as expected when searching for a player.
Fixed an issue with the Campaign tutorial where the initial artillery squad would fail to deploy if skipping dialogue too quickly.
Hot Fix 1.9.3
Fixed an issue where Salvage Crews allowed for an exploit causing infinite resources.
Fixed an issue where players running in Simplified Chinese at certain resolutions including 1440p could hit a soft-lock during the single-player campaign when first selecting an Indian Artillery unit. 修复了以简体中文运行某些分辨率（包括 1440p）的玩家在单人战役中首次选择印度炮兵部队时可能会遇到锁死的问题。
Fixed infantry sometimes getting stuck on retreat.
Fixed an issue with the Campaign tutorial where the initial artillery squad would fail to deploy if skipping dialogue too quickly.
Fixed Observable games in the Leaderboard flickering off shortly after loading.
Fixed a bug with observing matches from the leaderboards showing a different match.
Hot Fix 1.9.2
Fixed a crash that occurred when viewing or selecting out-of-date replays.
Hot Fix 1.9.1
General
Fixed an issue with super-mines. Mines will once again obey the damage dealt per-model-per-squad rule.
Fixed an issue where the Air and Sea Battlegroup Pack Howitzer and Command Support Section unlocks would deduct 1 Command Point from the player.
The Sherman Whizbang will now properly convert to the standard M4A1 Sherman variant upon jettisoning its launcher. It will now properly unlock the smoke launcher ability, standard Sherman tank Veterancy, and gain access to the White Phosphorous and Keep them Firing! Veterancy abilities.
The Deutsches Afrikakorps Armory now requires the Mechanized Kompanie to be built to unlock the tier-three upgrades after unlocking Fire Support Elements.
Fixed an issue where the Command Support Section Hawker Strafing Run could be used anywhere on the map with vision.
Skipping the tutorial when starting a new Italian Campaign will no longer result in a brief custom match lobby screen.
Observer Mode
Fixed sorting of the Game List in Observer Mode.
Increased the total amount of viewable games in the Observer Mode Game List.
Changed lists and filters to default to descending for Player Rating and Number of Observers.
Stability
Fixed a crash in Observer Mode when the Quick Match filter is selected.
Fixed a crash that occurred in games with A.I. when the A.I. host migrated to another machine due to the host player leaving the match.
Orchid Spider (1.9.0) Patch Notes
The Orchid Spider (1.9) update for Company of Heroes 3 introduces new maps, our Live Observer Mode, in-game Leaderboards, and substantial additions to multiplayer with new unit Veterancy and unit distinction and ability changes. Notably, VFX Improvements and Light Vehicle Tuning which we had slated for this update have been moved to our 2nd Anniversary update in February. You can get a summary of what's coming in this update in our Mission Briefing and find our Known Issues list here. As today's patch notes are too long to fit in a Steam post, please find them linked below.
The Orchid Spider update for Company of Heroes 3 will be available to download on Tuesday, November 26th, 2024. The 1.9.0 update includes hotly anticipated features such as Live Observer mode, two exciting new maps, a tooltip overhaul, and a ton of multiplayer balance changes, including all-new Veterancy, and the next step in our Unit Distinction work.
Maps
Rapido River Crossing (4 vs 4)
Rapido River Crossing is the latest 4-vs-4 installment, available in all game modes. This autumnal valley disguises a brutal battlefield bisected by a fast, muddy river. Creating a foothold on the enemy side of the river is key to victory but will prove challenging for even the most experienced commander.
Santuario (2 vs 2)
Santuario is our latest Official Community Map, created by Mythe. This 2-vs-2 map features a once idyllic seaside village, now fortified in preparation for battle. Players will be tasked with taking and holding a variety of environs, from the beaches to the South, to the central village, to the Northern forests.
Map Improvements
Additionally, we continue to improve all our existing multiplayer maps through bug fixes and balance adjustments based on your feedback. You can find the details in tomorrow’s patch notes and further feedback on all of our maps is still welcome!
New Features
Live Observer Mode
Live Observer Mode makes its debut in Company of Heroes 3, providing players and content creators with a tool to watch and commentate on matches live as they happen. This mode also lets you spectate your favorite players and friends.
From the Multiplayer menu, you can now navigate to Observer Mode. From here, you will see a Game List that will contain all the games currently being played, along with additional filters and sorting options to help you find what you’re looking for.
Custom Games will allow the lobby host to manually set whether observers are allowed, whether there is an observation delay and how long that should be (zero delay to 30 minutes), and whether you want a password to limit who can view the match. Once in a match, you’ll be presented with a UI similar to the existing Replay mode with an added ‘Jump To Live’ button. However, Observer Mode now includes an all-new Tournament mode layout.
Get a closer look at our new maps and Observer Mode in our latest Developer Deep Dive!
Ranked Play
We wanted to spice up the experience of ranked play with some new functionality and eye candy. We've added a fancy new animation when achieving a new rank. Additionally, you can now view the ranked leaderboards directly in the game to see where you're at and to plan future conquests. You can find the button to access the Leaderboards right at the top of the main menu. You can now also launch the Observer Mode directly from the in-game Leaderboards if your favorite player is currently in a match.
Multiplayer Balance Changes
Several aspects of multiplayer will be getting some love in Orchid Spider. First, we will be addressing any lingering issues from update 1.8.0, with notable changes to the economy including reinforcement costs and de-capture times.
This update also includes the first part of our major overhaul to unit Veterancy. All factions have had each Veterancy level reviewed, improved or completely changed.
The Veterancy changes go together with the remainder of our Unit Distinction work that we began in the Onyx Shark update (1.7.0). Several units have had their abilities super-charged to make their roles more unique and to have them shine on the battlefield.
You can get an early look at these multiplayer changes and more in our Orchid Spider Balance Discussion debuting on Twitch at 9am PDT on November 26th or review all the changes in the patch notes which will go up tomorrow.
The Orchid Spider update is out for PC on Steam on Tuesday, November 26th at 10am PDT! Jump into our official Discord to discuss the update and find others to play with. Happy Observing!
Community Mapmaking Competition 2025
Relic is excited to announce that we are sponsoring the next major community organized Company of Heroes 3 mapmaking competition hosted by GBPirate - the CoHmmunity CoHtography CoHmpetition!
A $2,000+ prize pool is up for grabs for the top selected mapmakers, and there's always the chance that maps from the competition could make it into the official Company of Heroes 3 automatch pool. Find all of the event details in GBPirate's document here and review the handy resource hub.
Orchid Spider Update Releasing November 26th
The Orchid Spider 1.9 update is releasing on November 26th for Company of Heroes 3!
This update includes the hotly requested Live Observer Mode and two all-new multiplayer maps. Orchid Spider will also feature a rework of the unit Veterancy system, meaning some of your favorite units will be receiving new Veterancy bonuses! Our unit distinction work also continues in 1.9 with units getting all new abilities to make them stand out on the battlefield.
Fixed an issue where Battlegroups were still not appearing in Skirmish mode for all players. Steam Workshop mods should no longer cause this issue with Battlegroups in Single Player.
Updated Air Superiority challenge to include unique variants of Incendiary Bombing run found on the British Air and Sea Company.
Bunker Buster challenge has been updated to include all player-built and HQ bunkers.
