Company of Heroes 3's biggest update adds five maps, and Final Stand can now be played by three
An update celebrating the Company of Heroes series' 20th anniversary is out for Company of Heroes 3 on PC, bringing five new multiplayer maps alongside a broad pass on visuals, audio, AI and the Italian campaign. Its standalone wave-defense game, Final Stand, also gains a third co-op player slot.
Relic calls version 3.0 its biggest update to Company of Heroes 3 since launch. The developer's patch notes cover both the main strategy game and Final Stand, but the two remain separate products: you do not need to own the base game to buy and play Final Stand.
The update is available on PC through Steam. Final Stand is a paid standalone game; the new features are an update for people who own it, not an announcement that the game itself is free.
Image: Relic Entertainment
Bring a third player to Final Stand
Final Stand asks players to defend against escalating waves while choosing units, abilities and longer-term upgrades. Before this update it supported solo play and two-player co-op. Relic says up to three people can now play together, with enemy events scaling according to the number of players. The three-player mode applies to all battlegrounds.
One of those battlegrounds is new. Dam Busters has a rolling-storm mechanic: when the storm arrives, friendly units lose vision and range; when it clears, their vision and range increase beyond normal. Relic also lists 13 new player units, 14 new abilities, 35 passive technologies and additional enemy units in the update.
The Final Stand store description may still describe two-player co-op in parts of its overview. The newer 3.0 patch notes explicitly list three-player support, so players should check that their game is updated before forming a larger group.
Image: Relic Entertainment
The main game gets new battlefields and a campaign rethink
The five maps span several match sizes: Ancona Railyard is a one-versus-one map, Vire River Valley supports two-versus-two, Foggia Airfield is for three-versus-three, and Turin Steelworks and Radarstation Mammut are four-versus-four maps. Vire River Valley is listed for skirmish, co-op and custom games, while the other four support all modes.
Relic has also refreshed existing battlegrounds and updated weather, lighting, effects and sound. The changes extend to the Italian dynamic campaign, where the resource and town-upgrade systems have been revised. AI decision-making and multiplayer balance are part of the patch as well; the full notes are worth consulting if a favorite unit or strategy feels different.
There is more on the calendar: Relic says its Operation Torch campaign DLC is due on November 25. That is a separate upcoming release, not part of the free 3.0 update. For now, returning players can start with the new maps or see how a three-person Final Stand group handles the storm.
