I’ve been wondering how long it would take for shooters to go back to World War 2 for a victory lap of how it all began, but I wasn’t expecting it to come from Kickstarter before the big names. Battalion 1944 is trying for a realistic-arcade mix of lethal bullets in the classic Call of Duty mold. Developers Bulkhead Interactive are focusing on multiplayer, with their own competitive structure ready to go on launch. That is, if they make their £100,000 (~$144k) goal on Kickstarter and manage to survive until the eventual Early Access release.
Battalion’s various inspirations take pride of place in our list of the best FPS games.
Here’s the full pitch:
It’s an interesting one for sure. They’re certainly treading the ten-year nostalgia waters effectively, but I don’t know if the multiplayer is why the early CoDs are remembered so fondly. For me, that area has been improved upon through Modern Warfare and all the rest, and it’s the scripted battles in Stalingrad or the African tank rushes that make me want to go back. I’m also, personally, really not about this “remember how good old games were, new games are bollocks” attitude when it comes to Kickstarter videos – tell me why your game is good, not why others are bad.
Still, it’s at least on the same lines as the sort of thing that’s been much requested in the past few years. A hundred thousand pounds is pretty steep when it comes to making your money on Kickstarter, but not enough to fund a large development studio for a long time. They’re putting in another £100k of their own money, and think that should be a bare minimum to get what they want done. They don’t have a playable build at the moment, but will have an alpha ready soon after the Kickstarter finishes to those who back at a high enough tier.
Early Access release, though, won’t hit until May of next year, and that’s if they stay on target. If you want to help it come to life and get a copy whenever it arrives, that’ll cost you £13 / $18 / €17 for Early Bird, a little more thereafter. Lots and lots more info, and buying options, over on the Kickstarter itself. Read before you go in, obviously.