Sega announced today that Company of Heroes 2 will invade PCs on June 25th in North America and Europe. The last we heard THQ had the next installment in the Company of Heroes franchise scheduled for a vague “March 2013” release, which means Sega’s new launch date is actually a three month delay. While nobody likes delays, the game did managed break free from being trapped in THQ bankruptcy limbo, so it’s a small price for fans to pay.
“Our acquisition by SEGA has given us the chance to work with a new partner that has a great track record of working with long standing PC franchises,” said Jonathan Dowdeswell, Executive Producer of Company of Heroes 2. “It gives us great confidence to know that we have a well aligned team working to bring the best experience we can to gamers around the world.”
Greg Wilson, Producer of Company of Heroes 2, added, “We hate to disappoint our fans with a later than expected date as we know they are eager to play but we feel that the additional time will help the team deliver the high quality sequel they deserve.”
Relic Entertainment also noted that a few players might not have to wait until June 25th to play Company of Heroes 2, as the developer is planning an upcoming closed beta to test and balance the game. Specifics of the closed beta were not revealed in today’s announcement, however, Relic promised to provide more details soon.
The Company of Heroes IP along with the game’s developer, Relic Entertainment, fetched the highest bid price in THQ’s bankruptcy auction last January, with Sega paying $26.3 million for the pair. While that was a decent price to pay for a development studio and nearly completed game, I’m sure Sega execs were kicking themselves a bit when Zenimax media ended up as the $300K second place bidder.
We will let you know as soon as more details about Company of Heroes 2 are announced, in the meantime check out the latest screenshots of the game in the gallery below.
