- Regular Update 1.01.44 - 20 August 2026
With 1.01.44 we bring a minor update that includes additions to ship design, QOL improvements, and bug fixes. Here are the highlights: High position ship design option for improved long-range accuracy Ability to copy and paste air groups in scenario editor Ability to generate side pictures for ships in quick battles Fixed an issue with loading custom ship design files in the standalone ship designer in Expanded Battles Fixed several historical ship design visuals A look to the future: We expect the pace of updates to slow for the next few months as work begins on the next step for the series. We will share further news on RTW3 in due time.BUY THE NEW DLC NOW:
- The Refit Update available now - 14 May 2026
A new update for Rule the Waves 3 is now available, focused on improving stability and refining several core systems following the release of the Expanded Battles expansion.This patch introduces a series of fixes and gameplay improvements aimed at enhancing the overall experience across campaign mode, Quick Battles, and scenario creation tools. In addition to addressing a number of reported issues, the update also expands historical content with the addition of new ship designs for custom player scenarios.You can read the full changelog here.BUY THE NEW DLC
- Rule the waves 3: Expanded Battles is out now - 19 March 2026
The naval strategy sim Rule the Waves 3 has a new DLC, Expanded Battles, now available.The expansion adds historical scenarios, a ship and scenario editor, and a Quick Battles mode to instantly generate engagements across different eras. Players can recreate real battles or explore “what-if” clashes, including matchups featuring ships like the Yamato.A solid content boost for those who want to jump straight into naval combat or experiment with custom battles.Also, today we're releasing a minor update. v1.01.32 - March 19th, 2026CampaignFixed an issue where 1920 and 1935 starts did not include aircraft and air groups.PreferencesDeck color will now never be black. It will default to grey if not defined.Battle ResolutionAdded message of a fleet has too few cruisers for scouting.The strike button will now be enabled if the player has AV but no carriers.Fixed a bug with computer AI when atta…
- Rule the Waves 3: Expanded Battles | Dev Diary 5 - 9 March 2026
Quick BattlesWe accept that Rule the Waves 3 is not the easiest game to learn, especially given the length of the campaign mode and the ever-changing political and technological landscape. As we mentioned in our previous dev diary, the ship designer is very much the heart of the game. While ship design is vital to success in RTW’s campaign mode, it poses certain limitations and focuses more on the development of your fleet as a whole over time rather than any single ship. We found from feedback and our own gameplay that the tactical battles are where inidividual ships can truly shine as players are encouraged to manage their forces wisely. Tactical battles are also generally easier to get your head around than the full campaign, as you can focus on a few ships in a limited engagement doing your best to keep them alive and complete tactical objectives. As a result, making tactical battle…
- Tactics Update is out now - 4 March 2026
Hello wargamers, naval historians, and ship enthusiasts!We have a new update available before the release of the new DLC.Update highlights:- This update lays the groundwork for the release of Expanded Battles, with a focus on battle resolution, ship performance, and AI behavior; - This includes tweaking and recalibrating gun performance at various ranges, improvements to the tactical AI, increasing the effectiveness of smokescreens, and adding more flexibility to force organization; - In addition, this update includes various minor fixes and changes to ship design, such as refreshing weight calculations and adjusting the cost of cruisers in comparison to larger capital ships, on top of general bug fixing.Read all the details of the full changelog here.WISHILIST THE NEW DLC NOW, OUT ON MARCH 19TH:
- Rule the Waves 3: Expanded Battles | Dev Diary 4 - 27 February 2026
The Ship DesignerGiven that Matrix Games held several ship design competitions in the past, we can safely say that one ofthe many draws to RTW3 was the ability to create ships to your liking. RTW3 is intended to be a navalwarfare sandbox, letting players live through their own history as the head of the admiralty or ministry ofthe navy for one of the many nations available. This is of course limited to the sole campaign mode in thebase game. We thought it only fitting that we should extend the sandbox potential of RTW3 by adding anew ship designer that’s decoupled by the normal restrictions of the campaign mode.The ship designer in RTW is in many ways the heart of the game. But in the campaign, the player islimited in the ships that can be built by technology, dock size etc. The standalone ship designer inExpanded Battles is basically the same ship designer as used in the RTW campaign,…
- Updated Launch Window - 6 February 2026
Hello wargamers, naval historians, and ship enthusiasts! We have an important update regarding the progress of Rule the Waves 3: Expanded Battles. Development on the expansion has been going full steam ahead, and we’re in the final stages of testing, polishing, and tweaking. During Home of Wargamers 2025, we announced the release date for this hotly anticipated expansion - February 24, 2026. We were fully intent on meeting this release date.Unfortunately, today we must announce that we will be delaying the release of Expanded Battles by just a few weeks. The new release date will be March 19, 2026. The additional wait will not be long, but we understand that this may come as a disappointment to some players.After careful consideration, we concluded that to ensure that Expanded Battles meets the expectations of the high bar that Rule the Waves 3 has set, and to make sure we release a pro…
