Stronghold: Warlords on Steam - User reviews, Price & Information
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Besiege Great Khans, Imperial warlords and Shōgun commanders in Stronghold: Warlords, the latest 'castle sim' from Firefly Studios. Command AI warlords across the battlefield as you build a castle economy and new gunpowder-fuelled siege engines!
Stronghold: Warlords is a city builder, real time tactics and colony sim game
developed and published by FireFly Studios.
Released on March 09th 2021 is available only on Windows
in 15 languages: English, French, Italian, German, Spanish - Spain, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Turkish, Portuguese - Brazil, Traditional Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese.
It has received 5,005 reviews of which 3,251 were positive and 1,754 were negative resulting in a rating of 6.4 out of 10. 😐
The game is currently priced at 34.99€ on Steam, but you can find it for less on Gamivo.
The Steam community has classified Stronghold: Warlords into these genres:
Media & Screenshots
Get an in-depth look at Stronghold: Warlords through various videos and screenshots.
System requirements
These are the minimum specifications needed to play the game. For the best experience, we recommend that you verify them.
Windows
- OS *: Windows 7/8/10/11
- Processor: Intel i5-3330 3.0Ghz or AMD equivalent
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Graphics: nVidia GeForce GTX 680 or AMD Radeon HD7970 (2 GB VRAM)
- DirectX: Version 9.0c
- Network: Broadband Internet connection
- Storage: 6 GB available space
- Additional Notes: Stronghold: Warlords - Special Edition requires 9 GB of available space
User reviews & Ratings
Explore reviews from Steam users sharing their experiences and what they love about the game.
Stronghold: Warlords is Firefly Studios’ attempt to breathe new life into its long-running castle-building real-time strategy series by shifting the action from medieval Europe to the historic battlefields of East Asia. Released on Steam, this entry brings a fresh setting, a new “warlords” mechanic, and several mechanical updates intended to modernize the formula while still retaining the core identity that fans of the franchise expect. While the game does succeed in some areas—particularly in its visual presentation and unique setting—it struggles to fully evolve the gameplay systems in a way that feels both cohesive and satisfying, often leaving a sense of missed potential beneath its ambitions. At its foundation, Stronghold: Warlords retains the familiar mix of city-building and strategic warfare that defines the series. You build up your fortress, manage resource chains, keep your peasants fed and productive, and raise armies to defend against sieges or conquer your enemies. The core gameplay loop is still engaging: managing your economy, setting up efficient food and production systems, and defending your walls from encroaching forces can be deeply satisfying when things click into place. However, many of the systems feel stuck in the past. Pathfinding issues, clunky unit controls, and a lack of modern UI conveniences can make moment-to-moment play feel more frustrating than it should in a 2021 release. These dated elements are especially apparent when combat begins, as units often bunch up, fail to respond to commands in a timely fashion, or take bafflingly inefficient routes to their targets. The new warlords system is the most significant innovation this installment introduces. Scattered across the map are independent AI-controlled “warlords” that players can capture and command. These warlords provide passive benefits like extra resources, military reinforcements, or buffs to your economy and military. You can level them up over time and issue specific commands like launching attacks or increasing tribute income. This mechanic adds a strategic layer that goes beyond traditional castle-building—it incentivizes map control and forces players to prioritize key objectives beyond simply expanding their base. In multiplayer and skirmish modes especially, competing over control of these warlords creates dynamic shifts in power and encourages aggressive play. That said, while the idea is strong, the execution can feel underwhelming; warlords tend to behave predictably and lack depth in their interactions, which slightly undermines their potential as game-changers. Visually, Stronghold: Warlords is a noticeable step forward for the series. The game’s East Asian setting spans several regions, including China, Japan, Vietnam, and Mongolia, and the art direction