The Relic development team sits down to chat about all the amazing improvements to visuals, effects, and cosmetics in this preview of the Company of Heroes 3: 3.0 Update, launching November 5th on PC via Steam. As part of the ongoing celebration of the 20th Anniversary of Company of Heroes, the 3.0 Update delivers sweeping improvements across visuals, audio, gameplay, campaign, multiplayer and Final Stand, making it the most significant update to Company of Heroes 3 since launch.

This year marks the 20th Anniversary of Company of Heroes. As part of our celebrations, and as a thank you to our players, we are excited to announce the 20th Anniversary Update for Company of Heroes 3 or update 3.0. 

Coming November 5th, 2026, the 3.0 Update will be the biggest update to the game since release and will make significant changes to several areas which will radically improve the experience for both new and veteran players.

The 3.0 Update will enhance nearly every aspect of the game, with extensive visual, environmental and weather upgrades, audio improvements, smarter A.I., gameplay and balance refinements, new and refreshed maps, campaign enhancements, new cosmetics, and new content for Final Stand.  

Visual & Environmental Enhancements

Company of Heroes 3 has had an extensive visual and environmental upgrade, which will bring greater immersion and variety every time you play.  

The 3.0 Update includes new snow and rain weather effects, enhanced fog and atmospheric effects, improved soldier lighting, dynamic terrain wetness, improvements to animations, new and expanded environmental art sets, new industrial, winter, and autumn-themed battlefields, and grittier VFX including explosions, flamethrowers, and more.   

Audio Improvements

Battlefields will sound better than ever with new and improved weapon firing sounds, enhanced impact and explosion effects, and upgraded vehicle destruction audio. To celebrate the 20th Anniversary, players will also be able to enjoy an expanded music selection featuring classic tracks from both Company of Heroes and Company of Heroes 2, bringing iconic music from across the franchise into Company of Heroes 3.   

Gameplay, A.I., & Multiplayer Improvements

The 3.0 Update brings gameplay refinements, A.I. improvements, and several balance changes.   

Multiplayer has undergone targeted changes to improve the feel of larger team games – including a major rework to the economy, a rebalance of artillery, changes to reduce the prevalence of massing vehicles, and a stronger emphasis on the importance of positioning. The team has also reworked one of the existing Battlegroups and made several small adjustments to others. 

The A.I. now features improved logic for combat assessment to improve its late-game performance and unit build prioritization, while also enabling smarter decision making when picking engagements (or retreats). 

Several U.I. elements have been tidied up to help convey critical gameplay information, including improvements to status decorators, unit health bars (with a new healing animation), and more. 

Finally, we have also improved how possible matches are evaluated in multiplayer modes during matchmaking.    

Campaign Improvements

The Italian Campaign has also benefited from many of the above improvements coming in the 3.0 update. This is combined with an ongoing refinement to the campaign map experience and in-mission gameplay and visuals, to provide a stronger and more polished single-player experience. How resources are used and earned on the campaign map has been adjusted and now breaks down into three tiers: Manpower for building units, Munitions for abilities, and Fuel for upgrades. This now ties directly into the towns you decide to liberate and which resources you need most. Towns also now include an exclusive choice for their upgrades, with more powerful upgrades the further you progress, adding to the strategic decision making in the campaign. Additionally, changes to enemy attack waves mean they will be more reliable and harder to deal with.  

New & Refreshed Maps

The 3.0 Update expands Company of Heroes 3’s multiplayer offerings with a collection of brand-new battlefields alongside refreshed community favorites. Additionally, all the visual improvements in this update will add new depth and immersion to all existing Company of Heroes 3 maps.  

In particular, the new maps included in the 20th Anniversary Update highlight the new environmental enhancements, weather effects, and new biomes coming to the game.   

New Map for skirmish, co-op, and custom games 

• Vire River Valley 2vs2

   

New Maps for all modes 

• Ancona Railyard 1vs1  
• Foggia Airfield 3vs3 
• Turin Steelworks 4vs4 
• Radarstation Mammut 4vs4

 

Map Visual Refreshes 

• Langres Winter 1vs1 
• Mignano Summit 3vs3 
• Rapido River Crossing 4vs4

 

 

New Cosmetics

To complement the addition of new seasonal environments, four new premium cosmetic sets and one new Victory Point will be available with the release of the 3.0 Update: 

• Climb to Glory (US Forces) 
• Edelweiss (Wehrmacht) 
• Bloody Baltic (British Forces) 
• Cold Snap (Deutsches Afrikakorps) 
• Industrial (Victory Point)

 

 

Final Stand Update

Company of Heroes 3: Final Stand will receive a substantial update on November 5th to build out your strategic options and give you new ways to play. We want to thank all of our players for their feedback, as it has helped inform many of the new additions to Final Stand in the 3.0 update.

• 3-Player Mode
  • Final Stand will introduce a new 3-player mode compatible with all Battlegrounds - difficulty will scale to provide your team the ultimate challenge
• Dam Busters - all-new Battleground
  • Featuring a unique Battleground mechanic that will see your advantage in combat ebb and flow
• 13 new player units
• 14 new abilities
• 35 new passive technologies
• 8 new enemy units
• Balance updates and adjustments across all four factions

We will have more details on everything coming in the 3.0 Update in the lead up to its release, so be sure to follow us on social media and join us as we celebrate two decades of genre-defining real-time strategy games!

In coh2 there are several commanders that use the same units and abilities. For instance, you have several ones with the tiger, 120mm mortar, ostruppen, recon, air support etc. I think this xohld bring new life to some units that have been left behind if they could be paired with new battlegroups.

For instance, for whr could have lighting war:

Left side:Bersaglieri ➡️ 8rad/Carro ➡️ panzerfaust rollout

Right side: Stuka strafing run ➡️ Bliztkrieg/Raid Package ➡️ Panter.

This way more of the in game assets can be utilized.