Ashes of the Singularity II Launches on PC With 20% Discount Through November 17

Ashes of the Singularity II launch, Digi Mart USA News: Oxide Games and Stardock Entertainment have released Ashes of the Singularity II on PC, ten years after the original became a widely used DirectX 12 benchmark. The game is sold through Steam and directly by Stardock, and the team planned a release-day livestream at 1:00 PM EST (18:00 UTC) on YouTube, Steam and Twitch.

The sequel expands the conflict between the Post-Human Coalition and the machine-driven Substrate, led by the superintelligence Haalee, created by Prometheon AI Corp. It adds a third side, the United Earth Forces (UEF), formed when the nations of Earth set aside long-standing rivalries.

Outmatched in technology, the UEF relies on large armies, disciplined infantry and strategies drawn from military history.

The single-player campaign casts players as a UEF Commanding Officer fighting to retake the solar system. Instant Action skirmishes, online co-op and competitive multiplayer cover all three factions, with up to eight players supported at launch.

Stardock says both the campaign and AI skirmishes can be played fully offline.

Oxide says the engine incorporates technology developed for Ara: History Untold. Players can command thousands of units across continent-sized maps and use Strategic Zoom to move from an orbital view to the front line.

Terrain changes during matches, as structures crumble, persistent damage reshapes the battlefield and ground can be converted to or from Turinium.

The minimum specification calls for 64-bit Windows 10 or 11, an Intel Core i5-8500 or AMD Ryzen 5 2400G, 8 GB of RAM, and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 (6 GB) or AMD Radeon RX 580 (8 GB). The recommended specification rises to an Intel Core i5-11600K or AMD Ryzen 5 5600X, 16 GB of RAM, and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 (8 GB) or AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT (8 GB).

Both tiers require DirectX 12, a broadband connection and 50 GB of storage, with an SSD recommended.

The Standard Edition lists at $39.99, and the Premium Edition at $69.99 adds the first three DLC packs and the soundtrack. Both carry a 20% launch discount through November 17, bringing them to $31.99 and $55.99 respectively.