Polish up your rifles and grab some ammo – the Game of the Year Edition for Red Orchestra 2 has just been released! From now until Sunday 27 May, Red Orchestra 2 multi-player will be available completely free to play for everyone on Steam so get out there and give the game a try. Not only is the game free this weekend, but if you decide to pick it up before Monday we’re selling it at 75% off! We’ve also created a trailer to showcase the new content added in the free GOTY Content Pack including the new map Mamayev Kurgan.

In case you’ve forgotten – the GOTY Content Pack is, of course, free to everyone who already owns the game and includes:

• “Action” mode – Featuring a crosshair, easier aiming and toned down recoil, reduced damage and open access to a wide range of weaponry Action mode is the perfect first step for players into the world of Red Orchestra.
• “Classic” mode blends the gameplay innovations of the new game with the tactical and edgy gameplay of the original giving the fans of the first game exactly what they want.
• Mamayev Kurgan – complete new map, featuring both close-quarters battles in trenches and bunkers, as well as longer ranged combat across the famous hill in Stalingrad
• Refined and improved gameplay across the board, vehicle improvements, and way better performance and polish. We listened to the community and based on their feedback refined and tweaked almost every major feature in the game!

So don’t miss out, the free weekend is on now! Grab the game from Steam (http://store.steampowered.com/app/35450/) and don’t forget and tell your friends.

Screenshots of the new map, for good measure:

[Show as slideshow]

Developer Diary Video

Here at Tripwire Interactive we’re incredibly excited that Red Orchestra 2 won PC Gamer’s Multiplayer FPS of the Year. And we couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate this than to give away a free content pack for the game to everyone that owns it. So we’re very pleased to announce the Red Orchestra 2 Game of the Year Edition featuring an amazing new map, diverse new game modes and a host of new features. The GOTY Edition Free Content Pack will download automatically for everyone who already owns the game – and, so everyone else can try the full game, Red Orchestra 2 will be available completely free to play for everyone on Steam this weekend, starting Thursday 24 May 2012 at 10AM Pacific Time. The content pack will be released before the free weekend starts.

The content pack additions include:

• “Action” mode – Featuring a crosshair, easier aiming and toned down recoil, reduced damage and open access to a wide range of weaponry Action mode is the perfect first step for players into the world of Red Orchestra.
• “Classic” mode blends the gameplay innovations of the new game with the tactical and edgy gameplay of the original giving the fans of the first game exactly what they want.
• Mamayev Kurgan – complete new map, featuring both close-quarters battles in trenches and bunkers, as well as longer ranged combat across the famous hill in Stalingrad
• Refined and improved gameplay across the board, vehicle improvements, and way better performance and polish. We listened to the community and based on their feedback refined and tweaked almost every major feature in the game!

To remind everyone: there is a free weekend coming 24 May! You can grab the game from Steam (http://store.steampowered.com/app/35450/)starting at 10 AM Pacific Time this Thursday, so don’t forget and tell your friends. The free weekend ends Sunday 27 May so don’t miss your chance to try the game for free!

Discuss on the forums ->

We have put up several polls in the Red Orchestra 2 Beta forums. We are looking for feedback on changes we are looking to make in the next Beta update. Please vote and let us know what you think!

Discuss on the forums and vote now! ->

The final match of the last round of the Scorched Earth Tournament match is happening this Sunday, March 25th, at 20:00 CET/15:00 EST. Once again, fans can tune in HERE to watch it live. Between rounds during the match (as well as before and after) John and Alan will be fielding questions from the community posted here in our forums. So mark off your calendars today, and get your questions in now!

Discuss on the forums and post your questions ->

Hello everyone, welcome back to a new edition of the “What We Are Up To” series of posts. As most of you have noticed RO Classic went out in the last beta update along with even more refinements to the game, and we are not done yet. We have further upcoming refinements, Multiplayer campaign and more in store for the future. Read on to find out the details.

While there are still more refinements and changes that have not yet made it into the beta, we are watching player reaction to what is currently available with a keen eye. For those who haven’t yet had a chance, grab the beta from steam and participate in the beta forums. All the current changes can be found here in the stickies, with the community discussion following up in the feedback section. Remember we are looking at all the game modes for tweaks (normal, realistic and classic), so join the discussion today! They next update will include several tweaks based off this feedback, more refinements, and most likely Multiplayer Campaign.

Those who remember the initial posts about the beta and what would be going into it know that the next/last BIG thing coming will be Multiplayer Campaign mode. This mode will allow server admins to turn their server into a grand campaign for the city of Stalingrad. When joining, each player will pick a team and head to the front. When the campaign starts (with both sides having the territories split equally between them), a team will be randomly selected to have the initiative and choose where they want to start the attack. As each battle plays out the teams will expend manpower for land, and regain some between battles depending on how much territory they control. The first team to control all territories or force the other team to expend all of its manpower will win the day.

Last, but not least in this edition of “What We Are Up To” is talking a bit about the future. The beta has be going nicely and that means we are getting much closer to getting the things in out in the main build. Depending on how fast things come together it will come out in one of two fashions. Sooner: There will be a large patch with most if not all the content. Later: Things will be rolled out in smaller (but still fairly large) chunks of content over time as things are completed, put into beta and pushed out. There are also several grand plans we are discussing (you might want to start digging into the SDK!), but we have nothing to announce just yet.

Speaking of working with the community, we have one final thing to announce today, the new Tripwire Interactive Wiki. While it is currently in a bare bones state, we will be working with the community to fill it with content. We hope for it to server as a general Knowledge Base for both players and modders for all of our titles. We’ll be working on getting modding information from across the forums into the wiki over the coming days and weeks as well (unless you beat us to it!). Have a great week everyone and make sure to join the beta!

Discuss on the forums ->