IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad announced

Word comes through from 1C that the Russian publisher is teaming up with 777 Studios, creators of the Rise of Flight series, to form 1C Game Studios. This new developer's first project will be IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad, the next game in the highly regarded (well, except for Cliffs of Dover) series of World War 2 flight sims.

The announcement promises both single and multiplayer scenarios, and teases "brand new gameplay modes." The team are prepping for take-off in early-2014.

The company also makes excited promises about what flight sim fans can expect from the new studio. "This partnership is also a turning point for the combat flight simulation genre that will streamline development of flight-simulation products and allow collaboration between former competitors." Which actually sounds rather sinister.

Certainly both IL-2 and the WW1 focused Rise of Flight have been well-received critically, and having the two studios reaffirming their commitment to the genre can only be a good thing. And Rise of Flight fans should have no fear of being grounded. 777's head, Jason Williams, has promised the team will also be producing additional content for the title.

Phil has been writing for PC Gamer for nearly a decade, starting out as a freelance writer covering everything from free games to MMOs. He eventually joined full-time as a news writer, before moving to the magazine to review immersive sims, RPGs and Hitman games. Now he leads PC Gamer's UK team, but still sometimes finds the time to write about his ongoing obsessions with Destiny 2, GTA Online and Apex Legends. When he's not levelling up battle passes, he's checking out the latest tactics game or dipping back into Guild Wars 2. He's largely responsible for the whole Tub Geralt thing, but still isn't sorry.