Panzer Corps 2

[Asid]

A Message from Panzer Corps Developer Kerensky
11 Jul 2024



Hi Generals,

Unfortunately, one of our developers, Kerensky, a cornerstone of the Panzer Corps team, couldn't join us for the celebration of Panzer Corps Day as he is hard at work on the imminent release of the Fall  of Poland DLC. However, he strongly wanted to be part of the celebration, so he has written a special message to all of you, fans of the Panzer Corps franchise:

“Hello Panzer Corps Community,

This is Kerensky here, author of the Panzer Corps Grand Campaign DLC series and Panzer Corps 2 Axis Operations series.  On this special Panzer Corps Day, I wanted to share some thoughts with you all, talking about the past, and maybe a little bit about the future of Panzer Corps as well.

I’d like to start with… what even is Panzer Corps Day, why mark the date at all, and what it means to me.  We want to celebrate the Panzer Corps series today, on July 11th, because this day marks the 13th year since the original game’s release in 2011.

For me personally, I’ve spent the majority of my adult life working on this title.  There is no project I’ve spent more time, energy, and effort into making.  I’m not sure there will ever be anything this grand in the years ahead, I can’t imagine what other project I would devote more than a decade of my life to.  My Slitherine Forum badge goes all the way back to January 2011.  I joined to participate in Panzer Corps.



So as long as the Panzer Corps Series goes on, I would like to try and mark this day each year.  Today is a day dedicated to anyone who has spent untold thousands of hours over more than a decade to create this game, but it is also a huge thank you to all the dedicated players and fans of the franchise that have supported our work.  We would not be here with the thousands of gamers who play and enjoy all of the Panzer Corps content.

We developers create these games, but it is only through the thriving playerbase that our game properly lives on and continues to exist.  Without your support, we could ill afford to spend all the time we have on this game series.
So thank you, for playing and experiencing our game.  It has been a dream come true to make games for a living!

Looking Back
To share some amusing stories of Panzer Corps development over the years…

I remember when I first heard of Panzer Corps.  Some strategy gaming webpage mentioned some company I hadn’t ever heard of was making a Panzer General spiritual successor.  And me, remembering fond memories of playing the original Panzer General on my original PlayStation console, I was definitely eager to see what this Panzer Corps was all about.

Immediately, I fell in love with the game.  Panzer General, and Panzer Corps, have always hit that sweet spot of gameplay for me.  Not too complicated in mechanics to be discouraging to dive into, but advanced enough and steeped in real history to make it the perfect gateway game introducing people to the genre of wargaming.

Right away, I busied myself with all kinds of aspects of Panzer Corps.  I saw so much potential in the series, I really wanted it to reach its full potential.  Back then, before the original game release, I did a whole bunch of volunteer work to help the game out.  I was doing gameplay testing, making MP scenarios, extending the USA invasion campaign with extra battles, cutting gameplay trailers, writing briefings, making custom scenarios to push the game to new heights beyond the traditional Panzer General ‘capture all VH’ gameplay...

Yes, I’ve been writing the majority of Panzer Corps briefings since the original game.  It was a real trip for me to go back and look at the original Panzer Corps tutorial, and realize I wrote it over a decade again.  You can tell it was my writing, even back then I was naming characters ‘Wagner’.  Just like Stefan Wagner from the Axis Operations series, heh.



And that gameplay trailer for the original Panzer Corps I mentioned, I definitely snuck my name of that unit being ‘21st Pz Kerensky’ in there.

[YouTube]https://www.youtube.com/embed/RBRJy4ojdVM[/YouTube]

Even way back in 2011, I’d been pushing Panzer Corps to grow with more varied and interesting scenario types and gameplay.

The most amusing story of all though.  For over a decade working on Panzer Corps, from the original game, through 10 Grand Campaign DLC, into Panzer Corps 2, through 9 Axis Operations DLC…

I have never actually met the main developer and person behind Panzer Corps in all those years.  I’ve never had a face to face meeting with Alex Shargin.  We have worked together on this series for untold countless hours, sometimes day in and day out.  There have been many occasions where we have done development around the clock.  Because our time zones are so far apart, I would often work for about 12 hours, and as I was finishing for the day and preparing to go to bed, Alex would be logging on and starting his workday.  We would exchange messages, update each other on the tasks we had done, what next priority was coming up.  Maybe about 10 hours later I would be awake again and returning to work, and Alex would be winding down his work day, and we would exchange messages on the tasks he was working on.  And as he would turn in for rest, I would now be working again in a new day.  Round-the-clock game development, not unlike the Round-the-clock bombing campaign the US and British waged on Germany during WW2.

But for all that time, I don’t actually think I’ve ever worked so much with anyone on anything in my whole life as I have worked with Alex.  But we have never actually ever met.

What a crazy world we live in.

Looking Forward
Outside of celebrating this day as a very special day for everyone involved and interested in the Panzer Corps Series, we have our eye on the future of the Panzer Corps Series as well.  Truth be told, we were really hoping to have Fall of Poland available for our community to start playing already, but a series of unfortunate delays and real life tragedies have gotten in the way of that.