does a commendable job representing each with distinctive architecture, unit design, and environmental details. Watching your bustling town grow from a small village into a fully fortified stronghold is still one of the game’s most enjoyable aspects. The siege warfare, long a highlight of the franchise, benefits from improved graphics and effects. Watching flaming arrows arc through the sky or siege towers creep toward enemy walls is visually satisfying, even if the actual combat resolution can be underwhelming. The soundtrack and sound design also deserve credit, blending traditional East Asian instrumentation with ambient sounds that enhance immersion without becoming repetitive or overbearing. Campaign content is substantial, offering a variety of missions that span different leaders and scenarios from East Asian history. The storylines themselves are functional but light, with more focus on mission objectives than deep historical or character-driven narratives. Campaign missions gradually introduce the player to different units, buildings, and warlord types, and while the pacing is decent, the learning curve can occasionally feel uneven—especially when new mechanics are introduced without much in the way of explanation or feedback. This is particularly noticeable in siege missions, where failing to understand a tactical nuance can lead to frustrating trial-and-error gameplay. Skirmish mode and multiplayer add replay value, though matchmaking and online performance have occasionally been inconsistent. One of the game’s most persistent issues is the AI. While the warlord AI is generally passive and predictable, enemy lord AI suffers from a mix of erratic aggression and poor resource management. At times, computer-controlled opponents will throw waves of poorly organized attacks at your walls without any tactical consideration, or they’ll allow their economies to collapse entirely by over-prioritizing military units. This makes many skirmishes feel more like puzzles to be solved than genuine tactical challenges. Moreover, defense AI struggles to account for advanced siege tactics, leading to frequent exploits where you can bait units into chokepoints or bypass defenses in unrealistic ways. Despite its flaws, Stronghold: Warlords has an undeniable charm. The blend of economic management and military strategy still offers a uniquely satisfying gameplay experience when it works. There’s a particular joy in designing a well-functioning stronghold where every piece of infrastructure supports your defense strategy, and when the battle lines are drawn and catapults start launching, the game delivers on its promise of grand medieval warfare—even if that promise is occasionally marred by mechanical hiccups. Longtime fans of the series will likely find moments of nostalgia and enjoyment, but they may also feel that Warlords falls short of the ambitious evolution it set out to be. Ultimately, Stronghold: Warlords is a game caught between tradition and transformation. It introduces enough new mechanics to feel like a meaningful installment, especially with its Eastern setting and warlords system, but it doesn’t quite escape the shadow of its outdated systems and rough AI. For fans of historical RTS games or castle-building simulations, there's definitely enjoyment to be had, especially in the economy management and base-building aspects. However, those looking for refined combat, modern design standards, or strategic depth may come away with mixed feelings. It's a solid addition to the franchise, but not the revolution some might have hoped for. Rating: 7/10
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Fun game and it has a huge improvement from previous stronghold but the units are almost the same by the faction.
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I don't understand why this game owns many negative reviews. Its great game and we do enjoy playing it as multiplayer even more than crusader. music and game play is amazing btw you can feel old China's culture with it 🌝
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Most of the negative comments about the game hold some truth, particularly regarding image quality. However, despite these critiques, this is an excellent Stronghold game and feels genuinely refreshing. The addition of new troops is a great enhancement, and the Warlord system adds an engaging layer of strategy. If you're a fan of the Stronghold series, especially Stronghold: Crusader, there's a good chance you'll enjoy this game as well. Personally, I’ve found the campaign enjoyable and well-designed so far.
