By Joseph Luster

Developer Kraken Studios showed their skills at World War II simulation with WarPlan in 2019, and and are following it up with Total Victory: World Conflict 1939-1945 continuing the grand strategy tradition in style, taking inspiration from games like World in Flames and ETO, among others, to bring a detailed theater of war to life.

Players may command any major Axis, Allied, or Communist nation in this one, managing everything from the military units themselves to production and more throughout some of the world’s most significant conflicts. This is accomplished across a modified Mercator map that highlights each nation’s unique military units, including land, naval, and air forces. All units and production take direct inspiration from history, and Kraken Studios plans to add new units like capital warships and convoys via future updates.

It might be a bit overwhelming, particularly to those new to grand strategy, but Kraken Studios hopes to take some of the pain away with a focus on crafting an intuitive interface while implementing automation where applicable—such as reinforcement and supply mechanic, for instance, that will ostensibly let players focus more on strategy while some of the less interesting aspects carry on in the background.

A preview demo launched in April, and as of this writing Total Victory is scheduled for September release. The demo spotlighted the Blitzkrieg East Scenario, taking Germany through the initial stages of Barbarossa, from June to September of 1941. When the full game launches, we’ll be able to take on AI opponents or fellow wargamers by way of PBEM (play-by-email) or pass-and-play on a single PC.

Kraken’s WarPlan boasts a “Very Positive” reviews distinction over at Steam, and hopefully we’ll see similar results when Total Victory: World Conflict 1939-1945 is ready for showtime.

Publisher: Kraken Studios
Genre: Strategy
System: PC
Available: September 2026

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