Company of Heroes 3 free to try on Steam with a record 67% discount

Free trial and record-low price

Company of Heroes 3, the World War II real-time strategy game from Relic Entertainment, is free to try on Steam until 16 November, according to Notebookcheck. The promotion celebrates the 20th anniversary of the series.

Players who want to continue after the trial can buy the game at a 67% discount until 19 November. That reduces the price to $19.79 from close to $60. According to SteamDB, the previous biggest discount was 60%, so this is the lowest price the game has ever reached.

Relic has also released Update 3.0 to mark the anniversary, although the research notes do not describe its contents in detail.

Two campaigns in Italy and North Africa

The game moves the series away from the Western and Eastern Fronts to new settings. Players can command Allied or German forces in two campaigns that work in different ways.

The Italian campaign plays out on a changing strategic map, where players plan wider military operations rather than single battles. The North African campaign follows a more classic structure, with a sequence of traditional missions one after another.

How the battles play

The game keeps the tactical style the series is known for. Players direct small groups of units rather than huge armies. Infantry uses cover, tanks support attacks and artillery fires on enemy positions.

Flanking matters a great deal, because tanks are easier to damage from the sides and rear. The battlefield itself is part of the tactics: buildings and obstacles can be destroyed, which changes the ground during a fight.

Beyond the campaigns, the game includes skirmishes against computer opponents, a co-op mode and online matches with up to eight players.

What critics and players think

Professional reviews have been largely positive. GameStar gave the game 90 out of 100 and called it an almost perfect strategy game, while PC Gamer scored it 82 and criticised the Italian campaign. On Metacritic the game holds a Metascore of 81, though the user score sits much lower at 6.0.

Steam reviews are also mixed. Just 56% of more than 41,000 player reviews are positive. According to Notebookcheck, many players like the core gameplay but criticise unbalanced multiplayer and costly DLC, some of which unlocks extra tactical options. Some fans also expected more from the campaigns than earlier games in the series delivered.

Steam Deck status and who should try it

Valve lists Company of Heroes 3 as Unsupported on the Steam Deck, its handheld gaming device. However, ProtonDB, a community database that tracks how games run through the Proton compatibility layer, gives it a Gold rating. That suggests the game should generally work on the handheld with some adjustments.

The free trial makes it easy to judge the game without spending money. Players who enjoy it have until 19 November to buy it at the record-low price of $19.79. Notebookcheck notes that the discounted price was correct when the article was written and may change or sell out.