Gallipoli is releasing in just two days, and we’ve revealed quite a bit of the game since the announcement last year. So to get you ready to jump into the game the second it’s out, here’s everything we’ve revealed so far, and a little bit more!
Before we start, there's another episode of our collab with Jonathan Ferguson and the Royal Armouries! This time, we talk in-depth about the pistols the Ottomans used in WW1!
Keep in mind that everything here is heavily summarized. For more detailed info, check out the linked blogs.
An Authentic WW1 PVP Experience
As you’ve come to expect from the WW1 Game Series, Gallipoli aims to let you experience the battlefields of WW1 in an authentic and grounded way, while not sacrificing the ‘fun’ of a multiplayer FPS game. It’s a Milsim-lite, offering a fast-paced, hardcore one-shot-one-kill experience at a level of accessible realism.
Many new features and changes in Gallipoli make the game much more immersive, elevating the strengths of our game and making you more of an actual soldier, someone who can get exhausted and struggle to keep a steady hand under pressure.
Gallipoli has been developed with assistance from historians and museums to make sure we get the details right, so you can fully immerse yourself in the intense combat of WW1, and the Ottoman Fronts especially.
The Ottoman Fronts
Gallipoli is named after the infamous beach landings of the Gallipoli campaign, but the game features much more than that. Fight battles across the Ottoman Fronts, from Lower Mesopotamia to the Sinai desert.
On launch, 5 maps will be included in Gallipoli:
V Beach (also known as Cape Helles)
One more map of the Sinai and Palestine Campaign, which you’ll see when you launch the game!
Every map is closely based on the real-life locations. They are not 1:1 recreations – we’ve taken some creative liberties to make sure the maps are fun and balanced – but they’re designed to reflect the actual locations and the challenges soldiers had to overcome during the battle.
Both Anzac Cove and V Beach allow you to experience the beach landings themselves. British forces start seaborne in boats or the SS River Clyde, and will continue to do so until the beach is secured. And as you might expect, these small boats don’t offer much in terms of cover!
Two main factions are available at release: the British Empire and the Ottoman Empire. The former is split up into three subfactions to pick from: the British, the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, and the Indian forces.
Not every subfaction was historically present in every battle, and you’ll find this reflected in Gallipoli!
Expedition Mode
The game mode of Gallipoli is Expedition Mode, a 25 versus 25 battle of objectives and sectors all about maintaining momentum, based on the expeditionary warfare often seen on the Ottoman Fronts. Objectives are semi-randomized, so you’ll need to adapt on the fly as the battle progresses. But instead of writing it all out, a visual explainer made by Flakfire may be better!
Gameplay
We’ve put in a lot of work in elevating the overall gameplay to the next level.
Gun play
Weapons and weapon handling feel deliberate and realistic, while looking stunning! You have a cumbersome hunk of steel in your hands, and gun play should reflect that. Weapons drag when you turn, your hand wobbles when you try to aim and your arms get tired when aiming for a long time. Reloads are slow and methodical, but are split in many stages (or checkpoints) so you don’t have to repeat the entire process if interrupted.
Suppression
When bullet fly by or explosions go off in your general vicinity, you’ll be suppressed. This is more than just a visual effect, it also makes you perform worse in combat! Early stages of suppression increase sway and recoil, but continued suppression will build up into a panic. Your hands start shaking and swaying, near misses cause you to flinch, and you may struggle to close the bolt at the end of a reload.
Damage & Ballistics
There’s now a bigger difference in damage fall-off between weapon types, and bullet drop is a significant factor at each weapon’s maximum effective range. Hitscan is also gone, there’s now bullet travel time depending on each weapon’s muzzle velocity and ammo type.
Movement
Stamina has been expanded! Sprinting, meleeing, jumping and vaulting all tire you out. This causes your aim to sway more and you can’t sprint as fast before.
At maximum stamina, you’ll be able to dash across no man’s land quickly. However, your stamina limit will be lowered if you get wounded in battle, and even more so if you’ve been downed.
You can now also sprint whole crouched or prone. This won’t be as fast normal sprinting, but has the added benefit of keeping a low profile.
