Back in June, news of a delay in the release of "Halo Wars 2" disappointed the fans the world over, but following the release of gameplay footage during this year's PAX West events, it seems that it may have been worth it. The RTS game from 343 Industries is now set to arrive in February next year, but fans can already get a glimpse of what's to come with 11 minutes worth of footage unveiled over the weekend.
Polygon was able to get their hands on one of "Halo Wars 2"'s multiplayer modes, specifically, Strongholds, in which gamers are tasked to dominate more bases than their opponent in a timed arena-style competition. Check out the footage below.
Meanwhile, Gamespot reports that 323 Industries has also unveiled footage depicting the first mission of the "Halo Wars 2" single-player campaign. In this single-player mode, gamers will find that the UNSC warship's crew are awakened after 28 years in cryosleep, placing them in danger against the alien faction called Banished. The game takes place years following the events of "Halo Wars" and shortly after the events of "Halo 5: Guardians."
In an interview with DualShockers, 343 Industries' Dan Ayoub mentioned that "Halo Wars 2" will also include a new mode that changes the way gamers play an RTS game. While he remained tight-lipped about what the new mode is called or how gamers will play it, he did explain that it is a mode that players can enjoy in short periods of time, for about five to seven minutes. Whether or not this new mode will be included in the game's second beta remains to be seen.
Last June, it was announced that there will be second beta for "Halo Wars 2." While there hasn't been an official date set by Microsoft, it seems that the studio will hold the beta closer to the game's release date in February next year.
Directed by Alistair Hope, "Halo Wars 2" will be available for Xbox One and Windows PC (and is an Xbox Play Anywhere title, so gamers can purchase the game once and get the console or PC version for free) beginning February 21, 2017.