War of the Roses is an action hack and slash video game developed by Fatshark and released by Paradox Interactive.

[2][failed verification] War of the Roses was well received for its extensive customisation enabling character configurations to be tailored to very specific tastes[3][4] and for its original "control scheme to tackle a new kind of combat with the aim of creating a completely different experience".

Checkpoints are conquered by standing close to the flag; the more team members are in place, the faster the point is captured.

On 6 February 2013, a free to play version of War of the Roses was released on the Steam digital distribution platform.

The trial version limits players by disallowing any unlocks, giving access only to the game's base classes and weapons.

The first War of the Roses tournament was held while the game was still in alpha at DreamHack Summer 2012 in Elmia, Jönköping, Sweden.

During development, Mårten Stormdal of Fatshark and Gordon Van Dyke of Paradox travelled to England to research the period.

They visited battle sites and towns and were given special access behind the scenes at the Royal Armouries Museum, Leeds.

The official release date was 2 October 2012; the game launch was celebrated with a live stream hosted by Senior Producer Gordon Van Dyke.

[19][20] On 3 October 2012, Paradox Interactive announced the formation of a permanent franchise team for War of the Roses which would be led by Executive Producer Gordon Van Dyke.

[21][22][23] On 15 October 2012, Paradox Interactive announced new free content, including weapons, armour, maps and a new game mode.

'[24][25][26] On 21 November 2012, Paradox Interactive launched the new game mode, called "Pitched Battle", and the new weapons and armour with a live stream event.

One new helmet, four new visors, and seven new weapons, including the gothic mace, the halberd, and the horn-spanned crossbow, will also join the fray.

[31] On 27 February 2013, Paradox Interactive launched the 'Outside the Law' free content update, with new armour, new weapons including fire arrows and another new map, a lush, green forest.

[32][33] On 8 March 2013, Paradox Interactive released the only paid DLC for War of the Roses, the "BRIAN BLESSED VO" pack which replaces the existing in-game announcer with a vocal performance recorded especially for War of the Roses by British actor Brian Blessed.

[34] On 21 March 2013, Paradox Interactive relaunched the game as a premium version called War of the Roses: Kingmaker with more new weapons and armour.

Again the Executive Producer Gordon Van Dyke presented a live stream to display the new additions to the game.

[38] On 2 August 2013, Paradox Interactive announced sign ups for the alpha version of the new game from the War of the Roses team.

Elder Geek also noted the steep learning curve but pointed out that this was because success at the game is skill based rather than equipment dependent.