Matrix Games and Koios Works have announced the release of "Panzer Command: Kharkov," a new release in the Panzer Command series where players step back to the early days of May, 1942 as both the German and Soviet armies prepare major offensives focused on the same place – Kharkov.

"Panzer Command: Kharkov is a 3D tactical game in which players control a core force of vehicles and squads while battling through individual scenarios and historical campaigns. In addition, Panzer Command: Kharkov includes a Random Battle Generator and a Random Campaign Generator that cover battles and campaigns across the Eastern Front of World War II

David Heath, Director of Operations at Matrix Games, said “Panzer Command: Kharkov sets a new benchmark for our series of 3D tactical wargames and we’re very proud of the exciting new features and the historical content we’ve built into this release. This is really a major leap beyond the original Winter Storm release!”

Panzer Command: Kharkov is a 3D simultaneous turn based strategy game where you command either the Soviet or German forces during the punch and counter-punch of the 1942 battles around Kharkov in the Ukraine. Two new Kharkov campaigns as well as some additional short campaigns tie the scenarios together, allowing core units to progress from battle to battle, gaining experience, medals and special abilities. A point system allows players to “purchase” additional units for each mission in the campaign as well as replace losses, forcing decisions on management of resources. The new random battles system and the random campaign system allow for virtually infinite replayability with a variety of historical forces and settings.

The design for Panzer Command: Kharkov lets first time wargamers sit down and start playing, while allowing hard-core gamers to enjoy the realism and historical accuracy. All campaign battles can also be fought as individual scenarios and a new random battle generator as well as a random campaign generator make for almost infinite replayability! The AI can control either side in each battle and a full Play-by-Email system allows for head to head play.

Panzer Command: Kharkov includes a full set of scenario and campaign editing tools as well as excellent support for moddability, extending to the game data as well as the 3D models themselves.

Owners of Panzer Command: Operation Winter Storm will also be able to use the additional Winter maps from Winter Storm in Panzer Command: Kharkov, which expands the winter map selection for random battles and campaigns significantly (only one winter map comes with Kharkov). In addition, if Kharkov is installed on a system which already has Winter Storm, it will install bonus Winter Storm campaigns that are updated to work with all the new features and improvements of Panzer Command: Kharkov.

Panzer Command: Kharkov is available now from the Matrix Games Online Store at $39.99 US for the digital download and $49.99 US for a boxed copy with a printed manual. Owners of Panzer Command: Winter Storm can register for a special upgrade coupon to purchase Panzer Command: Kharkov at a $15 discount. A bundle offer is also available for new customers to purchase both Winter Storm and Kharkov together for $15 off the combined price. Check the Panzer Command: Kharkov game page and forums for information on these special pricing offers."