Stronghold Crusader HD (2012)

Stronghold: Crusader is a 2002 real-time strategy video game developed by Firefly Studios and originally published by Gathering of Developers for Windows. It is a sequel to the 2001 video game Stronghold. Crusader has much in common with the original Stronghold, but differs from its predecessor in the fact that the game is no longer set in Britain, instead being set in the Middle East during the Crusades. Another prominent addition not found in its predecessor is a skirmish mode in single-player, allowing customized battles with AI opponents instead of the linear campaign. The game was also released as Stronghold Warchest. This version was a compendium of Stronghold and an enhanced version of Stronghold: Crusader, containing additional characters and an additional Crusader Trail series of missions. Stronghold Warchest was only released in a limited number of countries (e.g. USA or Poland), meaning players in the rest of the world have never encountered the second Crusader Trail, or second set of characters. This changed when an updated version of Stronghold Crusader, Stronghold: Crusader Extreme was released in early 2008. Stronghold: Crusader HD, a high-definition uplift of the original, was released in 2012 by Firefly Studios. Both Stronghold: Crusader and Stronghold: Crusader Extreme are included in this edition. A remaster subtitled Definitive Edition was released for Windows on 15 July 2025 by Firefly Studios, four years after Devolver Digital purchased the company.