In an MMO on Steam, players fought for 70 days in an unrelenting war that ultimately ended with a single attack
What kind of game is this? Foxhole is a sandbox MMO set in World War II that celebrated its full release on Steam in September 2022 after being available in Early Access for almost 5 years. The MMO is played from an isometric perspective, meaning you look at your character from a high angle.
In Foxhole, you join one of two armies and fight in an ongoing war that can last for several days or weeks. A war is only over when one side has gathered enough points by controlling map areas.
During battles, every player is part of the massive machinery, and not every player fights on the front lines. Some are engaged in producing ammunition while others prepare newcomers for the war. The right strategy is an important aspect of success.
There are controllable war machines like tanks and ships as well as infantry battles in a persistent, ever-existing world. Consequently, the events of the battle can have effects days or weeks later.
Developers have to intervene because a battle just won’t end
What kind of battle was this? On the Charlie server of Foxhole, a war lasted over 2 months. It was only after 71 days and 9 million fallen characters that a victor emerged from the relentless battle.
On January 27, 2025, the developers announced on the official Foxhole Discord server that they would take measures to bring the war on Charlie to an early end. To this end, they intended to lower the minimum points required for victory on January 31.
However, before the developers’ measure could be implemented, players gathered for a final assault and one side achieved the hard-fought victory. On Reddit, a player summarizes:
“The war ended because the developers brought everyone to the same side. They essentially took care of the planning and brought everyone together for an operation at the same time. People discarded their supplies and made a massive push that they should have made earlier, but they lacked confidence/manpower. […] When everyone returned for one last hurrah, the war was over. The impending end of the war brought back the MANY burned-out players, and the war was over.“
Why did the developers want to intervene? On the Foxhole Discord server, the developers explained that their concern was about the player experience of new players who joined the Charlie server in the past month.
New players should experience the game as it was intended – from the early phase and initial preparations through the mid-game to the end. However, since the war had already lasted over 2 months and showed no sign of ending, that was not possible. Those new to the server could only experience a battle that had been ongoing for weeks and months.
It was not until November 2024 that Foxhole experienced a surge of players on Steam that filled the servers. A major update attracted many new and returning players: An MMO on Steam has the highest player numbers in 2 years due to a free update with new content attracting players
