Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad is now available for pre-purchase on Steam at a 10% discount. For those that want something extra we are also excited to announce the Steam Digital Deluxe Edition of Red Orchestra 2 which will include weapon unlocks for RO2, special in-game items for Team Fortress 2, playable characters for Killing Floor and more. Finally, to reward all those Red Orchestra fans that have supported us for all of these years we’re giving special bonuses to all of the owners of the original Red Orchestra including exclusive in-game content and 20% off the pre-purchase. Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad will be available on August 30th, 2011, so go here (Steam Store Page) to pre-purchase now. Read on for the details on the pre-purchase and the Steam Digital Deluxe Edition.

Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad – Steam Digital Deluxe Edition

• Day 1 Unlock of the Elite Assault Weapons (MKb 42(H) and AVT-40)
• Day 1 Unlock of the Semi Auto Sniper Weapons (SVT-40 and G 41(W))
• 2 playable characters for Killing Floor – WW2 Russian and German Soldier re-enactors unlocked in KF the moment you purchase
• Team Fortress 2 items – RO2 German helmet and Russian “Pilotka” hat (“vintage” if bought during pre-purchase)
• Access to the final phase of the closed beta

Pre-purchase Discount: 10% off both versions (20% off if you own the original Red Orchestra)

Bonuses for owners of Red Orchestra: Ostfront 41-45:

• An extra 10% discount during pre-purchase for a total of 20% off
• Unlock the Kar98 and Mosin rifle bayonets on day 1
• Special in-game item – show everyone your loyalty to Red Orchestra with the exclusive Russian Guards Badge/German Close Combat Badge

Discuss on the forums ->

Here are a couple of things that people have been waiting for… firstly some box art, for the Russian and Western versions:

And now the system specs that people have been asking for:

Minimum:
OS: Windows XP/Vista/7
Processor: Dual Core 2.3 GHz or better
RAM: 2 GB
Graphics card: 256 MB SM 3.0 DX9 Compliant NVIDIA® GeForce 7800 GTX or better ATI® Radeon® HD 2900 GT or better
Sound: Windows Supported Sound Card
DirectX: DirectX 9.0c
Hard Drive: 8 GB free hard drive space

Recommended:
OS: Windows XP/Vista/7
Processor: Quad Core 2.6 GHz or better
RAM: 3 GB
Graphics card: 512 MB SM 3.0 DX9 Compliant NVIDIA® GeForce GTX 260 or better ATI® Radeon® HD 5750 or better
Sound: Sound Blaster Audigy or better
DirectX: DirectX 9.0c
Hard Drive: 8 GB free hard drive space

Discuss on the forums ->

As we are doing more press stuff, we’ll start collecting links to it all here on the front page (and in the forums) for everyone to find easily… the first lot, giving some feedback from the press event in San Francisco on the 7th, plus the resulting screenshots:

• A brief preview on Gamespot
• Another preview, including single player, on DigitalHippos
• Screenshots, some new, some previously seen, over on RockPaperShotgun
• Here are the screenshots for the Swiss contingent at Gbase
• Keeping the international theme going – the Italian version at VGNetwork
• A piece on single player over at IGN

Late(r)-comers:

• A brief post from a surprising source… Handheld Heroes

If I have missed anything – let me know in the forums ->

For those of you who haven’t seen (and drooled) over the just-released screenies from 1C’s Prague-n-Play event, head over to RPS for the full set – click HERE!

Forum discussion already in full flow ->

For those not already aware, we are also very excited to announce the selection of PunkBuster™ Anti-Cheat software and PBBans streaming ban support for the game, in addition to using Valve Anti-Cheat (VAC). “With the selection of PunkBuster and PBBans in addition to VAC we’re taking a three pronged approach to cheat protection for Red Orchestra 2,” said John Gibson, Tripwire Interactive President. “We hope this sends a strong message to gamers that we take cheating very seriously and are tackling it head on BEFORE the game ships.”

Discuss on the forums ->