Developer Relic Entertainment, known for its work on a host of real-time strategy titles in the past including the Company of Heroes and the Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War franchises, has announced a new game. Named Earth vs Mars, it looks like it will be a departure for the studio since it will be a turn-based strategy game.
As its name might imply, the story in Earth vs Mars will revolve around the Earth’s military as it tries to take on a Martian invasion. The aesthetics are quite old-school, with the Earth’s military forces using classic sci-fi tropes, and the Martian army flying in with the classical Flying Saucers. Check out the trailer below.
A twist in the gameplay is the presence of the Splice-O-Tron, which allows player to combine their human soldiers with different animals, creating powerful hybrid soldiers with new abilities. The game will feature a full campaign, where players will also get to unlock new creatures and upgrades as they get deeper into the campaign. In total, the campaign will feature 30 hand-crafted missions.
For multiplayer fans, Earth vs Mars will also include a 1-on-1 PvP mode, with both players being free to choose between the human military and the Martian invaders. There will also be a skirmish mode where players can challenge AI opponents in 1-on-1 battles.
The core gameplay seems to be inspired quite a bit by Nintendo’s Advance War series, complete with battles between units taking place in a separate scene, complete with small soldiers shooting at floating flying saucers.
Earth vs Mars doesn’t yet have a release date. It is currently available for wishlisting on PC via Steam.
The announcement of Earth vs Mars comes shortly after the studio announced its plans to support its pre-existing games while also working on smaller-scale titles that it can release more often. Earth vs Mars seems to be one of the first major steps in that direction.
The company plans to keep supporting its other major strategy game out right now, Company of Heroes 3, as well, with future updates and new content. Along with this, Relic also wants to dig deeper into its history to bring more of its older titles to modern audiences. This includes re-releases, remasters, and potentially even new titles in older franchises.
The company had split from Sega back in March 2024 after having worked together for just over a decade. The process was seemingly not painless, however, as Relic had to lay off 41 of its employees following the split. The studio has a rich history in real-time strategy games, with classic games like Company of Heroes, and more modern ones like Age of Empires 4.