Relicnews: the definitive source for all things Relic

Relic.com has relaunched, and brings (at first glance) at least one interesting news tidbit.

An online only version of Company of Heroes is coming to mainland china in 2008.

THQ Inc. and Shanda Interactive Entertainment Limited today announced a co-development and publishing agreement for an online-only version of THQ’s critically acclaimed 3D Real-Time Strategy (RTS) PC game Company of Heroes™. Company of Heroes Online™ (working title) is currently being co-developed by THQ studio Relic Entertainment, the creators of Company of Heroes, and Shanda. As part of the agreement, Shanda has obtained the exclusive license to operate Company of Heroes Online in Mainland China, and THQ and Shanda will also share the benefits of the game’s potential release outside that region. Company of Heroes Online is scheduled for release across Mainland China in 2008.


The original Company of Heroes was released to broad critical acclaim in 2006. The game is set in World War II and brings to life the journey of the men of Able Company as they fight across Europe. The RTS hit has won more than 37 awards to date, including six “PC Game of the Year” and 12 “Strategy Game of the Year” awards. In addition, the game is listed in more than 10 “Top 10 Games of 2006” lists. Company of Heroes Online is set to deliver a persistent Company of Heroes experience for online gamers where players will be able to build their character up from private to general through new multiplayer cooperative missions, gameplay modes, and player versus player combat. The teams at Relic Entertainment and Shanda are joining together to create a persistent RTS experience across the expansive battlefields of World War II Europe.

Looks like it’s China only to start, but Coop Multiplayer missions? Yes Please!

If you spot anything interesting on the new relic.com, drop us a line!

ps. Company of Heroes Online = COHO. A Coho is a type of salmon. Look, Fish!

Ok guys please stop asking for keys as the contest is over now.

It’s lottery time! Reply to this newspost and you might win a key for the OF beta test! The post number of your submitted reply is your lottery number, and we’re giving away keys to the first five prime numbers, starting with the number 1.

This means that posts number 1, 2, 3, 5 and 7 will get keys for the OF beta.

Don’t cheat, we’ll notice and we’ll murder you with a rusty fork. This is not open to people who just signed up today. Duplicate accounts will lead to severe rusty fork abuse.

Edit(Someguy):
Iro43, theshadow, jagdtiger00, Dave, and Sean are the winners. Please send your e-mails to ahenze@relic.com with RNFRONTPAGE, username, e-mail in the subject line.

ps. Use the e-mails you used to register for the comments, not your relic forums account (unless they happen to be the same).

pss. I’ll try to see if I can get more keys

THQ is looking to Steam as another source of digital distribution. Currently, Company of Heroes along with some other THQ games are available. The Dawn of War series will be available as well in the near future.

There is currently a promotion for 10% off your purchase until July 24th.

Source: Shacknews

Shacknews has posted their preview of Opposing Fronts.

Panzer Elite units are broken into small groups of three or so infantry. Although these groups are weaker in strength than other sides, they also have the advantage of covering more ground, making it much more difficult to defend against them. These infantry can be loaded into vehicles and used as weapon platforms, firing bazookas and rifles from the backseats of halftracks and jeeps. New lieutenant and commander units give troops boosts in ability, although they must be individually managed and kept out of danger, lest they be offed by a sniper.

The much displayed E3 trailer is attached to the end of their post as well. Enjoy!

No, I don’t get to go anymore because of the changes on how E3 is setup this year. However, THQ’s conference will be on Thursday from 9:15 - 10:15am PST. Keep your eyes peeled for any information that might come up during that time.

Opposing Fronts:

Images (Thanks Darkwarrior): IGN, Gamespot, Gamespy

Trailer (thanks Weavern): Gamespot

Impressions: Kotaku, (7/17) Shacknews

Press conference: According to Joystiq.com liveblog, they made no mention of any Relic products. You can check out the transcripts here.

Relic finally surprised us with a change to their main webpage. Currently, it is just an image wallpaper of the closeup of the Relic logo on a sea mine.

Relic.com website

Discussion thread

ps. If I remember correctly, yesterday’s image was a zoomed out shot of sea mines.

Edit: Molo found this

Link dead…

Buggo posted up her first contest for beta keys just in case you missed out on the tournaments’ sign-ups.

Does it feel like you’ve been part of the Relic community forever? Do you have tons of posts? Are you a valued member of the community?

If so, please post the following in this thread:
- Why you are a forum veteran and/or valued member of the community
- Your favourite/The funniest moment in the RelicNews forum community

I will pick 50 winners from all the posts.

Contest closes Thursday, July 12th at noon PST. Yes there will be more contests for everyone!

There are some restrictions, so please go to this thread for more information.