- Rule the Waves 3: Expanded Battles | Dev Diary 3 - 2 February 2026
Dev diary 3 - The Scenario Editor RTW3: Expanded Battles includes a powerful scenario editor that will let users create scenarios depicting any naval battle in the world between 1890 and 1970. You can specify the forces and ships taking part, their missions, formations, and their objectives. It can also handle virtually any size of battle, from a two ship duel up to Jutland-sized great battles.The starting positions of the respective fleets can be specified, but also parameters for randomization of starting positions so that there will be a level of uncertainty. It is also possible to set the probability of some ships and forces, so that it is uncertain if they will appear in the battle or not. In the editor you can also specify up to 6 different courses of action for the AI to follow. The AI will follow these until it makes contact with the enemy, after which it will use its own judgem…
- Rule the Waves 3: Expanded Battles | Dev Diary 2 - 19 January 2026
The Historical ScenariosMyself, I love campaign style games, where I can build up and nurture a force over a long stretch ofbattles and encounters. Not everyone has the time and inclination to do that however, and some playersprefer historical battles instead of sanbox games. That is why we have developed the historical scenariosfeature of Expanded Battles.The expansion will ship with a number of scenarios spread in time and scope to give variation andshow the whole breadth of what the RTW system is capable of. Scenarios will include Yellow Sea,Dogger Bank, River Plate, Rheinübung (the Chase for the Bismarck), Second Guadalcanal, EasternSolomons and a fictional cold war scenario in the Mediterranean. This is an impressive collection ofscenarios spread over 70 years. No other game can even come close to simulating such a longtimespan of naval warfare.Personally, I like Yellow Sea and Dog…
- Rule the Waves 3: Expanded Battles | Dev Diary 1 - 17 December 2025
Expanded Battles Overview We are currently into beta testing of “Expanded Battles”, the much anticipated expansion to our successful naval combat and ship design game “Rule the Waves III”. The expansion will include historical scenarios, a quick battle generator, and a scenario editor. The scenarios that will ship with the game are Yellow Sea, Dogger Bank, River plate, Rheinübung (the chase for the Bismarck), Second Guadalcanal, Eastern Solomons, and a fictional cold war scenario set in the Mediterranean.At present we are testing the main functions of the expansion, the scenarios and the quick battle generator. The scenarios being tested right now include Rheinübung, Yellow Sea and Eastern Solomons. Personally, I think Yellow Sea is a very interesting scenario. It has reasonably balanced forces, clear goals and is easily played in an hour or less. Predreadnoughts are cool and look reall…
- Home of Wargamers 2025 - Announcement - 2 September 2025
The wait is almost over: Home of Wargamers 2025, the yearly live showcase that we stream on Twitch and YouTube, is coming on September 25th.It will bring you the biggest announcements, updates, Spoilers and behind-the-scenes insights from the world of Matrix Games.This year’s edition will showcase some of the most beloved franchises in our catalog, as well as exciting new projects. Developers and producers will take the stage to share exclusive previews, reveal upcoming expansions, and discuss the future of their series. Be ready to know more about Shadow Empire, Combat Mission, Armored Brigade, Strategic Command, WEGO, Rule the Waves 3 and more.Save the date: September 25th, 2025.Stay tuned and don’t miss a single announcement: join us as we celebrate strategy and wargaming together. WISHLIST RULE THE WAVES 3: EXPANDED BATTLES
- Maintenance Update is OUT NOW - 11 August 2025
Hello Admirals,While we are working on the new DLC "Expanded Battles" we continue to improve the base game, and we're happy to announce that the Maintenance Update is now available. It's a bug-fixing update, mostly focusing on the UI, though we have included a small new feature where players can now rename their officers.You can find the full changelog below:User Interface• Restored the selected ships count label.• Added filter on division type to fleet organization tab.• Fixed unreadable oil locations in dark mode.• Fixed sorting in submarine list.• Fixed some problems with special characters. (We appreciate feedback on this, especially if you are running an asian language OS).• Fleet organization tab: Edited division will be made visible in the list after most operations.• Improved restoring the main screen to maximized on starting the game.• The game will now remember the width of th…
- Remaster Update is now available - 28 April 2025
Hello Admirals, We're excited to announce that the Remaster Update is now live, just in time for the launch of the WarGames Fest, running from April 28 at 10:00 AM PDT to May 5! This major update brings a host of new features, improvements, and fixes. Check out the full changelog below for all the details. v1.00.84 - April 28th, 2025 Game Engine Modernised game engine and appearance. Save Games Savefiles should be fully compatible with the new version. Games are now saved in the correct path for your documents folder (...\Documents\My Games\Rule the Waves 3). The first time it is run, it will copy all existing savefiles to the new correct save location if needed. It will leave a copy of the save files in the old location. Preferences Added dark mode options (Preferences/Sound and video). The user can now choose between four different display styles, two light and two dark. User Interfac…
- Remaster Update coming soon - 22 April 2025
