“We are proud of our legacy with Evo that started 5 years ago,” said RTS CEO Stuart Saw in a statement. “We’re going to continue investing in the things that matter to our community, elevating and empowering members of the FGC and working diligently with our game developer partners to ensure that Evo benefits all involved parties”

Despite QIC—an investment fund for Qiddiya City—having a stake, EVO’s schedule for the rest of 2026 doesn’t seem to have seen any changes. According to the press release, the event will be on track for its major tournaments taking place in Tokyo, Japan, Las Vegas, Nevada, and Nice, France. Along with this, RTS has also noted that the tournament’s traditions, values, and identity will “remain unchanged, with a continued focus on serving players, fans and publishers at every level of the industry.”

“Evo is a global gaming institution, built on community, competition, and creativity,” said QIC’s chief strategy officer Muhannad AlDawood. “Through RTS and Qiddiya City, we are committed to supporting Evo’s long-term growth in a way that respects its heritage and strengthens its role within the global Fighting Game Community. This is about investing in the future of play, and safeguarding what makes Evo special.”

RTS first became a stakeholder in EVO as part of a deal it had made alongside PlayStation to purchase the event in 2021. August 2025 would see the latter sell its stakes to Nodwin Gaming. QIC would get involved in the deal at around the same time, originally only investing in RTS before eventually fully acquiring the company.

The fighting game community has been quite outspoken in its criticisms of this deal, with many posts on Reddit calling out Saudi Arabia’s attempts at sportswashing – a method of laundering the country’s reputation by hosting major tourist-attractions and events. One poster went as far as to say that “Evo is dead. Go to your locals,” referring to local tournaments that often form the foundations around which entire fighting game communities are formed.

Some have also taken to suggesting other major tournaments that should get more attention from members of the fighting game community, both in terms of participation as well as viewership. Among these is CEO Gaming-formerly Community Effort Orlando-and Combo Breaker, among many others.

“Support your locals any way you can, folks,” wrote another Reddit user. “I was already on my way out of Evo because I don’t like how corporate the scene has become. I don’t even want fighting games to be a scene anymore, just play and watch the games you like, give feedback that you care about, and growth will come organically.”

Another major investment by Saudi Arabia in the gaming industry recently has been its ongoing acquisition of EA.

Fighting game tournament Evo is making a comeback this year thanks to Sony, of all companies. In a press release, Sony and RTS (a new company formed from Endeavor’s esports division) announced the acquisition of Evolution Championship Series assets and properties. They also confirmed that Evo 2021 Online would take place this year from August 6th to 8th and August 13th to 15th.

Sony VP of global competitive gaming Steven Roberts said, “Fighting games have been a vital part of PlayStation’s legacy and our community since the very beginning, and we’ve been thrilled to partner with Evo over the years. This joint acquisition with RTS marks a new chapter of collaboration with Evo’s co-founders, Tom and Tony Cannon, and their passionate community of fighting game fans.”

The Cannon brothers will be involved as advisors to “ensure that Evo remains a one-of-a-kind, grassroots competitive platform for fighting game players and fans around the globe.” Tony Cannon stated that, “Tom and I are incredibly excited by the partnership with SIE and RTS. Both companies bring a wealth of experience and share our passion for what makes the fighting game community so great. We are looking forward to working with them to launch Evo to the next level while remaining true to our roots.”

Players from North America, Asia, Europe and Latin America can take part with titles like Guilty Gear Strive, Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate, Street Fighter 5: Champion Edition, Tekken 7 and more being available. Online qualifiers will be live-streamed with more details to follow soon. Following the acquisition, Evolution Championship Series head of business development Mark Julio said that, “Evo is still open to all platforms. The teams at PlayStation and RTS are enabling us to continue working with our community to support fighting games.”

Evo had quite the troubling time last year from the COVID-19 pandemic cancelling live events to various scandals leading to the online event’s cancellation. With Sony and RTS in charge, this could provide a shot in the arm for the fighting game community. Stay tuned for more details in the meantime.

"This hulking mass of real time strategic battles and turn-based empire building is as complex and war-mongering as its predecessors, and definitely does justice to the Total War name."

