Not so long ago, World War 2 shooters were all the rage. There were so many of them, in fact, that there was a glut in the market, and people got sick of them. Then Modern Warfare came along, was a huge success, and everyone shifted their settings to the modern day, to capitalize on its success. Eventually, the modern day setting began to be worn out, but no one obvious candidate arose as a replacement- while some, including Call of Duty itself, pushed for a futuristic setting, others looked back to the past.

For instance, last year’s Battlefield 1 was a World War 1 era shooter- it was hugely successful, however. Maybe that’s what given Square Enix the confidence to go ahead and back Battalion 1944, a World War 2 era shooter by Bulkhead Interactive that they will be publishing and bringing to the market.

“From having partnered with Bulkhead before on the hugely successful The Turing Test, we know they’re a very talented studio making great games,” said Phil Elliott, Director of Community & Indie Development at Square Enix. “We trust Joe and the team as we know what they’re capable of and we see them actively listening to their community. Our relationship is built on a foundation of minimum publisher interference with maximum support where needed. We’ll help nurture and grow the community while Bulkhead can focus on crafting a fantastic FPS experience with Battalion 1944.”

Hopefully, Square puts some proper marketing muscle behind this game- they’re usually good about promoting indie games that they are publishing (see also: just how well they backed Life Is Strange), but one can never be too sure with major publishers.

GamingBolt spoke to communications manager Alex Preece about Battalion 1944 including the desire to return to World War 2 and the kinds of maps that players can expect.

"We’re big shooter fans here and we’ve seen that genre become a bit sour. To us it doesn’t feel like what they’re meant to feel like, they’re going in a direction that doesn’t suit what we want; and that’s fine."

How did Bulkhead Interactive start out? How did you eventually decide on developing a shooter, especially when the contributing studios had worked on Pneuma: Breath of Life – a first person puzzler?

We made Pneuma off $0. We were living off of pot noodles and working crazy hours! It was a punt and a shot in the dark but it paid off, we managed to make enough to bank roll the studio into making The Turing Test and ultimately the prototype of Battalion 1944.

For a multiplayer shooter, one has to ask: Why a World War 2 shooter, especially since they were all the craze almost 8 years ago?

I think you’ve answered your question there! They were all the craze 8 years ago, we were a part of that, and everyone in our team grew up with that. We’re big shooter fans here and we’ve seen that genre become a bit sour. To us it doesn’t feel like what they’re meant to feel like, they’re going in a direction that doesn’t suit what we want; and that’s fine. But we feel we’re developers of the people! We’re trying to make a game for gamers like us that don’t want fragmented communities, hackers, or pay walls.

Where will Battalion 1944‘s maps take us? Can you tell us about any familiar locations we may be visiting?

The amount of maps is totally scalable. We will always go for quality over quantity. We can currently confirm 4 locations for definite which we announced in our Kickstarter video such as Carentan, Sainte-Mère-Église and a D-Day map. But there will be many more in the works.

What weapons can we look forward to in the game? Will there be fixed classes for players to choose or can load-outs be customized?

Currently we haven’t finished all of our weapon discussions. However we know for sure that we will include all the iconic weapons of WW2 such as the M1 Garand, Kar 98, Thompson and Mp40, And Yes we will be including sniper rifles. The decision between class systems over customization has not been decided yet, however at the moment those discussions are leading away from fixed classes and more towards flexible customizable loadouts.

"We’ll be looking into balancing all weapons in Battalion during our Alpha/Beta sessions. It’s important to us that nobody is seen to have any advantage with an overpowered weapon."

What kinds of unlockables will be in the game? Is there a cosmetic system of sorts for players to customize their characters?

All unlockables will be cosmetic, no over powered weapons, abilities or perks. Just you and your weapon. Players will be rewarded for their skill and achievements. We are looking into uniform, character and weapon customization.

Can you tell us more about the “skill-based” nature of the game? How does Battalion 1944 differentiate itself in this era of Battlefield and Call of Duty?

We are differentiating ourselves by going back to basics and ridding our game of overpowered unlocks. Everyone is on a level playing field and we believe your skill should be determined by your play, not through these unfair overpowered unlocks & abilities. Battalion learns from the skill based gameplay of classic competitive shooters and merges it with the stunning visuals that our team can produce, utilizing next-gen techniques such as motion capture, physically based rendering and photogrammetry to make Battalion a truly next gen competitive shooter.