We are definitely eager to get Fall of Poland out and available as soon as possible, we want to hear what our players think of this potential new series, and its additional elements of characters and extra storytelling as icing on top of the core Panzer Corps gameplay that has proven itself time and again as a true Classic.  We hope you saw and enjoyed the second Dev Diary we’re posting today, Fall of Poland is coming very soon!

Beyond the potential new War Stories series, well, we want to see what you, the players, think of War Stories and Fall of Poland.  We certainly hope you enjoy it, and the new extra twist added with that series, but only time will tell.

In closing, I just want to say that it has been a very unique and amazing career these past 13 years for me to work on the Panzer Corps franchise.  Panzer Corps 2 itself is four years old, but still shows amazingly healthy community size and playercounts, and we would absolutely love to support the title to its own full decade mark.

Thanks again for joining us in celebrating Panzer Corps Day and supporting our game for over a decade!  Here’s hoping there will be even more special days ahead for Panzer Corps to celebrate!”

[Asid]

War Stories - Fall of Poland is out now
Thu, 29 August 2024







Panzer Corps 2: War Stories - Fall of Poland is out now, bringing a unique and refreshing perspective to the beloved World War II strategy series. This latest DLC departs from the usual focus on the Wehrmacht, instead centering on the Polish defenders during the 1939 invasion of Poland.

Players will take command of the Polish forces, tasked with resisting the German onslaught through a series of historically grounded scenarios. The campaign promises a deeply immersive experience, highlighting the courage and resilience of Poland in the face of overwhelming odds. With narrative-driven gameplay, "Fall of Poland" offers a compelling portrayal of one of the most significant early conflicts of World War II.

Fall of Poland is a must-play for strategy enthusiasts and history buffs, providing a new angle on the war by showcasing the struggle of the defenders rather than the invaders​

New Gameplay features coming in Fall of Poland

[/b]

• All new support for displaying images during mid-scenario messages
• A new ‘Key Character’ system to track the fate of unique individuals across the campaign
• Additional support for the Polish faction, including General’s Portraits, Hero Portraits, and Unit Award Medals
• 21 new units for Poland and Germany, ranging from modifications of existing vehicles such as the Panzer IID and TKS 20mm to unique Polish equipment of Uhlan Cavalry and even some ultra rare prototype aircraft

14 Scenario List

[/b]

• Krojanty
• Battle of Mlawa
• Battle of Westerplatte
• Bydgoszcz
• Early Warsaw
• Kutno Camp
• Strykow
• Lowicz
• Kampinoska Forest
• Escape from Warsaw
• Kowel
• Battle of Lwow
• Tomaszow Lubelski
• Cernauti 1939

[Asid]

Fall of Poland | Post-Launch Dev Log
Wed, 9 October 2024





Salutations, Panzer Generals.

It’s been a month since the debut of Panzer Corps 2’s latest DLC, and we wanted to take a moment to share some insider insights with our community.

First of all, we are continually amazed and humbled by the reception our work on Panzer Corps 2 receives.  To the thousands of players who have embarked on Panzer Corps 2 campaigns, and even now continue to do so on a daily basis, we have nothing but the deepest appreciation for all of you; especially in this day and age of games being shut down from lack of interest and of players.

We’re always thrilled to read about your experiences with our campaigns, and look at screenshots and media of your campaign playthroughs.  There really isn’t quite a feeling like the one we get when we read about the fun players are having with Panzer Corps 2; it’s our reward for all of the countless hours of work that goes into the planning, research, construction, and playtesting content for Panzer Corps 2.



Now that said, there have also been some very articulate criticisms in your player feedback, and while we enjoy bathing in the glow of fun and fuzzy positive vibes, it would be a disservice to ignore well constructed criticisms.  Valid criticisms offer an opportunity to learn and grow.  Afterall, it takes a really passionate fan to know, and care, enough about something to take their time to sit down and write about it in detail.

To keep this Developer Log on the short and sweet side though, there is just one of these criticisms I’d like to address directly, because I think it should be explained better, so you can see our developer perspective on what we are aiming for.

Something Panzer Corps 2 has been doing recently is to have some deliberately inaccurate or misleading objective design.  Here is an example from Fall of Poland.



That objective to ‘Rally Encircled Border Guards’ is something players very quickly found out was seemingly impossible to achieve, and I’m here to tell you, yes, it is actually very much impossible.  So don’t worry that you were unable to achieve it, that’s why we made that objective not hand out a ‘game over’ defeat screen.

So why is that objective listed?  Well, when we put things like that into the campaigns, we’re trying to create some ‘fog of war’ with imperfect or incomplete information and directions.  The history buffs among us know how many of the battles of World War II turn out, and have probably some inkling of how the recreations of many of those battles within Panzer Corps 2 will also probably be turning out.



But to actually be in that moment, your information would be incomplete.  On the morning of September 1st 1939, the Polish soldier on the border with Germany doesn’t immediately know a full scale invasion is happening all across Poland.  The only instruction you’ve been given is to alert and organize border defenses against some kind of incursion, and this realization that the border troops are completely overwhelmed and overrun well past any possibility to preserve or rally, that’s a window into the realization that bigger events are afoot than anyone in that place and in that moment in time would be aware of.