Despite the trailers leading up to it, Total War: Rome 2 is most assuredly not the sprawling epic saga of the Roman Republic’s rise and fall, filled with intertwining betrayals and family drama. You begin in 272 BC and essentially span over three hundred years of the campaign, capturing areas and provinces, your armies coming into contact with tribesmen and developed cultures alike.

Make no mistake: Rome 2’s scale is the biggest in the series till date, with 117 factions in total, each boasting their own unit types, skill trees, tactics and more. While some factions may be more war-minded, like the Barbarians, others may choose to focus on conquering through diplomacy, such as the Roman Republic. Keep in mind that you’ll go to war as often as you’ll play nice, so it’s always interesting to see how the Romans would collide with the Hunnic tribes for example.

The combat is easily the most appealing aspect of Rome 2. The campaign map is now divided into provinces which consist of a capital and a few settlements. You can go about capturing settlements alone or just take the whole kit and caboodle, which has the benefit of furthering economic development and quelling civilian unrest. As you bring armies out, you’ll need to assign Generals to their ranks.

"Your units could easily ignore an entrance in front of them and choose the long way around when it comes to annihilating an enemy. They may suddenly wig out when fighting foes and stand there, not knowing what to do."

It seems like a decent idea to remove micro-management, but when you consider that you need to individually hunt for your generals’ names through the web of sub-menus and the frustrating interface, it becomes an annoyance. Your turns will consist of managing your empire, balancing bonuses and focusing on production and economy along with the war effort, and the utter antiquity of the interface leaves just doesn’t help at times.

At least you can choose different stances such as Forced March and Defensive Stance, which enables your army to either keep pushing through enemy terrain or set up camp and defend. You can level up your army to gain new skills, with your General also gaining skills separately, and assign different soldiers to your ranks for a mix of cavalry, garrison, and more. It’s all a bit daunting at first, especially considering that you have many different sub-types for a single unit type. Rome 2 solves this by limiting the units in an army down to 40, along with a cap on the number of Generals you can have.

When you enter battle for the first time, you’ll be treated to some of the most grandiose war sequences till date. Total War: Rome 2’s approach leads to larger armies in fewer numbers but with a massive scale. Each unit is individually animated with its own stances and flashes of horror on seeing its allies being murdered.

The visuals are simply breath-taking in this regard, and it stands to reason that this is the most aesthetically beautiful strategy game currently out there. From the 30 different types of cities to the individual helms and armour that units bear, Total War: Rome 2 is a visual feast befitting its grandest ambitions.

"Despite the trailers leading up to it, Total War: Rome 2 is most assuredly not the sprawling epic saga of the Roman Republic’s rise and fall, filled with intertwining betrayals and family drama."

And while it doesn’t quite outline the true grimness of war, even with several decades worth of Zerg rushes, Tiberium gathering, Orc-slaying and whatnot, you’ll still sit back in awe as entire blockades cut themselves down to size, simply for the sole purpose of victory. Perhaps the greater tragedy is in seeing such seas of humanity swallowed up whole in bloody swathes of murder and disembowelment.

Or perhaps it’s in the path finding and general stupidity of the AI. Your units could easily ignore an entrance in front of them and choose the long way around when it comes to annihilating an enemy. They may suddenly wig out when fighting foes and stand there, not knowing what to do. At times, some units just dropped dead without a single enemy being close to administering the killing blow. It’s hilarious at times to find a soldier fighting a phantom as other units seemingly tussle with live soldiers.

It’s not enough to bring the game down but it does stick out every now and then. For all the brilliance that open foot war brings though, the naval battles leave much to be desired. The path finding issues are seemingly multiplied and seeing your units fall over themselves just to board craft becomes infuriating to no end.  Patches from The Creative Assembly over the past few weeks have thankfully worked to mitigate these issues.

The immense scale of Total War: Rome 2 does come back to bite it in the ass at times. The diplomacy in the game feels nicely complex in the beginning but you can garner approval ratings without much effort. Even if your Senate feels the need to rebel, you can buy off or tie up with generals to outright crush any rebellion you may face. The whole exercise of expanding your empire also feels redundant when you consider that you could just attack neighbouring territories, consolidate your position, and stamp out any resistance and then move on to the next tier.