In terms of multiplayer modes, will there be anything akin to what’s seen in the modern shooters i.e. Team Deathmatch, Control, Domination, etc.?

All core game modes, CTF, TDM, & S&D. Players/server hosts will be able to change player limits. For the official servers we’ll adjust rule sets based on community feedback! Also looking at including various objective based game modes.

What are your thoughts on weapon balancing, especially in this age of constant complaining and nerfs?

We’ll be looking into balancing all weapons in Battalion during our Alpha/Beta sessions. It’s important to us that nobody is seen to have any advantage with an overpowered weapon. Just have the advantage with how skilled they are in using their weapons. This is something that will require a lot of testing and feedback to get right, that is where interacting with our supportive community can really help us.  We are incredibly focused on making Battalion competitive and fair.

How will matchmaking work in Battalion 1944? Will there be ranked playlists for hardcore players to partake in?

Companies like ESL have been hugely helpful with figuring out the best possible way to use matchmaking in Battalion but as of yet we have nothing set in stone. Our back-end team are currently focused on building our BattleRank system.

"We’ve got a great team that know what they’re doing. Like most big studios, we basically run our own version of UE4 that’s designed to help streamline the creation of Battalion."

Will the game run at 1080p and 60fps on both the PS4 and Xbox One? What are your targets for consoles?

Although our targets are for 1080p and 6ofps we are stressing how highly unlikely that is on console. This is due to Unreal Engine being a very complex engine and the consoles lacking in power, unfortunately for us we don’t have a 200 man team. That’s what it takes to get a game like this to run at that specification

I am assuming that you’ve heard rumors about an upgraded PS4 (code name Neo) flying around the internet (please click here). As you can see, there is a marginal improvement in CPU but impressive improvements in the GPU and Memory bandwidth. As someone who is in the development industry, what is your take on this? What kind of improvements do you think this will result into? (this question is from a theoretical perspective since nothing is confirm yet)

Obviously we can’t comment on this, but we can say Battalion will be a great experience for PlayStation users and we are actively working with Sony to make that experience as exceptional as possible.
Do you see devs aiming higher performance parameters for Neo and delivering sub-optimal performance on current base model PS4? (this question is from a theoretical and developer perspective since nothing is confirm yet)

Obviously we can’t comment on this, but we can say Battalion will be a great experience for PlayStation users and we are actively working with Sony to make that experience as exceptional as possible.

Are there any plans to launch a DX12 version of the PC and Xbox One builds?

We’re totally looking into these features and seeing how we can utilize them in our development pipeline or not. We have a great relationship with Microsoft devs so we’ll see what we can do!

The game is going to run on Unreal Engine 4. What can you tell us about the modifications you have made to achieve the desired graphical results?

Trade Secrets! We’ve got a great team that know what they’re doing. Like most big studios, we basically run our own version of UE4 that’s designed to help streamline the creation of Battalion. This is one of the pillars we’ve been working on from day 1 so that further down the line Battalion‘s development can feel seamless.

"Giving PC players maximum flexibility and control is vital to us. The best competitive games give the control to players."

Do you think the resolution and fps debate for the PS4 and X1 has been blown out of proportion?

Yes and no, it’s frustrating as a developer to get blamed for bad frame rate, because chances are the graphics are pretty good! But if we lower the graphics to benefit the frame rate, we get flamed for having bad graphics, we can’t win! Players need to understand the job of a developer more, our community have been excellent and understanding our process in making Battalion, we just need the rest of the gaming world to follow their suit!

What can you tell us about the PC version in terms of graphical settings and visual effects?

Giving PC players maximum flexibility and control is vital to us. The best competitive games give the control to players. We also want to make sure that by changing the controls, players aren’t given an unfair advantage over others. Battalion is all about balance, we don’t want to risk this by breaking the game with silly console hacks!

Are you planning for a simultaneous release across all three versions and when is the game coming out?

Battalion will be released on all platforms, we have the equipment, time and money to have Battalion available to everyone. However, the order of release, dates, and times may vary subject to discussions with the platform holders themselves. This is with Battalion‘s best interests in mind for players on all platforms.

Is there anything else you want to tell us before we let you go?

We are just so excited to model this game around the community that want it. We just need the community to trust us to deliver something amazing because we don’t want to release anything too soon. We just can’t wait to see people’s reaction when it is finished because we are trying our hardest to bring the golden age of gaming back to the 21st century.

