Stormgate shows off Infernal Host faction, a Zerg swarm with Diablo aesthetics

Frost Giant announced a strong line-up of musical talent for the soundtrack
Stormgate shows off Infernal Host faction, a Zerg swarm with Diablo aesthetics
Stormgate shows off Infernal Host faction, a Zerg swarm with Diablo aesthetics /

Upcoming RTS game Stormgate, which is currently having closed Alpha tests, appeared during Opening Night Live at gamescom 2023 to give a development update, showing off the second of its factions in some detail for the first time. The Infernal Host, clearly meant to be the equivalent of the Zerg from the game’s spiritual predecessor StarCraft 2, is a race of demons that has tried to overrun Earth in the past, but failed to get the job done – leading to the current conflict with the survivors of mankind, the Human Vanguard unveiled during a showcase earlier this year.

A key faction mechanic for the Infernal Host will be the Shroud, a magical field surrounding some of the Host’s buildings. This will not only boost their units’ capabilities in battle, but also allow for the execution of demonic rituals. The developers showed off three units of the race as well – the Imp (see the unit on the left below), the Brute (the unit in the middle), and the Fiend (the unit on the right).

Stormgate Imp worker screenshot.
Frost Giant
Stormgate Brute screenshot.
Frost Giant
Stormgate Fiend screenshot.
Frost Giant

Imps are the Host’s workers, but can also be used as kamikaze units in times of need thanks to their ability to sacrifice themselves in a fiery explosion. Brutes are two-headed monsters that can tank a lot of damage and also come with an ability to end their own lives, though not in an explosion. Instead, the Brute splits itself in two, creating two quick Fiends that can continue the fight.

Outside of gameplay, Frost Giant announced some developments regarding the soundtrack: The Grammy award-winning EDM and DJ duo The Chainsmokers have signed on to the project as advisors, while two composers famous for their work on previous RTS hits are writing the OST – both Tracy W. Bush (StarCraft, Warcraft 3) and Frank Klepacki (Dune 2, Command & Conquer) are on board. From what we’ve heard of the music so far, you can definitely expect some Terran vibes from the Human Vanguard’s themes.

Stormgate combat scene between Infernal Host and Human Vanguard.
The Shroud provides Infernal Host units with advantages in combat, among other benefits / Frost Giant

“We’re making Stormgate for everyone who has been waiting far too long for the next great RTS – including ourselves,” said Tim Morten, CEO and production director at Frost Giant Studios. “The progress we shared tonight on Opening Night Live reflects our team’s commitment to creating an engrossing RTS built around highly asymmetric factions that players can enjoy mastering for years to come.”

Stormgate will be released on PC via Steam as a free-to-play title, though there is no launch date just yet. It’ll feature single-player and co-op campaigns, a three-player co-op PvE mode, as well as competitive 1v1 and 3v3 multiplayer modes. It’s previously been announced that Stormgate will use rollback netcode and 64 tick servers to guarantee smooth online play.


Published
Marco Wutz
MARCO WUTZ

Marco Wutz is a writer from Parkstetten, Germany. He has a degree in Ancient History and a particular love for real-time and turn-based strategy games like StarCraft, Age of Empires, Total War, Age of Wonders, Crusader Kings, and Civilization as well as a soft spot for Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail. He began covering StarCraft 2 as a writer in 2011 for the largest German community around the game and hosted a live tournament on a stage at gamescom 2014 before he went on to work for Bonjwa, one of the country's biggest Twitch channels. He branched out to write in English in 2015 by joining tl.net, the global center of the StarCraft scene run by Team Liquid, which was nominated as the Best Coverage Website of the Year at the Esports Industry Awards in 2017. He worked as a translator on The Crusader Stands Watch, a biography in memory of Dennis "INTERNETHULK" Hawelka, and provided live coverage of many StarCraft 2 events on the social channels of tl.net as well as DreamHack, the world's largest gaming festival. From there, he transitioned into writing about the games industry in general after his graduation, joining GLHF, a content agency specializing in video games coverage for media partners across the globe, in 2021. He has also written for NGL.ONE, kicker, ComputerBild, USA Today's ForTheWin, The Sun, Men's Journal, and Parade. Email: marco.wutz@glhf.gg