We’ve all seen shiny new MOBAs come and go, and Amazon’s track record hasn’t exactly inspired blind faith (RIP Crucible; New World’s rollercoaster launch). But March of Giants grabbed me for one simple reason: scale. It’s a 4v4 free-to-play “war MOBA” where you don’t just pick a hero-you become a towering Goliathan and command thousands of soldiers while fortifying a ravaged, early-1900s steampunk city with trenches, tanks, and bunkers. Think Attack on Titan vibes with Company of Heroes brain. A closed alpha runs September 2-10, 2025 for players in the US, Canada, and Mexico on Steam, with 10 of 15 planned Giants available at the start and a full launch slated for October 7 on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.
On paper, March of Giants isn’t just “LoL, but different.” It layers real-time strategy on top of hero combat. Each player pilots a unique Goliathan with a defined role-burst, control, sustain-while also directing massive platoons to seize outposts, pressure lanes, and screen for your giant-on-giant brawls. The Battleworks system adds deployable structures: trenches to anchor fronts, bunkers to create denial zones, and tanks acting as mobile firepower. That means macro calls—timed pushes, flanks, and encirclements—are as important as landing your stun combo.
If you’ve dabbled in AirMech or daydreamed about Company of Heroes skirmishes colliding with hero brawlers, this is in that lineage. The difference is the sheer spectacle: you’re not the commander behind the curtain; you’re a skyscraper-sized warlord at the tip of the spear, carving paths through infantry while your structures reshape the battlefield. That’s the “Attack on Titan” feeling the trailer alludes to—towering presence, urban warfare, and desperate sieges—just filtered through brass, steam, and a hint of magic.
4v4 is a bold choice. With fewer bodies on the field, every pick, death, and macro decision has outsized impact. One disengage mistimed? That’s 25% of your team gone and your trenches overrun. It should reward squads who actually coordinate pushes—imagine chaining a knock-up into a tank-led breach while your soldiers soak turret fire and your bunkers cut off the retreat. Good teams will stage fights around terrain they’ve fortified rather than coin-flip mid-lane scrums.
There are risks. Readability could be a mess if “thousands of soldiers” turn into noisy wallpaper. If unit AI pathfinding or collision gets sloppy, flanks and pinches won’t matter. And control schemes are a genuine question: on PC, hotkeys and mouse precision make army orders manageable; on console, radial menus and smart defaults will need to carry the load. If Amazon nails quick-issue commands—think contextual orders and intelligent grouping—this could sing. If not, it becomes macro spam where the better giant duelers simply win.
It’s free-to-play with 15 Giants planned (10 at the start). The red flags are obvious: hero unlock grinds, power-creep via released Giants, and battle passes stuffed with “quality-of-life” boosts. If any stat-affecting unlocks slip in, competitive viability tanks. The safe route is cosmetics—skins for your Goliathan, unit liveries, fancy trench models—and maybe premium progression tracks that don’t touch balance. Amazon has the budget to resist quick-cash shortcuts; we’ll see if it has the restraint.
Balance will be brutal. You’re tuning not just hero kits, but army compositions, structure HP, build times, and macro snowballing. If trenches stack into impenetrable stalemates, matches drag. If tanks hard-counter everything, we get dive metas with no counterplay. Ideal average match length probably lives around the 20-30 minute mark; longer and it becomes a slog, shorter and the macro layer never breathes. Stability matters too—thousands of entities means netcode, server tick rate, and pathfinding will be stress-tested on day one of the alpha.
Amazon Games Montreal is new, but the team reportedly includes Rainbow Six Siege veterans, which is encouraging. Siege lives and dies by tactical clarity, strong map design, and ruthless balance—exactly the disciplines March of Giants needs. The wider context, though: we’re years past the gold rush where every publisher chased a “MOBA killer.” League and Dota 2 are immovable, and even quality newcomers typically carve a niche or fade. For March of Giants to stick, its identity must be unmistakable: commanding armies as a hulking warlord in a gritty steampunk siege. If that fantasy lands, it has room to exist alongside the big two instead of against them.
Access is limited to players in the US, Canada, and Mexico via Steam request, and you should expect an NDA. If you get in, try several roles—burst Giants to test pick potential, control Giants to stress crowd management—and deliberately play from behind to see if macro can flip games.
March of Giants sells a powerful fantasy: be the titan and the tactician in a steampunk war. If Amazon delivers clean army controls, impactful (not oppressive) fortifications, and fair F2P, this could be the first MOBA-RTS hybrid to truly land. I’m cautiously optimistic—and eager to see if the alpha proves the brains match the brawn.
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