"Make no mistake: Rome 2’s scale is the biggest in the series till date, with 117 factions in total, each boasting their own unit types, skill trees, tactics and more."

Having three types of agents is great and all, but when most options either have one engaging in war or holding a brief ceasefire, it all seems for naught. It doesn’t help that most of the missions in the game cater to the war aspects. Make no mistake – you’ll have a blast in Siege mission, even with the AI seemingly smacking into each other, but it felt like some potential was lost here.

All the promise of intrigue takes a backseat to a straight-forward empire-expanding game. If you have an ambition to crush whoever gets in your way and become the sole Roman ruler, succeeding where Alexander failed, then Total War: Rome 2 will cater to your power fantasies in spades. If you seek a more diplomatic, story-based approach filled with twists and turns, you’ll be slightly disappointed.

Maybe The Creative Assembly will expand on those aspects further in Rome 3 – we know they’re currently working on all the bugs – and help elevate this franchise further beyond the healthy throwback to classic strategy titles that it’s become.

This game was reviewed on the PC.

The sequel to 2012’s European Escalation, Wargame: Airland Battle puts a small army at your fingertips once more, with the sole objective of taking ground and annihilating your opponents. Your first port of call is, naturally, the tutorial. Traditionally a gentle playground where users can test their agency, Wargame’s playground is filled with barbed wire and malice. It skims over many important units, mechanics and concepts, leaving the player bewildered and forlorn. It isn’t a great start.

"Once you start to get the hang of things, the strategy becomes exhilarating. Though the macro turn-based overworld gameplay isn't the greatest example of turn-based strategy, the no-frills formation juggling of the core RTS gameplay is refined, elegant and engaging."

Things only get better from there though. Four campaigns throw you into fictitious battles from World War III and, with an overworld map where you move your forces around in a turn-based fashion, there’s a whiff of the Total War series to the single player proceedings. The actual battles will be familiar to previous Wargame players or, going further back, the amazing World in Conflict. Unlike other titans in the RTS genre, Wargame does away with base-building and resources in favour of more tactical unit play.

Once you start to get the hang of things, the strategy becomes exhilarating. Though the macro turn-based overworld gameplay isn’t the greatest example of turn-based strategy, the no-frills formation juggling of the core RTS gameplay is refined, elegant and engaging. The interface itself is surprisingly clean for a game with such great depth and, though it takes a long time to get to grips with, everything about the core mechanics makes enough sense to be picked up through trial and error. It can be a bit of a grind early on as you get accustomed to defensively reversing tanks and juggling recon units, but it’s worth it.

Outside of these pleasantly outlandish skirmishes, you have a massive chunk of multiplayer modes that will really test your mettle. Ranging from smaller matches to 10 vs. 10 team fights, there are a plethora of modes to sink your teeth into. I was surprised by how active the community is, as I was never left without an opponent or match to dive into.

"Graphics are simplistic and, though detailed enough for you to efficiently throttle your foes, the aesthetics are very much a secondary concern. Likewise, the sound, functional as it is, fails to evoke the emotions of the dynamic battles you fight."

There’s even a customisable element to the proceedings, with trading-card game style unit sets you can accumulate and assemble around various themes. The matches are certainly competitive but, if you can get over the initial matches you’ll inevitably lose, there’s something very addictive about the multiplayer setup in Airland Battle.

Whilst the bits under the hood are a real draw, you be forgiven for being turned off by Wargame’s outer shell. Much like European Escalation, it isn’t much of a looker. Graphics are simplistic and, though detailed enough for you to efficiently throttle your foes, the aesthetics are very much a secondary concern. Likewise, the sound, functional as it is, fails to evoke the emotions of the dynamic battles you fight.

With a vibrant community, lengthy campaigns and a host of engaging modes, Airland Battle is a high-value package indeed. When you also consider the many units on offer, each one possessing realistically modelled weapons and ballistics, it’s a wonder developer Eugen Systems managed to fit it all in. Add in the strategic depth and a host of Valve’s new Steam trading cards and you have serious bang for your buck with Wargame: Airland Battle.

