The news from RenegadeCon Virtual, regarding their plans for Axis & Allies, spread quickly at the conclusion of the event but many missed a crucial detail: Renegade plans on supporting current, new, and old Axis & Allies games for years to come. During the Axis & Allies session of Renegade Con, Scott Gaeta, President and Publisher of Renegade Game Studios, said:

You’re going to see more games over the coming years. We’re not just going to put out a new game and go 5 years without giving you anything new to play. Axis & Allies is going to get a lot of love and a lot of attention. We have lot’s of ideas and plans. Lot’s of people here, we’re fans too … you’re going to get some stuff.

Why is this so much more important than the other announcements? On it’s own it’s not but in conjunction with all of the other plans it shows that Renegade is committed to giving Axis & Allies the love and attention it has been missing for over a decade.

Only time will tell but based on their announcements so far, it seems very promising for the Axis & Allies family of games. Just take a look what was announced at RenegadeCon Virtual:

Axis & Allies Core Games

Renegade is dedicated to keeping the core games always available in print. These are: 1942 Second Edition, 1941, Europe 1940, and Pacific 1940.

Limited Program

Renegade announced plans to reprint older versions of the game. The said that they’re not going to short print them, that is, if you want a copy you’ll be able to get one. However, they also said they’re not going to keep them in print forever

Editorial Note: Our hope is that, like 1914, the errata will be included in new printings of the rules. We alsohope any broken mechanics or mechanisms will be fixed, like sub stalling in the original Axis & Allies Pacific and the dice box in Axis & Allies Guadalcanal, which is neat but you and I know those dice don’t roll enough.

The Return of Axis & Allies 1914

There will be another printing of Axis & Allies 1914 and it will be available this summer at Gen Con and maybe 1-2 weeks before. It will have a few minor updates with no major rule changes. Renegade consulted with Larry Harris and Kevin Chapman (Krieghund) for these changes:

  • Errata will be included in the rules themselves
  • 4 additional Germany units
  • 4 additional UK units
  • 30 additional plastic chips

Axis & Allies Word Championship at Gen Con

Personally, I think the most important announcement is that Greg Smorey will help run the championship at Gen Con and Greg will continue to run all of his other Axis & Allies events. Greg has been doing this for over 30 years and he runs great events and give away tons of great prizes just for participating; and the trophies he makes are second to none. On top of that, Renegade announced they will support Greg’s events even more than ever.

As for the championship event, it will be 5 rounds, single elimination starting on Friday, August 4. There will be 2 rounds on Friday, 2 rounds on Saturday, and finals on Sunday. There will be lot’s of prizes and the tournament rules are basically the same as previous years but include clarifications and a few new items about player conduct.

Check out Renegade’s news article about the Championships.

Pick the Battle Vote

Again, showing their commitment to Axis & Allies, Renegade revealed the options for Pick the Battle. Once voting is done the game will be developed and then released some time in 2024. The deadline to vote is soon, so head over to Renegade to fill out the voting survey.

The options are:

Operation Market Garden: famous battle in 1944, hoped to create an invasion route into Northern Germany. Could include game elements of paratroopers, seizing and controlling bridges, and a race against time.

North Africa: this was a long campaign across Libya & Egypt. Game could include desert logistics, lack of water, and difficult terrain.

Eastern Front: this is larger scale that spans from Berlin to Moscow and from the Baltic to the Black Sea. Could in include tank armies, encirclements, and harsh winter conditions.

Battle of Stalingrad: considered to be one of the bloodiest battles in human history. Could include similar elements as Eastern Front plus air raids and urban warfare.

The future looks bright for Axis & Allies and we’re excited to see what comes next!