Bottom line though, we definitely recognize this sort of thing can be confusing to players, even if that confusion is by design, perhaps in the future it can be done in a way that is less anxiety producing and more mysterious and thematic.  We’ll certainly keep that in mind moving forward, as we try our best to read and assimilate the player feedback we regularly receive.

We definitely have some very interesting ideas and plans still yet ahead for Panzer Corps 2, and we’ll be back to tell you all about them hopefully sooner than later.

[Asid]

Free Content and Update v1.13.1
Tue, December 3, 2024




Achtung Panzer Generals.

We have a grab bag of goodies to share in this news update today.



In the latest Panzer Corps 2 patch, we?ve got some general fixes and improvements for the game, some fine tuning adjustments for the recent Fall of Poland campaign, but most excitingly and also the focus of this announcement is the release of four brand new scenarios for all owners of Panzer Corps 2 to enjoy... at no additional cost and with no DLC ownership required.  Consider these scenarios as our holiday gift to you, our players and community, who have kept Panzer Corps going and going for over 13 years and counting.  Thank you once again, and we hope you enjoy the scenarios even more than these previews of them we have for you today.

Change log:

• Added 4 new single scenarios: End in Poland, Attu, Imphal, and Rhone River
• Fixed a few minor issues in War Stories: Fall of Poland campaign

The first scenario we?d like to cover is fittingly set to the current season and takes place during a stormy winter battle, the Battle of Attu.  In this scenario, you?ll get an opportunity to lead a joint US and Canadian force in the struggle to liberate Attu, part of the Aleutian islands off the coast of Alaska, which had been occupied by the Japanese in June of ?42.



Be prepared for a very unique amphibious landing battle that actually takes place during a snowstorm, definitely a one-of-a-kind battle with that element in it.  But that?s not the only surprise in store in this historical scenario, and we don?t want to spoil every surprise here in this reveal...



The second free scenario takes you back to Poland in 1939, but unlike the recent fall of Poland DLC, in the Battle of Kock you?ll be commanding German forces in the final battle of the Polish Campaign that marked the absolute end of organized Polish Resistance.



Expect to see many of the brand new units added during the Fall of Poland DLC to make their appearances here, as all of those units are included with the base game of Panzer Corps 2 and they are not directly tied to the campaign DLC purchase.



The next scenario in this free content pack moves to India, with the opening stages of the crucial Battle of Imphal, as played from a Japanese perspective.  A large roster of Japanese units has been added to Panzer Corps 2 ever since the release of Axis Operations 1946, and that makes this scenario the first ever Panzer Corps 2 scenario with the Japanese as the playable faction.



In the Battle of Imphal, you?ll be fighting a very different kind of war compared to fighting across the plains of Europe or Steppes of Russia.  Between your Japanese forces and their ultimate goal of Imphal are thick jungles and mountainous terrain that characterized the border between India and Burma.  Good air support and plenty of units capable of fighting in dense terrain absolutely characterize the opening act of this battle.  But as for what happens after the breakthrough, well that would be another spoiler...



And last but not least, we have one fictional scenario to join the previous three historical scenarios of this free content package.  This one is set during June of 1940, at the end of the Battle of France.  In this scenario, you?ll actually be playing as a French force, attempting to stall both German panzers and also Italian invaders from capturing more and more of France before an armistice is reached.



We hope you all enjoyed this preview of the pack of free scenarios being included in this latest Panzer Corps 2 patch.  And to further celebrate, we?ll be putting Panzer Corps 2 on sale for anyone new who is interested in picking up the game to enjoy its wealth of hundreds of scenarios and many historical World War II campaigns.

Thank you once again to all our awesome players and to the community as a whole.  We wish you all Happy Holidays and best wishes through the rest of winter.  We?ll be right back with more news and updates to share very early next year.

[Asid]

Frontlines - Cyrenaica | Dev Diary #1 - On the Double - Factions and Units
Wed, 29 January 2025





Good morning, Lieutenants!

Welcome to the first Developer Diary exploring the upcoming Frontlines - Cyrenaica DLC Campaign for Panzer Corps 2.
There?s all kinds of interesting details to be found in the latest upcoming Panzer Corps 2 Campaign, so let?s dive into it!

FRONTLINES CAMPAIGN
The campaign depicts the Battle of Cyrenaica from mid-September 1940 to mid-March 1941.
In the summer of 1940, a German attack on Great Britain seems imminent. Seeking a place among the victors, Italy launches a surprise offensive from Libya into British-controlled Egypt. This marks the beginning of the North African Campaign.
This campaign covers the operations known as Operation E (the Italian invasion of Egypt) and Operation Compass (the British counterattack to the Italian invasion, and the successive invasion of Libya).


In line with the Frontlines series, these campaigns will be shorter but highly intense. This focused approach allows us to present specific operations in greater detail.

These operations are often overlooked in history books or quickly summarized to focus on the ?core? events of World War II. However, these operations were crucial in shaping the decisions of both sides and were pivotal to the events that followed.
So, we want to dive deeper into them as we believe they are worth being shown and played in a dedicated DLC Campaign.


