- Bolt Action - Dev Diary #7: Teaching the AI to Play Fair - 25 August 2026
Wargamers! While we love head-to-head multiplayer, we know that for a huge portion of our community, single-player is where you’ll spend most of your time. Whether you’re short on time for an online match, testing out experimental armies or using solo play to learn the ropes of Bolt Action - a great AI opponent is vital.We wanted an opponent that plays like a real human wargamer—one that reads the battlefield, weighs risk versus reward, and abides by the exact same D6 rules, line-of-sight checks, and morale limits that you do. Today, we’re giving you a peek behind the systems to show you exactly how our AI works under the hood. The AI on the Battlefield So, what can you actually expect when you go up against the AI?It won’t simply follow a fixed script. It will read the battlefield, weigh its options and adapt: taking cover when survival matters, pushing for objectives when the time is…
- Bolt Action - First Look at In-Development Gameplay Footage - 23 July 2026
Commanders!Yesterday, during our Slitherine Next event, we unveiled new gameplay footage captured from an in-development build of Bolt Action, giving players their first look at several of the game's core systems in action.Many of these mechanics have been covered in our dev diaries, but this is the first time we've showcased them through actual gameplay. While the game is still in development, we wanted to give you an early look at what the team has been working on and share our progress with the community. The visual elements are still a work in progress, so you may notice a few placeholder assets and known bugs throughout the footage. Right now, our focus is on refining the game's core systems and ensuring the gameplay feels solid, while visual effects and overall polish continue to evolve. We're grateful to everyone who joined us for the livestream, and we hope you enjoyed this firs…
- Bolt Action will be featured at Slitherine Next - Save The Date - 15 July 2026
Mark your calendars and get ready, Slitherine Next is back on July 22, 2026 at 6 pm CEST on our official channels.Expect updates from your favourite games and franchises such as Bolt Action, Distant Worlds 2, Nightmare Frontier, Radio Commander and many more. Our first showcase of the year will bring you exclusive announcements, updates, and reveals of upcoming titles. During the event, we'll also offer an exclusive sneak peek at some of the gameplay features we're developing for Bolt Action, including exclusive in-development gameplay footage.We're thrilled to announce a special host for this year's event: 2DKiri. A great friend who will guide us through the entire show.It's your chance to dive into the future of strategy gaming and discover what's coming next.Tune in on July 22nd to not miss any updates. YouTube: Twitch:
- Bolt Action - Dev Diary #6: World War Mode - Our Sandbox Campaign - 25 June 2026
Wargamers! For our last few diaries, we’ve focused heavily on the core gameplay. Today, we pull back the curtain on our completely original, dynamic campaign mode.Instead of a "one-and-done" scripted, cinematic story (which was tempting!), we’re building a highly replayable, strategic sandbox inspired by best-in-class, procedurally generated campaigns. Here, preserving your troops and choosing your next operation strategically matters just as much as your tactical execution.Building the TheaterEvery campaign run starts by picking your Faction and Difficulty. Our engine takes those choices and dynamically generates a theater of war made of connected regions across late-war Western Europe. Higher difficulty increases the total number of battles you must fight, the size of the enemy armies you'll face, and reduces the quantity of player rewards.Your battles will take you from a starting re…
- Bolt Action - Dev Diary #5: Building an Army - 29 May 2026
Wargamers! Your tactical options on the battlefield are limited by a strict Army Point Budget. The platoon you choose, every squad you recruit, and every individual weapon upgrade you assign has a specific point cost. Managing this budget is crucial because it doesn't just dictate your raw firepower—it establishes your squads' veterancy mix, their resilience under heavy suppression, and how many Order Dice you contribute to the virtual bag. Choose your FactionYour army composition is shaped by your faction's innate National Characteristics. Since each faction features multiple distinct traits, a strong list doesn't try to force every rule into one army—it leans into a specific strategic focus.For example, if you build a US list heavily around Fire and Maneuver to maximize infantry fire efficiency, you will likely skip heavy, static artillery entirely. Instead, you spend your points maxi…
- Bolt Action - Dev Diary #4: Under Pressure - Pins, Morale, and Indirect Fire - 30 April 2026
