Company of Heroes

Publisher: THQ · Studio: Relic Entertainment · Creator: Josh Mosqueira (lead designer)

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Anecdote

Designed by the Canadian studio Relic Entertainment and published by THQ in September 2006, Company of Heroes redefines real-time strategy through the Normandy campaign. Creative director Josh Mosqueira and lead designer Jason Lee Elliott set out to break with genre conventions by favoring the control of small squads with dynamic cover mechanics over mass unit production. The player commands Able and Fox Companies of the U.S. 29th Infantry Division in succession, from the assault on Pointe du Hoc to the liberation of Chambois during the closing of the Falaise Pocket. The Essence engine, developed specifically for the title, simulates in real time the destruction of buildings, the propagation of shell craters, and the degradation of tank treads. The designers drew on the work of historian Stephen Ambrose and oral testimonies from the Veterans History Project to reconstruct the tactical sequences. A campaign mission lasts between forty minutes and two hours, punctuated by cinematic sequences rendered in the game engine and driven by an orchestral soundtrack composed by Cris Velasco. The rewarding and demanding multiplayer mode features two factions at launch — the U.S. Army and the Wehrmacht — with the British forces and Panzer Elite added in the Opposing Fronts expansion. The strategic victory-point system encourages maneuvering over stockpiling, and has been adopted by countless successors. Recognized with more than twenty Game of the Year awards, the title is considered the pinnacle of modern military RTS. It spawned two sequels in 2013 and 2023 and sustains a competitive community that remains active to this day.

Popularity & reception

Awards — IGN – PC Game of the Year 2006 · GameSpot – Best Strategy Game 2006 · BAFTA – Best Strategy Game (2007) · GDC – Best Game Design nominated (2007)

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