Given their nature as ?rapid battles?, the Frontline series is perfectly suited to showcase their importance, as these battles are primarily fought in cities or within a few kilometers, offering a zoomed-in and more detailed approach.

DOUBLE CAMPAIGN


For the first time in Panzer Corps 2,  we want you to experience the same battles from both perspectives, each one with their own perception of the events and different objectives to achieve victory (well, almost!). For each campaign you will create and command your core army for both factions: the Italians and the British Commonwealth.

FACTIONS
Talking about Italians and British Commonwealth, you will primarily face off against the 10th Army for the British and the 7th Armoured Division for the Italians, along with the Commonwealth forces that supported them: the Free French, the 4th Indian Division, and the 6th Australian Division.


Although the Italians had numerical superiority, their vehicles and firepower were far less effective than those of the British Commonwealth. We?ve aimed to capture this dynamic in both campaigns.


On top of that, we want to give space to all the prominent personalities present on the battlefield. You will encounter ?and be able to use? a variety of heroes who played key roles in these battles, each one with traits that better reflect their real-life actions and contributions.

PORTRAITS
In this campaign, we want to give more depth to the personalities who shaped the events at a higher level. We?ve created detailed portraits of key generals and governors, each with multiple expressions that reflect different situations. These figures will not only appear in briefings, but will also provide a narrative thread throughout the campaign, offering more immersion and context.



For the Italian forces, among others, you'll encounter Generals Mario Berti and Giuseppe Tellera, Commanders of the Tenth Army, and General Rodolfo Graziani, the Governor of Libya. Graziani?s controversial decisions had significant consequences in the desert battles, and you will directly experience the consequences of his choices.



On the British side, General Archibald Wavell, Commander-in-Chief, and General Richard O'Connor, known for his bold leadership during Operation Compass, will guide you through the campaign.
By integrating these historical figures into the narrative, we aim to enrich your experience, providing both strategic guidance and an immersive story that brings the decisions of the generals to life.




MAJOR UNITS
Last (for now) but not least, here are some of the units from both factions that you can expect to encounter.


The primary armored vehicles used in these battles were the M11/39 and the M13/40 for Italy, and Cruiser Tanks and Matilda II for the British.


Talking about the air force, you will find the Fiat CR.42 Falco and the Gloster Gladiator, which often engaged in 1v1 aerial duels over the skies of Cyrenaica.


But overall, a very important role was played by the recon units, such as the British Morris CS9 or the Italian AB40. Their high mobility in the challenging and hostile desert terrain provided a significant advantage to the factions that used them most effectively.

In addition to them, we wanted to add some new and peculiar units that played a main role in these operations.

ITALIAN UNITS
Moto Guzzi TriAlce
The Moto Guzzi TriAlce was a versatile and nimble motorcycle designed for quick maneuvers and transport. Produced in 1939 to replace the Moto Guzzi GT 20, it was used extensively in all three of its versions: single-seat, two-seat, and sidecar.
Armed with a Breda M37 8mm machine gun, the TriAlce saw action in almost every battle.
A very useful and, in fact, used Recon unit.

Ascari del Cielo (Black Devils)
The Ascari del Cielo, also known as the ?Black Devils,? were the first paratroopers of the Italian Army, although they were never used as airborne units in combat situations.
They were composed of Libyan personnel of Arab-Berber ethnicity, with extensive knowledge of the terrain and the desert.
During the North African campaign, they were heavily deployed as infantry.

Mortaio da 81 mod.35
The Mortaio da 81 mod.35 was one of the most versatile and widely used weapons by Italian forces during the North African campaign in World War II. Developed in 1935, this 81mm mortar was praised for its combination of mobility and effectiveness on the battlefield. Its relatively lightweight made it easy to transport across the challenging desert terrain, where speed and adaptability were crucial for providing vital indirect fire support to Italian infantry units.

Cannone da 65/17
The Cannone da 65/17 was a lightweight and versatile artillery piece used by the Italian Army. Designed as a mountain gun, it was highly portable, easy to dismantle, and well-suited for challenging terrains, like the North African desert.
This gun served as both an artillery piece and an anti-tank weapon, though its effectiveness against modern tanks was limited. However, its simplicity, mobility, and durability ensured its continued use, despite being pretty outdated by World War II standards.

BRITISH UNITS
RR Armored CarThe Rolls-Royce Armored Car was a robust vehicle designed for both mobility and firepower, primarily used as a recon unit due to its high mobility.
Rolls-Royce played a significant role in the construction of this vehicle, as well as in the development of the Rolls-Royce Merlin Engine, which powered some of the most iconic aircraft of World War II, including the Spitfire, the Hurricane, and the Battle.

Cruiser Tanks (MKII - MKIII)
Cruiser tanks were a series of fast and agile tanks, each one improving upon its predecessor. Since various types of Cruisers were used, we aim to ?complete the series,? adding the MKII and MKIII to offer more choice and enhance historical accuracy.

The Cruiser MKII, also known as the A10, was a heavier version of the MKI, armed with a QF 2-pounder 40mm gun and two BESA 7.92mm machine guns.
Designed to be an infantry tank, it lacked the necessary characteristics and was instead used as a heavy cruiser.

