Stronghold 3 — patch notes and updates
Stored observation / content update:
Dated developer announcements recorded from Steam. Open the source for the complete update.
| Update | Date | Excerpt / source |
|---|---|---|
| Crusader: DE - Update & DLC 1 Reveals | 2025-08-07 | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yn98HHTPl4k With your help Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition has charged into the breach and emerged from its launch victorious! The response from fans has been nothing short of stellar and we're pleased to reveal some of our initial content plans in today's developer update! While we're still working hard to add features, fixes and tweaks that players have been requesting (See our extensive v1.03 Patch Notes for the latest changes), we're keeping this momentum going by revealing new details of gameplay content players can look forward to in the coming months. With additional updates like v1.03 and more c |
| Stronghold Crusader: DE - Out Now! | 2025-07-16 | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZanPPwupPz4 The time is NOW, Sire! The long march is finally over and your forces have finally arrived at our divine destination - Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition is out now with a 10% launch discount! https://clan.fastly.steamstatic.com/images/32942208/78768ab274c6e0caa0b059e9287f9ed8fbd0f1a4.jpg The fan reception to Stronghold: Definitive Edition in 2023 showed us the hunger in the community for more games that take the cult classic games of the past, leaving the gold while elevating the old. The tremendous outpouring of love has pushed us to make this definitive edition of the fan-favourite Crusader |
| Stronghold Crusader: DE - Roadmap Reveal | 2025-07-03 | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71UzpnLOH7U Updates and DLC To Add New Lords, Customisation and More! Good Day, Sire! Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition is now less than two weeks from launch, so what better time than now to share all there is to know about the game's post-release plans! Following the positive reception of the two public demos and in keeping with Stronghold: DE’s post-launch, we're announcing two major post-launch content updates for Crusader: DE. These will take the form of an Autumn and a Winter Update, both releasing this year alongside two paid DLCs. https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/32942208/8f40990ce7a7142 |
| New Coop Trailer & Next Fest | 2025-06-09 | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXejCnia8tc Good tidings, Sire! Steam Next Fest is now live and with it our second public demo for Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition. Showcasing the latest fixes, a full Sands of Time mission, Historical Campaign challenge and allowing you to freely try out Custom Skirmish mode before the game’s July 15th launch, this is our most content rich demo yet! So if you haven’t yet given it a try or think you can rise even higher on the leaderboards, now is the chance to prove your mettle… https://clan.fastly.steamstatic.com/images/32942208/f31175fe2a59eb5b38fcfa0887614d2337a31aee.jpg Crusader: DE was designed wi |
| Feature Spotlight: 10k Unit Cap, Mosques & More! | 2025-05-23 | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=js6TBaUA8QQ Good morrow, my liege! After 150,000 demo downloads, three times as many as Stronghold: Definitive Edition... We have channelled thousands of your Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition feedback forms into new player-requested enhancements! Ahead of the game's July 15th launch, today we dive into some of these community-requested features, confirming key information on maximum unit counts and more in our final ‘Feature Spotlight’ development diary. https://clan.fastly.steamstatic.com/images/32942208/aec37b428c9d5d6fbc474ee8e12bf8beff52dbf5.jpg As some of Crusader’s most knowledgeable and experience |
| Feature Spotlight: New Units | 2025-04-30 | Good day, my liege! After a few eagle-eyed players infiltrated the help files, Assassin style, in our Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition reveal demo, we thought it was time to pull back the curtain on our 8 new units. Today’s Feature Spotlight video brings with it new footage and juicy gameplay details for our Bedouin soldiers, expanding the original roster with fresh tactical options at launch on July 15th. https://clan.fastly.steamstatic.com/images/32942208/e977b71cd58d0734edfb52ccba5408cdeea998df.jpg Inspired by the roaming Bedouin tribes of the Middle Eastern deserts, these eight new troops open up a whole new world of siege tactics |
