Plymouth, MI. - August 24, 2016 - Stardock revealed Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation today. The stand-alone expansion includes everything from the base game while adding features and content requested by players.
Escalation increases the player count per map from 8 to 16, doubles the size of the largest map type, introduces two new story-driven campaigns, adds strategic zoom to manage world-sized battles, includes many new units, supports upgradeable defensive structures and much more.
"Bigger, better, bolder - that’s what Escalation is," said Brad Wardell, president and CEO of Stardock. "We listened carefully to the feedback the players gave us on the release, rolled up our sleeves, and have created what we hope is one of the most epic scale real-time strategy games ever."
The original release of Ashes of the Singularity was praised for both its innovative game mechanics and as being the first game to support Microsoft's DirectX 12, enabling the game to deliver high scale with high fidelity. With Escalation, Stardock and Oxide have focused on making the game support a much wider user base.
"With Escalation we've been able to use Oxide's Nitrous engine to deliver stunning visuals while lowering the hardware requirements," said Wardell. "Anyone running Windows 7 or later with a decent hardware setup who likes real-time strategy games becomes a potential player."
The game, set in a post-technological singularity future, puts the player in the role of the commander of either the post-singularity humans or their AI opponents called The Substrate. That game supports map sizes ranging from small, arena-style all the way up to world spanning massive maps with up to 16 players.
All the races from Ashes of the Singularity get new units and buildings in Escalation. For example, the PHC gains some new defensive structures, a strategic bomber, a gunship, new combat vehicles and more. Meanwhile, The Substrate gain defensive structures including an anti-air cannon, as well as some new flying units and a unit that bolsters their economy, among others.
While Ashes of the Singularity has many strong multiplayer features, Stardock expects most people to play the game exclusively single-player. To that end, Escalation adds two new campaigns that provide players a host of new custom challenges in addition to the already excellent single player sandbox game.
Escalation will be available for pre-order on 8/25/16 and will release Fall 2016. At release, existing Ashes players can upgrade for $19.99 and new players can get Escalation for $39.99.
Screenshots
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Please contact press@stardock.com for all media inquiries.
About Stardock: Stardock is a developer and publisher of PC games and desktop software founded in 1991 by nationally recognized technology expert Brad Wardell. Located in Plymouth, Michigan, Stardock is a powerful leader in the video gaming and software development world. Its PC games include Sins of a Solar Empire, the critically acclaimed Galactic Civilizations series, and Ashes of the Singularity. Stardock puts the user experience first through software that enriches the Windows experience for everyone from casual computer users to highly technical professionals. Products offered by Stardock include Start8, Start10, Fences, WindowBlinds, Multiplicity, and more at www.stardock.com.
About Oxide Games: Oxide Games is an independent digital entertainment studio focused on delivering revolutionary leaps in PC and console gaming. Its groundbreaking Nitrous engine provides industry-leading visuals and powers its first game, Ashes of the Singularity. Oxide Games is based in Timonium, Maryland. Learn more atwww.oxidegames.com.