The Cruiser MKIII, also known as the A13, was the first tank of its class to use the Christie suspension system, which significantly enhanced speed and cross-country performance.
This innovation made it faster and more maneuverable than its predecessors, allowing it to operate effectively as a medium cruiser and play a key role in the desert campaigns of North Africa, where mobility and speed were crucial.

Bofors 37mm Port?e

The Bofors 37mm Port?e was an adaptation of the Bofors 37mm anti-tank gun, modified to increase mobility in the challenging terrain of North Africa. The gun was mounted on vehicles, such as trucks, allowing for quick transport across the battlefield.
Its armament was capable of penetrating the armor of light and medium vehicles with relative ease, but its effectiveness decreased as tank armor improved, and it was gradually phased out during the course of World War II.

NEW UNITS LIST
To wrap things up, here is the complete list of new units arriving with this DLC, expanding your strategic options on the battlefield.

Italian

• Moto Guzzi TriAlce
• Ascari del Cielo (Black devils)
• Mortaio da 81 M35
• 65/17 M13

British Commonwealth

• Bofors 37mm AT Port?e
• RR Armored Car
• Gladiator Mk.II
• Hurricane Mk.I (Tac R)
• Cruiser Mk.II
• Cruiser Mk.III
• AU Engineers

CONCLUSIONS
That?s all for this first Dev Diary, thank you for joining us.
Start packing your bags and get ready to face desert conditions, sandstorms, and tackle the unique events you?ll encounter.
In the next Dev Diary, we?ll dive deeper into the environment and some key historical events, exploring how they?re integrated into this Panzer Corps 2 DLC.
See you there.

At ease, Lieutenants!

[Asid]

Frontlines - Cyrenaica is out now
Tue, 11 March 2025



Panzer Corps 2: Frontlines - Cyrenaica is finally available. This expansion immerses players in the North African Campaign, focusing on the strategic battles for Cyrenaica during Operation E and Operation Compass.




To celebrate the launch, the DLC is available at a 10% discount for two weeks.

Panzer Corps 2: Frontlines - Cyrenaica


To celebrate the launch, the DLC is available at a 10% discount for two weeks.

Players can experience two distinct campaigns, leading both Italian and British forces through historically significant scenarios. Each mission is playable from both perspectives, offering diverse strategic opportunities.

The DLC introduces new units, including the Italian Moto Guzzi TriAlce motorcycle and British Gloster Gladiator biplane, enhancing tactical gameplay. Players must navigate harsh desert conditions, manage supplies, and adapt to dynamic weather challenges like sandstorms.

Innovative mechanics, such as diminishing core slots and hero-based gameplay featuring historical generals, add depth to the strategic experience. Decisions made in one scenario influence subsequent missions, emphasizing the importance of strategic planning.

Additionally, the Panzer Corps 2 saga is discounted by up to 50% for a limited time. Don't miss out and check out our Complete and Frontlines bundles:

[Asid]

Panzer Corps 2: Elite - Ghost Division
Tue, 6 May 2025



Panzer Corps 2: Elite



Achtung, Panzer Generals!

We have a surprise announcement to share with you today.  Not content to remain resting on our laurels over the recently released dynamic Cyrenaica campaign, Panzer Corps 2 is powering forward with yet another new campaign.  Since Panzer Corps 2 is still going strong more than 5 years after our initial launch, we?re looking to add some truly Elite content to our line up of awesome campaigns!

To herald this new campaign, we?ve picked none other than the venerated 7th Panzer Division, perhaps better known as Rommel?s Ghost Division.



A Potential New Beginning
There?s a few goals we?re aiming to achieve with Panzer Corps 2?s Elite campaigns, and since is this our first reveal, we wanted to lay them out for our community right off the bat.

The very first thing we want to say is that Panzer Corps 2 is going to join in the fight against increasing inflation, and therefore we?re working towards actually reducing the price of this campaign compared to the standard Panzer Corps 2 DLC price! Panzer Corps 2 wouldn?t be so active with new content and new updates after all this time without our amazing community, and the last thing we want to do is to just hike prices on our loyal community of awesome gamers.

Secondly, we?re aiming to use the Elite campaigns as a vehicle to more rapidly deploy more playable nations into Panzer Corps 2?s campaigns.  Now some players of you might be asking why would we start with a German Division in this case, but we?ve got ?Panzer? baked directly into our game title and we really to lean on our strengths for a strong an opening as possible.



Something else we?re going be to experimenting with is longer gameplay timelines.  We haven?t seen a campaign cover all of the technology and unit advancement that comes from a 1939-1945 journey since the stock Panzer Corps 2 campaign, and this focus on the achievements of a single division through the course of the war will finally bring that aspect back.

So while we certainly have our plans, in this particular case we?re actually very curious to hear from the community on which WWII faction you are most interested in seeing as a potential new campaign.  Is it time for a Japanese campaign in the spotlight, or perhaps you are itching to take the fight to the Axis in a Soviet campaign?  Let us know in the comment section!

