Stronghold (series)

Stronghold is a series of real-time strategy video games developed by Firefly Studios known for its detailed graphics and its deep and complex gameplay. Set in medieval times, players take on the role of a lord or lady who must build and defend their castle, as well as conquer their enemies.

The series consists of three main titles built on the Vision Engine, each with their own unique and drastically different game engine, as well as a number of expansions or spin-offs built on the same game engine.

The first main title Stronghold (2001) was built on a 2D isometric game engine, which was used to build three additional spin-offs: Crusader (2002), Crusader Extreme (2008), and Kingdoms (2012). Like Age of Empires II, The game was later released as an HD remaster (2013) and a definitive edition (2023).

The second main title Stronghold 2 (2005) was released on an ambitious yet lackluster and buggy 3D engine, followed by numerous patches to fix the bugs, culminating in Stronghold 2 Deluxe which was a fully stable and patched version released six month after the main title. Soon after, a spin-off titled Stronghold Legends (2006) was released, adding more content to the title.

The third main title Stronghold 3 (2011) was released by a new parent company based on a new game engine. Years later, Stronghold Crusader II (2014) was released based on this game engine as a story sequel to Crusader (2002), and Stronghold: Warlords (2021) was released as a separate spin-off.