Warside, an Advance Wars-style turn-based strategy game from Lavabird and First Break Labs, arrived on Steam last month. While the game impressed us with its approachable gameplay, the promised co-op mode was nowhere to be seen. Thankfully, it's still a-comin', as the recently released development roadmap indicates. Before the big co-op update makes it to market, several more updates are planned to tide players over.
According to the developer's Steam post, the version 1.1 update will arrive later this week. It will include:
- A CO dossier to browse the Commanders you’ve met during the campaign.
- A new Skirmish mode, allowing you to have one-off battles against AI outside of the campaign mode. We will be releasing additional maps that we’ve built just for Skirmish, and you can also play any custom map you’ve built in the editor (you can do this already, but we want to put it all in one place with a better UI).
Several further major updates are planned after that, adding Steam Achievements (a much-needed feature), AI and UI improvements, and more. No date for the Version 2.0 update has been announced, but my guess is that it will arrive by Fall at the latest. Some Steam reviews have criticized Warside for basically being an early access game without the "early access" label, and that's a fair criticism. At least the developers are being up front about their plans for updates, including the all-important co-op!
Game features:
- Intuitive turn-based gameplay with a familiar feel for fans of the classics.
- 14 playable Commanders, each with unique passive skills and Battle Powers.
- Control 30 unit types. Simultaneously battle over land, air, and sea with ground forces, aircraft, and naval units.
- Faction unique units with mechanics specific to each faction.
- Single-player campaign with over 30 missions.
- Forest, desert and snow environments, plus the toxic wastelands.
- Challenge friends and foes with multiplayer battles. Local and internet play are supported.
- Design your own maps with the built-in mission editor for both single and multiplayer.
Warside sells for $26.99 on Steam. Xbox, PlayStation, and Switch versions will be released later in 2025.