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For any Stronghold fan that isn’t sure if he wants to buy the game or not, since all the bad reviews of some people. First of all I played every Stronghold since Stronghold 1 to Crusader 2 and now SH: Warlords, so I guess what I’m talking about. The game is not bad as some people say, they played it for what 30 minutes to max 1.9h (so they can refund) and didn’t give the game a real try and just said its not Crusader or SH2 so their opinion that the game is “bad”, “terrible” can’t be counted, if you look up reviews of people that have played more than 10-50 hours the reviews are positive, so don’t let the negative reviews count, they aren’t honest. Now to the game, in my opinion the game is finally something that most of the Stronghold fanbase wanted and it still added something new to the game (Warlords), they returned back to the old basics of Crusader 1 and Stronghold 2 and added some things from Crusader 2 combined everything and some new things and did an execellent work on the game. Finally you don’t have some buildings that are most needed in the game (Mill) for 200 wood, things are well priced for resources making a good castle is cheaper than in Crusader 2 biggest tower costs 50 stone SC2 180-220 stone, wood finally isn’t a problem anymore keeping track of the economy is easier aswell, building is the chance of building roads is amazing aswell. When it comes to sieging and defending mechanics nothing much changed the only thing that changed is the balancing in Crusader 2 you make 40 War Wolfs and 20 Mantlets, put some pikeman and sassanid knights to defend them and you breach the castle (doesn’t matter double wall health and strong walls), here the strong walls and double wall health is really effective. There is a variety of units that you can use and that give you combinations (dmg buff, def buff). For multiplayer sometimes it freezes and crashes but so does Crusader 2, Stronghold 2, Crusader 1 all of them crash happens it sucks but thats how it is. For people crying maps are boring and small and all of that well you got map editor like in SC2 and steamworkshop if you can’t find a map for yourself then do it yourself and dont complain. So overall I would say the game is pretty good. Would I pay 40€ for it? No because I wouldn’t pay for any game more than 20€, but when its on sale you can get base edition for 7€ and with all DLC (with all the DLCs has the game about 60-80h gameplay) for around 15-20€ so its worth it. The game is pretty good some things would need some changes but I would rate it a solid 8/10. Doesn’t matter if you play campaing or multiplayer you will enjoy the game and have a lot of fun with friends. This is a real honest review happy to answer any questions in commentary.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Stronghold: Warlords is currently priced at 34.99€ on Steam.
Stronghold: Warlords is currently not on sale. You can purchase it for 34.99€ on Steam.
Stronghold: Warlords received 3,251 positive votes out of a total of 5,005 achieving a rating of 6.38.
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Stronghold: Warlords was developed and published by FireFly Studios.
Stronghold: Warlords is playable and fully supported on Windows.
Stronghold: Warlords is not playable on MacOS.
Stronghold: Warlords is not playable on Linux.
Stronghold: Warlords offers both single-player and multi-player modes.
Stronghold: Warlords offers both Co-op and PvP modes.
There are 5 DLCs available for Stronghold: Warlords. Explore additional content available for Stronghold: Warlords on Steam.
Stronghold: Warlords is fully integrated with Steam Workshop. Visit Steam Workshop.
Stronghold: Warlords does not support Steam Remote Play.
Stronghold: Warlords is enabled for Steam Family Sharing. This means you can share the game with authorized users from your Steam Library, allowing them to play it on their own accounts. For more details on how the feature works, you can read the original Steam Family Sharing announcement or visit the Steam Family Sharing user guide and FAQ page.
You can find solutions or submit a support ticket by visiting the Steam Support page for Stronghold: Warlords.
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Additionally, we incorporate data from the SteamSpy API, which offers insights into game sales and player statistics. This helps us present a comprehensive view of each game's popularity and performance within the gaming community.
Last Updates| Steam data | 02 September 2025 17:06 |
|---|---|
| SteamSpy data | 07 September 2025 02:35 |
| Steam price | 14 September 2025 04:19 |
| Steam reviews | 13 September 2025 13:48 |
If you'd like to dive deeper into the details about Stronghold: Warlords, we invite you to check out a few dedicated websites that offer extensive information and insights. These platforms provide valuable data, analysis, and user-generated reports to enhance your understanding of the game and its performance.
- SteamDB - A comprehensive database of everything on Steam about Stronghold: Warlords
- SteamCharts - Analysis of Stronghold: Warlords concurrent players on Steam
- ProtonDB - Crowdsourced reports on Linux and Steam Deck Stronghold: Warlords compatibility
Game modes
Multiplayer
Features
Online players
56
Developer
FireFly Studios
Publisher
FireFly Studios
Release
09 Mar 2021
Platforms
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