Gaming is about many levels, with casual and hardcore fans alike being catered for by the wild variety of titles available. Wargame: Airland Battle is definitely in the more hardcore camp, with poor guidance, a brutal online component and complex gameplay theoretically shutting out RTS newcomers. It’s a shame really, as the game itself is beautifully distilled, offering a simplistic and clear interface that anyone can learn with enough time. Still, accessibility issues aside, Airland Battle is a treat for all the armchair strategists out there and, whether you game alone or in communities, you’re covered in this exciting instalment of Wargame.

This game was reviewed on PC.

Europa Universalis IV is an RTS based on a world domination board game. Taking place in Europe between 1444 and 1820 you control any European nation or state of your choosing (there are literally hundreds of choices you can make) and set to work. You can go for military domination, ally with your nearest and dearest geographical allies, or simply rake in the profit from high taxes and lucrative trade routes.

"Europa Universalis IV had a tutorial that was more like a slap in the face: Painful, flat and leaving a lot of questions unanswered. "

The victory conditions are much less defined than the Civ series, but your goals have an agile quality that is often satisfying. You can select missions from a list that reflect your nation’s prerogatives, and you’re free to ignore or reap the benefits from these missions as you please. There’s plenty of depth with a system like this in place, but learning the ropes was a slow burn.

As with all strategy games, you start with a tutorial. Unlike the gentle and soothing experience of learning Civ 4 and 5, Europa Universalis IV had a tutorial that was more like a slap in the face: Painful, flat and leaving a lot of questions unanswered. After an hour of partially informative text, I was ready to throw the towel in and slap a sub-par score on Europa Universalis IV.

Not satisfied to banish Europa Universalis IV unfairly, I gave it the benefit of the doubt and launched a real game. I picked Spain, hoping to take advantage of their size and military abundance and, being a good history student, launched a two pronged attack of allying with Portugal and invading Granada. While annexing my Granadan neighbours though, Aragon invaded me and wiped out my weakened armies. Why? Because Aragon really hated Spain in 1478. It was unfair, swift but delightfully accurate. I had to hand it to Europa Universalis IV, I died through my own bull-headedness. Nothing more.

"The depth, strategy and tactical variety on offer is unparalleled, but Europa Universalis is a game that is often enjoyable in spite of itself. "

My second game was far more interesting. Spain again, I rushed the Aragonese threat, forged a political allegiance with Muscovy and managed to marry into the British royal family. My knowledge of 16th century European history isn’t exhaustive, but I know enough to realise that things didn’t happen that way.

Europa Universalis IV is happy to accommodate these what-if scenarios whilst maintaining a pleasant level of historical realism. The English still didn’t trust my rule, resulting in riots and civil unrest. Throw in the in-fighting I was forced into as Muscovy’s ally and you have a hell of a game to endure. I lost, of course, but it’s the most fun I’ve had being invaded in quite some time.

The depth, strategy and tactical variety on offer is unparalleled, but Europa Universalis is a game that is often enjoyable in spite of itself. Even after learning the game through trial and error, the interface never felt particular intuitive. Clunky menus hoard screen real estate, and the reams of text display in a small font that is tough to read on any resolution setting. It isn’t so bad when you learn where everything is, but those first few games are arduous exercises in squinting your eyes.

"Europa Universalis is like the model train set of strategy gaming. It doesn't look especially fun to an outsider, but those who are in on it will find that the attention to detail is an impossibly pleasing call to action."

Add in some mechanics that are far more obscure than they need to be (mostly the trading systems), and you have a game that often feels a little bit too much like hard work. It is infinitely rewarding when your work pays off, but those looking for quick bursts of fun won’t find it here.

When it comes to crowd-pleasing, Europa Universalis 4 doesn’t make much of an effort at all. Repetitive music and sound effects become irritating after a short while, and visuals remain fairly flat. It’s in the graphics that Europa Universalis’ board game roots come to the fore. The visuals represent a glorified game board and, as kinetic as they try to be, animations and visual details are unimpressive at best.