The first Elite Division



In all of our research of the enormous amount of Axis and Allied divisions that fought during World War II, one absolutely stood out above the rest in so many ways.  From the length of their service stretching all the way from September of 1939 to April of 1945 to some of their extraordinary accomplishments such as the drive to the Channel Coast, their feats endure through time in real military analysis of their exploits, in our history books, in inspiring stories we tell, and even in the games we play.

To the Germans, they were designated as the Elite 7th Panzer Division.
To their enemies, they were known as the Ghost Division!

We?ll reveal a lot more information about this new campaign in the days ahead, but for now you can check out this link for some more details and screenshots.

Upcoming Panzer Corps Day

Did you know that 2024?s Panzer Corps Day was a success way beyond our expectations?  On that day, our active population of thousands of players were joined by a surge of over 100,000 viewers watching various Panzer Corps 2 Streams!

Our only regret then was that we didn?t have enough on offer to showcase to so many eyes focused on our game, and so we?re really looking to remedy that this year on July 11th.

In fact, Elite - Ghost Division was originally supposed to come out for Panzer Corps Day, but we put respect on their name and emulated their swiftness with the speed of our development to the point that we?re actually aiming for Ghost Division to launch in May, just this month!

But that also means we?ve got even more, and potentially even bigger, reveals still saved in store to make this year?s Panzer Corps Day celebration way more massive.  Stay tuned for an upcoming Elite: Ghost Division Dev Diary and release date announcement, and get ready for a potential multitude of goodies later this year on July 11th Panzer Corps Day!

[Asid]

Elite - Ghost Division | Dev Diary
Thu, 15 May 2025






Before we begin today, we wanted to just take a quick moment to once thank our incredible community for their overwhelming feedback generated from our Elite ? Ghost Division announcement.

Facing the bombardment of hundreds upon hundreds of points of engagement across our various feeds is quite the humbling experience for us; it truly is amazing to really see that so many people have such passion for Panzer Corps.  It?s an honor to read so many of your insights, ideas, and yes even criticisms, because it totally demonstrates how much our community really cares.  So once again, our deepest thanks to all of our community, we?re absolutely going to continue to do our best to provide you the best Panzer Corps gameplay content we can make.

Now then, on to the Developer Diary!


Welcome to the Elite ? Ghost Division Developer Diary and DLC preview.

As Ghost Division swiftly moves towards its May launch date, we wanted to do a little bit of a deeper dive into the upcoming content.  We?ve got a whole bunch of cool stuff to showcase, from scenario analysis to revealing our internal thought processes, so let?s begin!

Something New, Something Familiar
One of the biggest internal objectives we have with these Elite campaigns is to bring back more focus on the classic Panzer Corps combat gameplay, while mostly regulating some of the more whacky and wild elements to optional aspects of the campaign.

The best way to explain this will be to look at some of the scenario design within Ghost Division, so let?s take a look at a couple of maps and see what that?s all about.

The first scenario will actually take place in Poland before the formation of the 7th Panzer Division with its predecessor unit that was known as the 2nd Light Division.


As you can see from that screenshot, Ghost Division is immediately starting on healthy sized maps with significant turn limits, so players can anticipate plenty of action through every step of this campaign. 



From your starting positions, objectives are spread out before you in many directions, offering the player ample choice on where to focus their forces as the battle unfolds.  And since someone is going to inevitably ask about it, we can talk about the various types of objectives because their design philosophy is important for allowing players the option to disable the turn limit, should you so choose.

Victory Objectives are the conditions that directly control your campaign progression:



These are objectives that must be met and they also instant award scenario victory upon completion, so if you?re hunting for bonuses, make sure to save the Victory Objective for last!  These objectives are marked with solid outlines around such hexes.

Prestige Objectives are your primary source of prestige resource income, and they are marked with dotted outlines. 



In the past, players have frequently struggled with predetermined prestige settings.  Some players will find themselves starving of prestige that effectively ends their ability to repair their forces and continue to wage an effective campaign, while others find themselves so flush with prestige that they basically have unlimited resources at their disposal.  By removing almost all predetermined prestige settings and instead populating each scenario with an abundance of bonus Prestige Objectives, we?re hoping to increase player agency in terms of economic management.  If you?re starving for prestige, there are very specific tasks you can aim for that will provide huge prestige rewards, while players who feel they have enough prestige can instead bypass some of these objectives to give themselves extra time to tackle Special Objectives.

Special objectives are where we?ve put in some of the more complex and advanced DLC mechanics, and also really ratcheted up the difficulty.



These optional tasks will definitely test your mettle to complete, and they will always offer some pretty fantastic rewards, such as access to unpurchaseable equipment or perhaps a chance to custom pick a new hero?s abilities.

That?s just the beginning of your campaign, and as it progresses, you will find even larger maps with more options on how to approach them laid out before you.




Historical Context
Something else we?d like to aim for in the Elite campaigns is to keep the all important focus on history omnipresent without steering too far into heavy narrative or character-centric elements.  While some players absolutely adore deep diving into the kind of writing that frequently colored the Axis Operations series, especially the alternate history branch, we definitely recognize that not everyone was a fan of seeing some briefing dialogue-only scenarios.

