War Footing has a very direct gameplay loop - each turn advances time as the player sees enemy forces gather and invasion becoming more likely. Building a credible defense can have multiple paths - many cheap units, air power, highly-trained mechanized units, heavy artillery, or a mixture of all of them.
Command happens at a high level - with battalions being the primary unit, brigades being possible to use, and companies having recently been added for additional options. Units are assigned to one of three sectors - North, Central, and South, to dig in and hold off the enemy invasion there. When and where you deploy your units matters, as deployed units can dig in but won't be able to train or recover.
Equipping your units is equally important to training and will be a challenge. You start with very little and need to develop relationships with other countries to buy equipment directly, or buy licenses to produce it yourself. Strong relationships will result in access to more advanced equipment, but that also is more expensive and time consuming if you produce it yourself. Currently, there are 9 countries the player can buy equipment from, each with their own unique lineups:
- United States
- UK
- France
- Germany
- Russia
- China
- Israel
- Brazil
- Sweden
Once tension gets high, there is a chance each turn for the enemy to begin an invasion. Battles will take place in different sectors, with the units arrayed there fighting for control of territory. While getting pushed back and losing territory will cost you the game, attrition can be equally damaging and is the only way to force the aggressor to halt their attack.
Filed under: War Footing · dev blog · 25 May 2026