Axis & Allies 1942 has a release date on PC – and it’s sooner than you think

The latest crack at bringing wargame classic Axis & Allies to PC has been given a release date that you won’t have to wait very long for: it’s out this week!

Axis & Allies 1942 Online was announced earlier this year by developer Beamdog, the studio behind the likes of remastered D&D computer RPGs Baldur’s Gate and Neverwinter Nights.

Based on the second edition of Axis & Allies 1942, the PC app is a pretty faithful adaptation of the board game, allowing players to play through the latter years of World War II as either side, grappling over territories and managing the production and military manoeuvres of the UK, US, Soviet Union, Germany and Japan.

Despite the ‘Online’ tag, the PC game includes single-player mode against AI opponents, as well as local hotseat play, alongside the expected online multiplayer. Computer opponents can play alongside multiple human players in any mode to fill out matches to the maximum five players.

Axis & Allies 1942 Online will launch into Early Access on Steam tomorrow, July 31st, and is expected to remain in Early Access for a “few months”, Beamdog said.

The dev promised regular updates in the lead up to release, with more features, bug fixes, friend list integration and UI improvements among the changes mentioned. Tutorials, custom victory conditions and support for asynchronous play are all promised as features, too.

The game will cost $20 (£16) in Early Access – the price will remain the same after it’s released in full later this year.