| Feature Spotlight: New AI Lords | 2025-04-04 | Dive into the devious Kahin, Sentinel, Nomad and Jewel! Greetings My Liege! As the warmth and green of spring finally begins to break through (At least... Here in the UK!) we are marching ever closer to our July 15th release date for this long awaited expanded remaster of your favourite Stronghold. We know July feels like a million miles away right now, but rest assured we are working hard to implement your feedback and suggestions before launch. This is thanks in no small part to the more than 6,000 of you who filled out our demo feedback form and the 150,000 potential future players who have wishlisted Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Editio |
| Crusader: Definitive Edition - Reveal Round-Up! | 2025-03-20 | ICYMI Since revealing Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition in January's Real-Time Strategy Fest, you have responded to our rally war cry in full force! With over 150,000 wishlists, 130,000 demo downloads and more than 6,000 helpful responses to our in-game player survey... Let's just say the granary is full, my Lord. While you wait for our July 15th release, we hope this collection of updates from the team here at Firefly helps bring you up to speed about what you can expect from the final game, before we march back to the desert fortresses and arid plains of the past. Please enjoy these updates and subscribe to Firefly Studios on YouTube |
| Play Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition Demo Today! | 2025-01-21 | Greetings Sire! Gird your loins and sharpen your steel because 23 years after it first launched, we’re incredibly excited to announce Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition! Travel back in time to the legendary crusades for the holy land in this new expanded definitive edition, releasing this year on July 15th 2025 with brand new content, elevated graphics and extensive player-requested features all rebuilt by game’s original developers! This title is many people’s favourite old-school 2D RTS, so taking this cult favourite and elevating it for the modern player has been an endeavour of passion for us – one that is only possible because of th |
| Stronghold 3 - Windows 11 24H2 Hotfix | 2025-01-13 | Date: 13/01/25 Players recently reported an issue running the game after the release of the Microsoft Windows 11 24H2 Update. The Microsoft Update prevented the game running in full screen. We are pleased to announce that we have resolved the issue. We have also supplied Microsoft with an explanation of what caused the issue which we hope they will use to release a new Microsoft Update to help any other games affected by the same issue caused by the Microsoft Windows 11 24H2 Update. |
| Valley of the Wolf & Spring Update - Coming April 30th! | 2024-03-28 | Snarls Soon you will see what it means to wage real warfare! That is... In our final instalment of the Stronghold: Definitive Edition 'Jewel' campaign! Valley of the Wolf extends the base game with seven new missions and extra achievements. Under the tutelage of the wise Sergeant, finish the fight by rescuing Sir Longarm's captured kin once and for all, when this new DLC releases for $2.99, €2.99 and £2.49 on April 30th. This final chapter of 'The Jewel' campaign pits players against the greatest rogue of them all... The vicious Wolf! To safely retrieve the Jewel of the North and put an end to The Wolf's insidious scourge, players must plunge |
| The Future of Stronghold | 2024-02-01 | Happy New Year! After a launch that quite frankly exceeded all our expectations... We are pleased to announce that the first substantial gameplay update for Stronghold: Definitive Edition releases on Steam on February 13th! A simultaneous launch of free content and paid DLC, the Winter Update will be available to all players, while the Swine's Bay Campaign DLC will retail for $2.99, £2.49 or €2.99. Feeling lucky? You could even win this DLC through a giveaway being run in the above development diary! Check it out to learn more and get the inside track on what to expect of Firefly in 2024 and beyond. As announced before launch, we intend to su |
| Stronghold: Definitive Edition - Out Now! | 2023-11-07 | Greetings sire! Your stronghold awaits you. The ultimate version of our first ‘castle sim’ is now available on Steam with upgraded visuals, new missions, Steam multiplayer support and more. We are incredibly excited to be launching our first 2D Stronghold game with new content for over 20 years and even more thrilled by your warm response to the game over the past few months. When we were in the planning stages for Stronghold: Definitive Edition we had faith in the demand for new 2D isometric strategy games, but could never be 100% sure. Your overwhelming support, feedback and love for our series’ 2D roots made this project possible and we ca |
