Company of Heroes 3

Company of Heroes 3 is a real-time strategy game from Relic Entertainment about the fighting of World War II in Italy and North Africa. Players command infantry squads, guns and tanks, secure supplies and use cover, terrain and destructible buildings in combat.

On PC, the game includes a dynamic Italian campaign and a linear North Africa campaign. Added to this are battles against the AI, online matches and co-op modes. The PC launch took place on February 23, 2023.

Company of Heroes 3 released on February 23, 2023 for PC. The native versions for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S followed on May 30, 2023.

Relic Entertainment continues to develop the PC version after launch. The console versions, by contrast, do not receive further content updates. Both console versions remain available and playable.

Company of Heroes 3 launched natively on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. On consoles, controls and on-screen menus were adapted for gamepads. Keyboard and mouse are also supported there.

The Console Edition does not support crossplay or cross-platform save games. Since the end of its content support, PC and console have also stayed on different development levels. Update 3.0, announced for November 5, 2026, is coming to PC only.

Instead of just building as many units as possible, commanders must consider cover, lines of sight and the side armour of enemy vehicles. Infantry can storm buildings, while tanks secure chokepoints or break through positions with targeted pushes.

Terrain is not static: fire destroys buildings and changes available cover. Elevation affects line of sight to enemies. Anyone who advances their troops in the open often loses to smaller but better positioned formations.

After launch, Company of Heroes 3 was expanded with additional battle groups, including Hammer & Shield and Fire & Steel. The battle groups add units and abilities to existing factions for battles.

On November 25, 2026, Operation Torch is set to release as an additional single-player campaign for PC. Its 15 missions take American troops through North Africa. Optional mission objectives allow upgrades to the army between deployments.

Operation Torch is an expansion to the strategy game. The standalone co-op game Final Stand and the free PC update 3.0 are separate from it.

In the Italian campaign, players plan their advance on a strategic map, liberate towns, secure supply routes and choose which units and support to send into the next battles. Decisions on the map determine the conditions of later real-time battles.

Full Tactical Pause lets you pause the battle in single-player mode and prepare several orders. Update 3.0 is meant to restructure resources and upgrades on the campaign map and make important decisions easier to understand.

The original North Africa campaign tells its story in fixed real-time missions. The focus is on fast formations, supply across wide desert maps and the use of armoured vehicles. Unlike the Italian campaign, it has no freely explorable strategic map.

The Operation Torch expansion offers a different perspective: it follows American soldiers from the Allied landings through the Kasserine Pass to Hill 609. The new campaign consists of 15 missions and allows permanent upgrades between deployments.

You can choose US forces, British forces, the Wehrmacht and the German Afrika Korps. Each army has its own units, production paths and tactical focus. Battle groups add special abilities and troop types.

This means even battles between the same two armies can develop differently. An army built around reconnaissance and mobile vehicles plays differently from one that builds strong defensive positions and heavy weapons.

On PC, Company of Heroes 3 offers online matches with multiple factions as well as co-op battles against the AI. Cover, map control and supply shape the flow of play more than sheer unit numbers.

PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series have their own Console Edition. According to Relic, crossplay and cross-progression are not available there. Future PC development therefore should not be equated with new features for the consoles.

The maps range from narrow Italian towns and mountain positions to open North African deserts. Roads, buildings, vegetation and elevation changes affect vehicle movement and the range of reconnaissance.

Update 3.0 will add new winter, autumn and industrial maps. Snow, rain, fog and wet ground change how the environment looks. Relic also plans extensive visual reworks of existing maps.

Relic Entertainment has announced PC update 3.0 for November 5, 2026. It brings reworked lighting, rain and snow, additional maps, rebalanced economy systems for larger team battles, and AI improvements.

The Italian campaign will separate manpower, ammunition and fuel more clearly on the strategic map. The standalone spin-off Company of Heroes 3: Final Stand also gets new co-op content. This update is not planned for the Console Edition.

Company of Heroes 3: Final Stand is a standalone co-op spin-off from Relic Entertainment. It focuses on defending against waves of enemies and belongs to the same strategy game universe, but does not require the classic campaign of Company of Heroes 3.

For November 2026, a three-player mode, an additional battlefield with weather-dependent visibility, more units, abilities and passive technologies have been announced. The expansions of this separate game should not be confused with a new console release of Company of Heroes 3.

On Steam, Company of Heroes 3 supports German on-screen text and German subtitles. The full voice-over is listed there as English. French, Italian, Spanish and other languages are also available for on-screen text.

The language settings apply to the PC version. On consoles, menus, voice-over and subtitles may differ depending on the store region.

The PC version requires a 64-bit Windows system and uses DirectX 12. The Essence Engine renders destructible buildings, vehicles, smoke, fire and the expansive battlefields. The available graphics options are designed for different hardware.

The console versions use an adapted user interface and, according to Relic, also support 4K output. The new weather and lighting systems announced for PC will not be carried over to the consoles.

On PC, Company of Heroes 3 supports the Steam Workshop. Community-made content can be found and subscribed to there. Open mod support adds to the official maps and battles.

The Console Edition does not have the same Workshop integration as the Steam version.

Relic Entertainment no longer releases new content updates for Company of Heroes 3 on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. The studio cites changed resources since its independence as the reason. Server maintenance is still carried out, and both console versions remain available.

The PC version, by contrast, receives additional content and technical improvements. That is why new maps, battlegroups and systems differ mainly between platforms.