Hello Admirals, In celebration of the upcoming WarGames Fest, we’re excited to announce that the Remaster Update for Rule the Waves 3 will be launching on April 28. This update continues our commitment to refining and enhancing the game, with key improvements across both performance and visuals. Here are the update highlights: Updated game engine to resolve technical issues with saved games and user preferences. New UI modes, including the long-awaited dark mode for a more comfortable visual experience. Improved ship graphics in the ship design screen, making your naval creations more detailed and immersive. Various bug fixes and minor improvements to enhance stability and overall gameplay quality. This update marks a significant step in our ongoing effort to deliver the best possible naval strategy experience. Here’s a sneak peek at the updated UI: OLD VERSION NEW VERSION Mark your cal…
- Rule the Waves 3 - Update v01.00.59 - 13 November 2024
Hello Admirals. Today we have an update for you that continues to refine and improve Rule the Waves 3. It mostly includes bug fixes like battles that generated without any ships, and balance tweaks like making blockading enemies more likely to accept battles in the player build area. To go along with this update we have a big sale right now. Rule the Waves 3 is a whopping 40% off on Steam. The changelog is posted below. Good luck in your battles everyone, and watch out for flash fires. v1.00.59 - October 29th, 2024 Turn Resolution • Fixed a bug where the game could in unusual circumstances freeze after the turn and not progress to next turn. Divisions • BC can now be reassigned to divisions with a BB flagship in the battle preview screen. • Fixed a bug in the division editor with a division with no commander being treated is as if it had one. Strategic Layer • A blockading enemy is now…
- Rule the Waves 3: Expanded Battles DLC - 26 September 2024
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3170370/Rule_the_Waves_3_Expanded_Battles/ We are happy to announce that the first Rule the Waves 3 DLC is on the way! Have you ever wanted to see a Jutland-style battleship slugfest set in World War II? Have you wondered how the Japanese super battleship Yamato would fare against a navy from the early missile age? What would happen if a US armada fought the Italian navy for control of the Mediterranean? You can see what happens in all these scenarios and more with the Expanded Battles expansion. For those looking for an easier entry point into the series or anyone looking to fight naval engagements from across 20th century naval history, this expansion brings a diverse range of premade historical scenarios for players to test their skills as admirals and learn the intricacies of the game’s tactical battles. For those who prefer a short fight to a long…
- Home of Wargamers Live Event announcement - 12 September 2024
We are proud to announce our new Home of Wargamers live event, which will take place on September 26th at 5 pm UK time. Join us on our Twitch channel to know more about our biggest franchises. You can set a reminder here. We will talk about a lot of important updates for some of our Matrix Games best sellers and coming soon games, such as: Modern Naval Warfare Armored Brigade 2 Nuclear War Simulator Command Modern Operations Flashpoint Campaigns Rule the Waves 3 And much more. Stay tuned!
- Rule the Waves 3 - Update v01.00.52 - 23 July 2024
Hello Admirals, today we have a Rule the Waves 3 update for you. Version 1.00.52 brings tweaks and fixes to the game, including changes to A.I. fleet generation for the 1935 start date. The full changelog can be viewed below. Happy hunting everyone. 1.00.52 - July 15th, 2024 Campaign Generation France might now have one or two CV in their legacy fleet in a 1935 start. Japan, USA and Britain might now have CVL in their legacy fleet in a 1935 start. Fixed a data error that could cause a communist China to have the wrong flag in a 1920 start. Fixed a bug with legacy ships occasionally having a missile maintenance cost even though missiles were not invented. Strategic Layer Made unrest more likely to come down when naval budget is low. Fixed a bug where AI nations said they cancelled an alliance but then didn't. Made sure the AI is not building airbases or carriers ahead of their time in ga…
- Rule the Waves 3 - Dev Diary - Torpedoes - 10 June 2024
Today we have a dev diary for you all on torpedo mechanics in RTW3. Torpedo hit chances is a topic that is a frequently discussed topic among players of RTW3. Torpedoes are a serious threat, and in RTW3, as in real naval combat, a single torpedo hit can mean the difference between victory and defeat. A torpedo hit on a heavy warship will lead to serious damage and speed loss, which might expose the ship to further danger. At the very least, you will face a couple of months repair time. As an example, a single torpedo hit on the Scharnhorst after she sank the carrier Glorious was a career ending event for the commander of the German force, Admiral Marschall. Players are likely to take more risks than real admirals. After all, it is not their lives and careers that are at stake, only some electrons. But it can still be very annoying to have your victory spoiled by unnecessary torpedo hits…
- Rule the Waves 3 History Series Episode 5 - The Jet and Missile Age: 1946-1975 - 28 May 2024
Rule the Waves 4 Episode 5 is out now. The Second World War had seen new technologies implemented on a massive scale. By the end of the war vast fleets of radar equipped Essex class carriers, Iowa Battleships, and Fletcher destroyers were in service. These ships risked becoming obsolete as a new postwar technological boom yet again revolutionized weapon systems. Special thanks to Drachinifel for lending his voice to this project. Thanks for joining us for this series!
