Steel Division: Normandy 44 due boatload of free content

The team behind World War II RTS Steel Division: Normandy 44 [official site] recently detailed everything that's coming to the game before the end of the year, including its first DLC – which will arrive this month – and a boatload of free stuff.

On the free side, a new game mode, two ace units (special, historical personalities that replace units of a similar type), four regular units, and two co-op missions are in the works. These will be added in updates that might stretch into early next year, developers Eugen Systems say.

The DLC, called Second Wave, is landing on September 21st and will cost $7.99 (roughly £6.10). It will deploy the American 4th Armoured Division, the British 1st Special Service Brigade, the German 9. Panzerdivision and the 16. Luftwaffen-Felddivision. In total it will add 35 units to the game, including one ace model: Lt Col Creighton W Abrams and his 'Thunderbolt' M4 command tank.

I haven't played Steel Division but Tim sung its praises when it came out in May. It's from Eugen, they of R.U.S.E. and Wargame: Red Dragon. This one plays out similarly, with base-free battles on large lifelike maps, and real-time combat complete with regular waves of reinforcements. Tim especially liked its user interface:

"Sharp as a spike bayonet in the AI department, surprisingly realistic in areas like morale modelling, LoS and armour penetration, Steel Division's crowning achievement is arguably its interface. It’s hard to think of a wargame that makes control feel so effortless or one that communicates unit details so effectively."