Wargamers! Today we dive into the most critical psychological layer of the game: Pins, Morale, and Indirect Fire. They represent the stress, fear, and survival instincts of your troops under pressure.Pins: Stress in the CrosshairsA Pin represents the mounting pressure on a squad. Unlike many strategy games where a unit is either "alive" or "dead," our units suffer the consequences of every successful hit. When a unit is hit by enemy fire, it receives a Pin marker — even if it does not suffer any casualties, reflecting the suppressive effect of incoming fire.Pins are not limited to infantry squads: vehicles can also accumulate Pin markers, representing the impact of sustained enemy pressure on their crews.Pins provide a flat -1 penalty to Accuracy, but their effect on Morale is cumulative. A squad with several Pins isn't just slightly shaken—they are becoming increasingly difficult to co…
- Bolt Action - FAQs - 16 April 2026
Since we announced Bolt Action, we’ve been actively engaging with the community—especially through our Discord—and have received a lot of feedback on our reveals, as well as many questions about the video game. We’re still in full development, and things will become more defined as we move forward. In the meantime, we’ve collected the most frequently asked questions to give you more insight.Thanks for all your questions and feedback. Our journey is just getting started, and your input matters more than ever. Now, let’s dive into the FAQs:Will the game come to console? Console release is not part of the current launch plan. If the game performs well, this is definitely something we’d love to explore in the future. Will it support mods or Steam Workshop?We’re big fans of modding and community creativity. While Steam Workshop support is not confirmed in the current plan, it’s something we’…
- Bolt Action - Dev Diary #3: Order Die, Unit Activations & Snap to Action - 26 March 2026
Wargamers! Today we’re diving into the absolute soul of the Bolt Action experience: The Turn Order System.In most strategy games, you’re looking at a standard "I-Go-You-Go" structure. One player moves their entire army, then the other does the same. While that's clean and easy to follow, it’s also highly predictable and often leads to the "Alpha-Strike" problem—where the player who goes first can effectively cripple the enemy before they’ve even had a chance to react.Bolt Action shatters that mold. Every unit in your platoon—from your Heer Infantry to your Panzer IV—contributes an Order Die to a virtual bag. When a die is drawn, that side activates one eligible unit. Repeat until the bag is empty. That’s one Turn.This shifts the entire structure of the game. You aren't just working through a fixed checklist; you are constantly prioritizing, adapting, and deciding what matters right now.…
- Bolt Action - Dev Diary #2: Six Orders, Endless Decisions - 25 February 2026
Wargamers! Before we dive into today’s diary, we’d like to address some of the feedback from our last update. We received many comments, especially about our statement that “we didn’t want to build a digital version of Bolt Action” which understandably raised some concerns. So let us reassure you: we are building our videogame with the goal of ensuring that EVERY system has a spiritual equivalent in the tabletop game.Two weeks ago, we also had the pleasure of hosting Alessio Cavatore, Lead Designer of Bolt Action, for a special play session at Slitherine’s office. We spent the day rolling dice, measuring movement, and taking a deep dive into the mechanics and philosophy behind Bolt Action. Alessio shared the “why” behind the rules, how historical authenticity is balanced with the fluid Order Dice gameplay that defines the system. Understanding these core design pillars has been invaluab…
- Bolt Action - Dev Diary #1: Reimagining the Front Line - 26 January 2026
Hello everyone! We’re very excited to start bringing you regular updates from the development trenches.We know the skepticism that comes with a beloved license. We’ve all seen "PC adaptations" that strip the soul out of a tabletop game to make it "accessible." So our designers spent weeks in "boot camp”: reading rulebooks, painting minis, rolling dice, measuring distances with tape , and feeling the genuine panic of a FUBAR roll.We learned a lot, and we’re still learning. But the one thing we DID know from the beginning was that we didn’t want to build a digital version of Bolt Action. Bolt Action already exists! Playing a table-top experience will always remain special. What we want is the best Turn-Based Tactics videogame built on the Bolt Action ruleset. Sharing the game we love with a different audience. The Mechanics: Authentic Bolt ActionIn game design, the medium decides how rule…
- Bolt Action Has Been Announced - 9 December 2025
Slitherine and Frag Games have announced Bolt Action, a turn-based WWII strategy game inspired by the acclaimed tabletop system from Warlord Games. The game brings the miniature battlefield to life in a fully 3D environment, featuring realistic line of sight, terrain, and morale mechanics.Bolt Action offers a dynamic single-player campaign set during D-Day and the battles of Normandy, alongside multiplayer modes. Players must make careful tactical decisions, positioning troops, timing attacks, and issuing orders to achieve victory.The game is currently in development and is set to release in 2026, with more updates coming in the months ahead. Join our Discord channel for all the latest updates (LINK), and don’t forget to wishlist!