Bulkhead Interactive’s Battalion 1944 may use DirectX 12 on the Xbox One, according to the game’s communications manager, Alex Preece. When asked whether players can expect a DX12 version of the game on the PC and Xbox One, Alex stated that: “We’re totally looking into these features and seeing how we can utilise them in our development pipeline or not. We have a great relationship with Microsoft devs so we’ll see what we can do!”

It will be interesting to see whether the Xbox One version will use a DX12 build but given the console already has a game or two which utilizes the latest API, a DX12 version of Battalion 1944 might be on the cards after all.

Furthermore, when we asked him about their opinion on the rumored PS4K NEO, he stated that he cannot comment on rumors but they assured that Battalion 1944 will be great experience for PS4 users. “Battalion will be a great experience for PlayStation users and we are actively working with Sony to make that experience as exceptional as possible,” he added.

Battalion 1944 is due this year for the PS4, Xbox One and PC.

One of the big things that has marked this generation of console gaming is the eternal quest for that elusive 1080p- it’s this generation’s version of ‘blast processing,’ a gimmick that ultimately amounts to nothing. Unlike previous generation, where major graphical differences like framerate or texture quality marked the difference between two versions of a multiplatform game, this generation, we’re all reduced to counting the lines and pixels on our screen- and all because ‘1080p’ has become such a marketing buzzword.

Surely developers find this frustrating too? When we got the chance to talk to Alex Preece of Big Tuna, the folks behind Battalion 1944, we decided to spring the question on him- as a developer, what is his take on the unending resolution wars? What was his take on the newfound obsession with framerates in video games?

“It’s frustrating as a developer to get blamed for bad framerate, because chances are the graphics are pretty good!” Preece said. “But if we lower the graphics to benefit the frame rate, we get flamed for having bad graphics, we can’t win! Players need to understand the job of a developer more, our community have been excellent and understanding our process in making Battalion, we just need the rest of the gaming world to follow their suit!”

What he says does make sense- game development is always a series of trade offs and compromises, especially given player expectations. The audience expects a certain level of graphical fidelity at this point- but to hit that, framerate must be sacrificed. And if a game does prioritize framerate, then the graphics must be sacrificed, like what happened with Halo 5: Guardians on the Xbox One last year.

I guess this would be one reason why upgraded consoles like the rumored PS4 Neo are ultimately a good idea.

The PS4 and the Xbox One may have seemed to be powerful upgrades over the PS3 and the Xbox 360 back when they launched, but that was a matter of circumstance more than anything else- a reminder that the Xbox 360 and PS3 were almost ten years old at that point, and they were beginning to get long in the tooth. The PS4 and Xbox One naturally seemed like major steps up over those consoles.

But what one tends to forget that the two machines were never ‘high end,’ not in the way that the Dreamcast or the N64 or the Xbox 360 or PS3 were at the time of their release- no, the PS4 and Xbox One were equivalent to midrange PCs at the time of their launch, at best, and as time has gone on, they’ve struggled to keep up with the games being developed. So much so that now, less than three years after the launch of these systems, Sony and allegedly Microsoft are already preparing spec bumps for them.

This weakness of hardware means that games can often not run at a proper resolution and/or framerate on the PS4 and Xbox One- as Alex Preece of Bulkhead Interactive told us in an exclusive interview, the upcoming Battalion 1944 most likely won’t be running at 1080p and 60fps on either the Xbox One or the PS4.

“Although our targets are for 1080p and 6ofps we are stressing how highly unlikely that is on console,” Preece said. “This is due to Unreal Engine being a very complex engine and the consoles lacking in power, unfortunately for us we don’t have a 200 man team. That’s what it takes to get a game like this to run at that specification.”

That is a scathing indictment of how weak these consoles are, if there ever was any. If anything, a statement like this highlights the need for an upgraded PS4 and Xbox One more than anything else.

• 1. Development
• 2. Story
• 3. Gameplay
• 4. Characters

Development

Battalion 1944 was officially announced on February 3, 2016 through a Kickstarter campaign. The company announced it had actually hit the funding goals inside of three days. On February 11, the developers announced they were already at 200 percent of funding. On February 25, the company announced a number of different stretch goals they were putting into the Kickstarter campaign because they had hit their funding goals so quickly. They also announced they had already hit the first stretch goal, which was a full time community manager. The other stretch goals unveiled were enhanced particle effects, the Currahee Bootcamp Map and the Competitive D-Day Map. There was also a few higher stretch goals announced that include the introduction of English soldiers into the mix.