| Stronghold: DE - Post-Release Roadmap | 2023-11-03 | Our final pre-release update for Stronghold: Definitive Edition is a big one... As we reveal our post-release plans for the game! We can now commit to two major updates for the game, with a new economic campaign and second castle trail planned alongside new maps and the usual mix of smaller features and fixes. These two updates will release early next year and arrive at the same time as one of two paid DLC military campaigns, which will each cost $2.99, £2.49 or €2.99. It gives us great pleasure to confirm these today alongside a recap of community driven features added since our most recent public demo, which now include (optional) auto-trad |
| New Dev Diaries & Gameplay | 2023-10-27 | Increased Troop Limits, Rally Points and Free Build Improvements! Developer Diary - Episode 2 In our second Stronghold: Definitive Edition dev diary we discuss the genesis of the game, while delving into changes made as part of this new edition. Join Stronghold series veterans Simon and Paul, as they provide insight into the creation of our latest game from their unique perspectives. We discuss the aims of Stronghold: DE and goals for everything from new single player content, all the way down to the smallest quality of life enhancements. Starting with the initial project pitch, then leading to questions of the scale of changes and finer elem |
| 🏰 New Stronghold: DE Demo Out Now 🏰 | 2023-10-09 | https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images/32942208/7d03753b4080826dbf9bd5d6741b9a9269472e24.jpg Castle builders and fans of feudal taxation rejoice! As part of Steam Next Fest: October Edition and in celebration of almost 200,000 wishlists, we have just released a brand new Stronghold: Definitive Edition demo - Our final playable build before launch! 👇 Play Now 👇 https://store.steampowered.com/app/2140020/Stronghold_Definitive_Edition/ Available exclusively on Steam as part of Next Fest, this demo features never-before-seen-missions - including your first look at our brand new single player campaign. This includes Missions 3 and 8 from |
| Definitive Edition - Campaign Trailer | 2023-08-29 | Our Gamescom Stronghold: Definitive Edition campaign reveal provides an exciting first look at parts one and two of The Jewel Campaign, in which players march across the devastated English hinterland in search of Sir Longarm's captured kin. A side story running in parallel to the military campaign released in 2001, The Jewel Campaign is designed to challenge veteran players of the 20 year old series with new twists on familiar Stronghold gameplay, while also extend the story of the original castle sim. Crafted by Firefly co-founders Simon Bradbury and Eric Ouellette, these new missions will be playable at launch, alongside both the original m |
| Stronghold: DE - Your Biggest Questions Answered! | 2023-08-18 | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqV6DYBgFzI Here it is... Every burning question we've seen online that we can answer at this point in development for Stronghold: Definitive Edition! We have been absolutely overwhelmed by thousands of responses to our demo player survey, 35,000 demo downloads and 150,000 wishlists (It's gone up since we recorded this video!). It means a huge deal to us that you are so excited for and invested in our very first Definitive Edition, which we want to make as fun, polished and true to the original game as possible. https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/32942208/5230ebbbb77438c6e6b4f7b48b572916e3bf1882.png So |
| Stronghold: Definitive Edition - Demo Now Live! | 2023-08-10 | https://store.steampowered.com/app/2140020/Stronghold_Definitive_Edition/ Download, play and give us feedback! Trial ends August 29th We have now released our first public playable demo for Stronghold: Definitive Edition, coming to Steam on November 7th! Currently available via the game's Steam store page, this demo was previously shared with press and content creators as part of our full reveal last month. This updated Alpha build demo contains new visuals, controls options, missions 4 and 11 from the original game's military campaign and a full tutorial for players new to the series. We are releasing this to gather as much feedback as possi |
| The Lore of Stronghold - Season 2 | 2022-09-01 | A second season of videos now available on the Firefly Studios YouTube channel, The Lore of Stronghold 2 covers some of your favourite characters from the anticipated castle sim sequel! https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/32942208/c41f0c7f986038febb789be15fad05e28bc13a9e.png Take heed and rejoice, for we bring glad tidings! Season 2 of the 'Lore of Stronghold', this time focusing on Stronghold 2, is here in full for your viewing pleasure. This new season covers the history behind Stronghold 2, our first 3D Stronghold featuring an all new cast of characters. Exploring our fictional narrative, we examine th |