Instead, Elite campaigns are going to strive for maximum gameplay with minimum friction to get right into historical Panzer combat.  The whole concept of this particular campaign design is to showcase the real history of some of the most elite and legendary divisions that fought during World War II, and we want their heroic exploits to really speak for themselves.


Ideally, we?re going to spotlight every major nation of World War II with this treatment, but of course that is highly contingent on producing campaigns our players really want to engage with, so we?re not going to get ahead of ourselves too quickly on talking about distant plans here.

The Art of Ghost Division

You have probably noticed some of the awesome imagery we?ve been embedding throughout the various Ghost Division articles, and we wanted to make special mention of them real quick.  They?ve all been drawn by the artist Adri?n Rodr?guez, and we?re super stoked to have them to enhance the characters and events that populate the Elite ? Ghost Division campaign!



Because generative AI artwork is such a hot topic though, we thought we?d better briefly talk about it.  While generative AI artwork is an incredible technology that is improving by leaps and bounds at an unbelievable rate, we just didn?t feel comfortable utilizing it for any aspect of Panzer Corps 2, past or present.  All of our artwork is human made, and all of our writing is human written.  One single person wrote all of the base game briefings, and that same person wrote the entire Axis Operations saga without any AI aid.  I know this, because that person is me, Kerensky!

So again, while generative AI is pretty amazing stuff, it?s our official position that it won?t ever be utilized in the creation of official Panzer Corps 2 assets, files, or materials.

Now that said, there is no such restriction placed upon the custom modding scene, so if any aspiring modder out there is wondering, you are fully allowed to create mods of Panzer Corps 2 that invoke things such as AI generated briefing VO.  In potential anticipation of that, in part of the Panzer Corps 2 update that accompanies the launch of Ghost Division we?re investigation the possibility for custom player mod campaigns to enable their own sets of VO audio files.




Conclusion
We hope you all enjoyed this sneak preview of the upcoming Elite ? Ghost Division campaign.  Get ready for its imminent release scheduled for May 29th, and then stay tuned for way more Panzer Corps 2 goodies to start rolling out right afterwards as we march towards July 11th Panzer Corps Day, marking our 14th year of working on the Panzer Corps franchise!

[Asid]

Elite - Ghost Division | Out Now
Thu, 29 May 2025




Panzer Corps 2: Elite - Ghost Division


Panzer Corps 2: Elite ? Ghost Division is now available for $4.99, inviting you to command one of the most iconic units of World War II through a new nine-scenario campaign. This DLC follows the full combat history of the 7th Panzer Division from its early battles in Poland as the 2nd Light Division, through the breakthrough in France, to brutal fighting on the Eastern Front.

Famous for its speed and surprise tactics, the Ghost Division campaign emphasizes momentum and historical accuracy, offering a mix of classic objectives and challenging bonus goals that reward you with rare prototype gear.

Panzer Corps 2 Complete Edition

Includes 15 items
Panzer Corps 2
Panzer Corps 2: General Edition Upgrade
Panzer Corps 2: Axis Operations - 1939
Panzer Corps 2: Axis Operations - Spanish Civil War
Panzer Corps 2: Axis Operations - 1940
Panzer Corps 2: Axis Operations - 1941
?135.52

The Introduction from the book ?The 7th Panzer Division?
The Ghost Division DLC for Panzer Corps 2 is deeply rooted in real historical events, with the developers carefully tracing the 7th Panzer Division?s wartime path to shape the structure, scenarios, and tone of the campaign. As a tribute to that legacy, here?s an excerpt from the introduction of The 7th Panzer Division in World War II, a book written by veterans to preserve the memory of their unit and offer future generations a deeper understanding of its history.

Thirty years after the surrender of 1945, we published the book ?The 7th Panzer Division in World War II,? which won admiration inside and outside of Germany. We did it to remember, and to express our thanks to the men of our division whom we have buried on the battlefields for their final sleep.

Today, another thirteen years later, the contours of war experiences have become less clear through the long passage of time, and even in our own memory many a picture of the service and sacrifice of Rommel?s onetime ?Ghost Division? has faded away. Although the reality of the present day surrounds us and the face pace of time wipes out one memory after another, the general striving for clear historical portrayal has grown stronger, even the younger people want to understand the reality of the war?s events.

For these reasons, there arose the plan to portray the war history of the old 7th Panzer Division once again. By presenting this work, our wish is fulfilled that it may be accepted not only a contribution to the better understanding of our history, but rather this volume of pictures should cause us to reflect and, through constant striving and mutual understanding, be able to build a good future.

Gerhard Hohensee
Honorary President
Tradition Society of the 7th Panzer Division
Summer 1978

[Asid]

Frontlines - Westwall | Announcement + Beta
Wed, 4 June 2025



We?re excited to announce Panzer Corps 2 ? Frontlines: Westwall, the next chapter in the Frontlines series, focused on the critical battles along the Siegfried Line between September and December 1944.

Panzer Corps 2: Frontlines - Westwall

Panzer Corps 2 ? Frontlines: Westwall


After the collapse of German forces in the Falaise Pocket and the liberation of Paris, the Allies turned their attention to the heavily fortified German border. As commander of US Army formations, you?ll lead the charge through fortified zones, dense forests, and urban strongholds, from the outskirts of Aachen to the Saar region in southern Germany.