Europa Universalis is like the model train set of strategy gaming. It doesn’t look especially fun to an outsider, but those who are in on it will find that the attention to detail is an impossibly pleasing call to action. History and strategy unite in Europa Universalis IV in a way that few games are able to master. It certainly has problems with accessibility and presentation, but the deep gameplay, great lifespan and historical accuracy will be enough to justify the price of entry for any history boffs or strategy aficionados.

This game was reviewed on PC.

What you see up there is a trailer for Meridian: New World. It is a new RTS releasing soon. It looks absolutely stunning, on par with the best releases in the genre and on the platform, such as the upcoming Total War: Rome II. And unlike Total War: Rome II, which is backed by behemoths Sega and The Creative Assembly, Meridian: New World has been created by a tiny Hungarian developer Ede Tarsoly.

Yes, that’s not the name of a studio.

Small studios making some incredible looking games that somehow outdo big budget productions isn’t actually all that uncommon. Before CD Projekt RED hit the big league, its Witcher games, made on small, limited budgets, entirely clowned RPG productions from RPG goliath Bioware. Metro: Last Light was made by a small, unimaginably underfunded studio, and it is one of the best looking games on the market.

But this is an extreme case. This is as close to David and the Goliath as the video games industry gets. I mean, damn.

Check out the trailer and tell us what you think. And be sure to keep an eye out on the game from now on. I know I will.

The formerly Petroglyph developed MMORTS, End of Nations, is now going to be a MOBA. The game, which made a full genre switch, will remain free to play and will, according to the game’s official website, be the world’s first ‘MOBA RTS.’

Publisher Trion Worlds is now accepting beta applications on the game’s official website.

“End of Nations is a tactical MOBA where your success on the battlefield depends on the heroes and units you command and quick decision making in the heat of combat,” says Trion. “Dominate during team-based matches and catapult your commander to the top of the ranks.”

End of Nations has had a tumultuous development cycle, initially being announced as an online RTS, before making the switch to a free to play online RTS. Last December, the game switched developers entirely, from Petroglyph to an internal Trion team, and now, it has made a full genre switch.

Hopefully, after all this switching around, the game will turn out fine and actually, you know, release.

SOURCE

The highly-anticipated realistic Real-Time Strategy war-game sequel Company of Heroes 2 has finally launched after about 7 or so years since the original game.

This is what Greg Wilson, Producer of Company of Heroes 2 wanted to say regarding the release of the much anticipated sequel, “We are immensely proud of the game but for us the launch is just the start. Our loyal player base will be rewarded with ongoing updates and content to keep them enjoying Company of Heroes 2 a long time after the game ships.”

Check out the launch trailer below.

In Company of Heroes 2 players will take on a role of playing as the Russian faction in the campaign mode. The game features plenty of new single-player experiences, Essence 3.0 Game Engine that adds destruction physics and advanced smoke effects to enhance visuals. The sequel also has a robust multiplayer experience with custom army load-outs, Theater of War and more.

The developers have also promised post-launch support such as fixing bugs, adding new free multiplayer maps and premium downloadable content. For our full review of Company of Heroes 2 please take a look right here.

Let us know if you’ll be purchasing Company of Heroes 2 in the comments below.

Stay tuned to GamingBolt for more news and updates.

“We hope you will join us in supporting Homeworld’s new owners in building a future for the franchise. We anticipate an announcement of the new owner to be made within a couple weeks and for the sale to be finalized around mid-May.

“As a special thanks, we would like to offer each and every donor a special credit in our upcoming space RTS game. Yes, this means we will still be moving forward with our own Homeworld-inspired space RTS, but under our own intellectual property.”

The Kickstarter campaign began on March 4th along with an IndieGogo campaign that raised an additional $13,675. Private funding also added to the total amount.

Total War: Arena will the developer’s first title in the F2P market and will benefit from both a decade of experience and expertise creating the Total War series, as well as rely on the brand power that that name represents. After all, all of Creative Assembly’s Total War games have been major hits.

This one, however, won’t go for simple strategy. It will reportedly offer players the chance to play as history’s “greatest commanders” in team battles with elements from real time strategy and massive online battle arena games. Sounds like a good way to cater to every possible segment.

Games can head here to learn more about the closed beta tests for Total War: Arena. And rest assured, given the vision Creative Assembly is pushing, it’ll need as much help as it can get.