Downed State
If you’ve taken enough damage in a non-vital body part, like a limb, you’ll be downed on the ground instead of killed. In this state, you won’t be able to fight anymore; you can only try to crawl to safety and get your allies to help you back up.
Squad
Working with your squad is very important in Gallipoli. Not only do some classes depend on teamwork, the type of squad you’re in also benefits for a specific role on the battlefield, like giving specific classes more slots.
Infantry: all rounders with support options for ammo, suppressive fire and health.
Scouting: squads focused on intel gathering and spotting.
Support: units to support themselves and other squads through ammo and health.
Assault: squads great at destructive charges and capturing objectives, with strong aerial support and mobility.
Machine Gun: sections carrying around a Heavy Machine Gun capable of locking down an approach, with support options for ammo and spotting.
Officers get to call in specialized aerial support depending on the squad type they’re leading. Their selection is tailored to the role of the squad. For example, a Creeping Barrage is a great option for an aggressive push, weakening enemy defenses and leaving behind a blanket of dust in its wake that the attackers can use as cover. Additionally, aerial support can now be called in from anywhere, allowing Officers to play a more active role in battle.
Additionally, each squad gets a Squad Beacon that give you a forward spawn position. The attackers can place these where ever they’d like, and the defenders' beacons are pre-placed at key positions.
Weapons
Including the different variants of weapons, there are 150 different weapons in your arsenal! There’s a wide selection of truly iconic weapons like the SMLE MK.III, Mauser M1903, Luger P08, and Colt M1911, but also some deeper cuts soldiers obtained through private purchase. Beyond the firearms, you’ll also have a selection of makeshift clubs, bayonets used like sabres, and static weapons like the Toffee Apple mortar.
You’ll see the full arsenal in-game, but here are a few more new previews!
Classes
The amount of classes and their flexibility has been expanded! There will be 10 classes, introducing 4 new classes compared to Isonzo:
Officer - The leader of the squad, capable of providing buffs and calling in aerial support.
Rifleman - A man with a rifle, who focuses on fighting and taking objectives. It’s honest work.
Ammo Bearer (NEW!) - Carrying around extra boxes of ammo, these go around placing ammo boxes or giving ammo to allies directly.
Engineer - Equipped with the tools needed to place extra defensive equipment, or sabotage that of the enemy.
Light Machine Gunner (British Empire Only) - Brings massive firepower while remaining decently mobile
Heavy Machine Gunner (NEW!) - Brings even more massive firepower with static Heavy Machine Gun placements that require time to set up.
Bomber (NEW!) - With a belt full of grenades, they trade firepower for extra explosives and mobility.
Spotter - Equipped with binoculars and flare guns, they provide spotting and intel for their allies.
Sniper - Take out or suppress distant priority targets as the only class equipped with high-magnification scopes.
Stretcher Bearer (NEW!) - The lifeline of the squad, they keep everyone in the fight through healing and faster pick-up times of downed allies.
Additionally, each class has 2 subclasses that specialize even more into a specific role.
Progression
Progression for both weapons and classes see some changes.
You’ll now have all weapons available to you at the very beginning, allowing you to experiment and find your favourites straight away. As you use any specific weapon, you’ll grow more accustomed to it! Every weapon gets a selection of perks that improve specific aspects of the weapon, and you unlock those as you gain more experience.
Classes work similar, but a bit different. As you gain more experience with any specific class, you get a perk that scales in strength, making you better at your job over time! In between perk upgrades, you’ll also unlock a cosmetic item or two to flex your expertise.
Customization
The cosmetic customization has been expanded, with uniforms split up into multiple slots:
Subfaction (where applicable)
Upper body
Equipment
Lower body
Face/Body type
Headgear
Facial Hair
Facial Accessories
You can now mix and match items in different slots to make your very own uniform!
There are some limitations on who can equip what. Certain gear may be limited to a specific class or subfaction. For example, you can only equip Punjabi turbans as an Indian soldier, and most Officer’s equipment is exclusive to them.
You’re quite up to speed now! There’s still a lot to discover once the game launches in just two days, like a whole bunch of weapons, a new map, more cosmetics, and a lot of small improvements across the board that will elevate the game as a whole. We can’t wait to see you all jump in-game on August 20th, and you’ll likely see many of the dev team around as well. See you then!