Frontlines: Westwall introduces a dynamic campaign that evolves in intensity. Early progress will come quickly, but the deeper you advance, the tougher the resistance becomes. The DLC features a wide variety of mission types, fortified enemy positions, and several new units and visual elements to enhance immersion.

If you?re interested in helping us test this upcoming content, beta sign-ups are now open. This is your chance to gain early access and provide feedback on the campaign before release.

Click here to join the beta.

We look forward to your feedback as we prepare to launch this new addition to the Panzer Corps 2 experience.

[Asid]

Westwall - Dev Diary #1
Thu, 12 June 2025



Welcome to the first Dev Diary for Panzer Corps 2: Frontlines - Westwall, the newest entry in the Frontlines series. 



To get things started we explore the broad idea for this new campaign and share some more general info about it. As this is the second US-themed DLC we?ll also highlight similarities and differences compared to the earlier Frontlines-Bulge campaign.

More Dev Diaries with details about campaign progress, specific battles included, and new additions to the game will follow soon. As with Bulge, the full campaign path, and a list of Frequently Asked Questions are provided later separately



Several details seen in this preview are not final and may still change.

Border Wars
Frontlines - Westwall is played once again from the American side. The DLC depicts the Siegfried Line campaign from ca. mid-September 1944 to early December 1944.

But while the Battle of the Bulge is a quite compact subject ? happening in a timeframe of ca. 8 weeks, and in a rather limited area ? the Siegfried Line campaign is a somewhat different beast, so let?s get a bit more background first.



Siegfried Line is the term usually used in English for the German border defenses built in the late 1930s. In German these were simply called the Westwall, which made it back into the Anglosphere as the West Wall.

These fortifications were not as extensive as World War I trench lines, nor as impressive as the French Maginot Line with its sophisticated underground installations. Still the Westwall, made of several fortified zones littered with mines, anti-tank obstacles and a myriad of pillboxes, soon posed a serious problem for the Allies.

Outside Germany the existence of those defenses was certainly known, but the Allies had only a vague understanding of the exact locations and depth of the fortifications.



As the Westwall covered nearly the entire German border from the Netherlands down to Switzerland almost everything that happened in fall 1944 on the western front is either part of the Siegfried Line campaign, or at least somehow linked to it.

So in a broad sense this DLC depicts Allied efforts to liberate Western Europe as far as possible ? notwithstanding isolated locations still held by the Wehrmacht ? with the goal to approach and breach the Siegfried Line to finally enter German core territory. 



To the wall...
We will go more into the details of the campaign in the next diary, but for now only this: Frontlines - Westwall offers a larger variety of battles compared to Bulge. 

Players get to fight in the Low Countries, France, and in Germany, in vastly different settings and conditions ranging from rather open areas with towns and villages in between to heavy terrain covered by dense forest or larger swamps that restrict movement. 



Often maps are a mix of the above, and on top of that several scenarios include larger urban areas protected by extensive fortifications.

Players don?t have to destroy each and every bunker on the map, but may get tasked to clear specific areas or simply need to break through fortified lines to be able to reach the mission objectives.

?and into Germany
But once you are past those fortifications things are not always easier, as German armored reserves may just be waiting there to make their move.

That requires players to balance their cores ? of course heavy hitting tanks and tank destroyers rule in the open, but without experienced infantry and artillery support they can quickly get stuck. 

However, if you overdo it on the infantry side to get through the fortifications more easily you may suffer once you get into tank terrain again.



Since we start in late summer the USAAF can play a bigger role in this DLC. On the other hand the Luftwaffe might become a more frequent problem soon, even if it does not have the numbers to challenge Allied air superiority. 

As the campaign progresses adverse conditions like rain and even the first snow may temporarily hamper air operations, but this never gets as serious as in the early stage of the Battle of the Bulge.

The more things change, the more they stay the same
Despite all these differences this is still part of the Frontlines series, so it should be no surprise that there are also similarities to Bulge: 



Frontlines - Westwall includes more battles than Bulge. Since players often ask for longer campaigns this DLC offers a linear campaign, and so the longest campaign path is, well, longer. 

But map scope and detail are very much similar to Bulge, so you can expect detailed maps, and a consistent or near-consistent scale in many scenarios of the campaign. 



Most battles are based on historic developments, so there are no outright ahistorical scenarios. Only the intro is more loosely based on the first US actions at the Westwall, but still has a historic core. 

Sometimes details are changed or added purely for gameplay reasons in various battles - that is no different from any other content for Panzer Corps.

As in Frontlines - Bulge the timeframe of this DLC is somewhat challenging with key developments happening simultaneously, especially early in the campaign.



To deal with this we give players the chance to experience many of these developments in consecutive scenarios, where we just jump in at a certain date, and join the next battle a bit later.

This too is very similar to the approach taken in Bulge, so individual scenarios often focus on key aspects or crucial stages of certain battles. 

Conclusion
That?s all for the first part of this Dev Diary. Hopefully this appetizer gives you a good impression of the new campaign. The next part with more details about campaign progress and some of the battles is not too far away, so watch this space!