With just one day to go in the Kickstarter campaign, the company announced it had hit the stretch goals that would allow the addition of the D-Day Map and Currahee Bootcamp. On March 3, 2016 the company announced it had officially completed its Kickstarter funding round and had hit 317 percent of its  funding goals. Among the goals it did not hit was the addition of a single player campaign. That means the game will only be a World War II multiplayer game with a ton of online features. In this regard, Battalion 1944 will apparently closely resemble a game like Star Wars: Battlefront.

During the official announcement of Battalion 1944, the developers stated that the game run on the Unreal Engine 4 and will feature dedicated servers that will make it that much easier to implement certain anti-cheat measures when it comes to the multiplayer games. Burkhead said it wants the game to be considered the WWII first person shooter game and in order to accomplish this goal, the online portion of the game will be primarily skill-based. In order to make sure the skill based portion of the game stands out from the pack, the developers have said the unlockables will not be tools that can actually give players a competitive advantage. The game doesn’t have an official release date but it’s expected to be out sometime in 2017.

Story

The game will not feature a traditional campaign mode as it is a pure multiplayer game. Instead the story of Battalion 1944 of will be more about progressing your player and winning a number of different game modes while playing through  some of the most famous backdrops of World War II.

Gameplay

Battalion 1944’s developers are priding themselves on their goal of bringing realism back to the first person shooter that is focused on World War II. The game will not have a single player campaign and will instead focus on the multiplayer aspects where players can either go up against one another or join teams and accomplish various goals. Battles and modes will take place in real world locations like Carentan, as well as the German forests of Bastogne and a ton of other historical sites. Skill plays an important part in the game, which means players have to have precise aim with your weapons like the Kar98, there are other weapons included and all are historical weapons that would have been available to American forces in World War II.

The mode the developers have talked most about is called BattleRank In this mode, players are supposed to join a Battalion with other players and then compete season to season with a global multiplayer competition system. When players contribute to their battlion’s season goals, they will be able to earn cosmetic rewards for their character, weapons and accessories, though the developers have said none of the addons will shift the competitive balance.

BattleRank competitions also allow players to go out on their own and ranked up on the International leader boards. There will also be updates and regular challenges that will range from either taking place over the course of a season, or will be offered up hourly and all of the challenges will allow players to earn rewards and extra XP.

The developers have said that while there will be a progression system, it will only be cosmetic and will never give players tools or weapons that competitors can’t also get their hands on. The advancement opportunities that are out there will allow players to make their favorite character stand out from the crowd, as long as the cosmetic changes are those that would be seen and used in the setting of World War II.

The developers have said they are working hard on coming up with a anti-cheat system that will be among the best in the business. The team has said they are leaning on other games such as Battlefront in order to try and sniff out those who are somehow gaming the system. Its unclear what kind of cheats could be employed if the upgrades that are earned through the game are entirely cosmetic but it appears the company wants to make sure there aren’t any glitches available for those who go out of their way to try and get a leg up. Because this is a multiplayer only game, there is a real focus on making sure everyone has the same kind of experience.

Characters

As of now, there are no known named characters, since there is no story mode. Players take on the role of American soldiers in World War II. There are also soldiers from other countries that will make appearances as NPCs in the game with the Nazis being the main enemy in Battalion 1944.

Note: This wiki will be updated once we have more information about the game

Battalion 1942 promises to be a very interesting break from tradition for the shooter market- it promises to return the genre to its World War II trappings. World War II FPSs were, of course, dime a dozen a decade or so ago, until Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare came along and spawned a new approach to shooters in its wake.

Battalion is currently on Kickstarter for crowdfunding. But don’t let that be any indication about its technical prowess, or the lack thereof- the game will be using Unreal Engine 4 to deliver on some pretty sweet visuals and tech. Or so the developers hope. Speaking on Twitter, Joe Brammer, Executive Producer at Bulkhead admitted that there are limits to what can be achieved on the Xbox One and PlayStation 4.

“UE4 and XB1 and PS4 have their limitations that we have no power over. But we’ll do our best [to hit 60fps]. It may be out of our hands,” Brammer said.

Man, we’re just about two years into this generation, and we are already hitting walls like this. What a bummer.