Struggling military RTS Broken Arrow reveals ambitious roadmap that should finally help it reach its full potential

With some of the most realistic depictions of modern military warfare around and some excellent gameplay features, Broken Arrow could've become an instant classic when it launched earlier this year. However, network infrastructure issues, anti-cheat concerns, and balance complaints have all arisen since it dropped, blocking it from being a true challenger to some of the best RTS games around. It still has potential, but it's not there yet. However, the new Broken Arrow roadmap has now been revealed, and it charts a path through 2026 and beyond that should help elevate it to the heights I believe it can reach. Littered with new features, huge improvements, and DLC drops, if everything in this roadmap can be delivered without a hitch, then Broken Arrow may be touted as one of the greats by this time next year.

Bringing modern military machinery and weapons into a grounded, tactical, and competitive RTS experience, there was a lot of hype for Broken Arrow. Its betas were hugely popular, and tens of thousands of players piled in when the game launched. It's shown flashes of brilliance, but those key, aforementioned issues have held it back. Huge effort has already gone into solving some of these problems, and the unveiling of its new roadmap proves that the hard work isn't going to slow down.

Extending all the way into 2027, the roadmap features several big content drops. While there'll be no more new content this year, 2026 will deliver three expansions that add new specializations to the game for both the US and Russian forces. "Each expansion will enrich the gameplay by offering new sets of units with unique weapon systems, as well as additional vehicles," an accompanying blog post reads.

A fourth, similarly sized DLC will arrive in 2027, but so too will a "major" expansion that adds a totally new faction to the game. This faction will bring new weapons, vehicles, and mechanics to expand your options massively. Additional theaters of war will arrive too, expanding the map pool. Players will also be able to dive into an all-new campaign which features "a deck-modification system that allows players to customize their army composition with great flexibility."

Woven in between all this content, though, are the changes that will make the biggest difference to Broken Arrow's fortunes. Before the end of this year, more improvements to the game's infrastructure and systems will be rolled out, along with the addition of AI-controlled allies.

In 2026, you'll see a huge transformation. Steel Balalaika aims to add a match history tool to let you track stats and tinker with your battleplan, a match replay system, a proper spectator mode, new variants to existing multiplayer maps, and co-op support for the game's campaign. It also promises a "large-scale reorganization of the server architecture," which will see mechanics such as unit spawning and in-game economy hosted server-side. The developer says this will "improve synchronization, minimize cheating, and lay the foundation" for match replays.

For a full breakdown of everything listed in the new roadmap, head to the latest Broken Arrow blog post here. You can also watch a livestream that accompanied the roadmap's reveal below.

Steel Balalaika also ends its blog post with a heartfelt message to players that have stuck with the game over the last few months, despite the issues it's faced. "We would also like to express our sincere gratitude to our players. Your patience, support, and interest in the project inspire us every day. Thanks to you, we continue to move forward, striving to deliver new content and improvements that will bring you joy for many years to come. Thank you for staying with us and believing in our work."