Spiritual Successor to the Microprose Classic “Red Storm Rising”

After tracking a Soviet landing force bound for Iceland it is time to plan your attack. Do you silently close in to torpedo the landing ships and escape during the resulting chaos? Or strike with long-range missiles but risk counterattack from the enemy escorts? Have you detected them all, could another submarine be out there listening for you? Has the hunter become the hunted? Will you survive the Cold Waters?

Inspired by the 1988 classic “Red Storm Rising”, take command a nuclear submarine in a desperate attempt to prevent “mutually assured destruction” when the Cold War gets hot and WWIII begins.

You will be tasked with intercepting convoys, amphibious landings, insertion missions and battling it out with enemy warships, submarines and aircraft. Thankfully, an arsenal of wire-guided torpedoes, anti-ship and cruise missiles and the occasional SEAL team are on board to keep the Iron Curtain at bay.

Major Features:
– Real-time naval combat
– Over 40 classes of ships and submarines all meticulously researched
– Dynamic Campaign where your performance matters
– Realistic sonar model
– Authentic Soviet combat tactics

Cold Waters is currently in development for PC and Mac.
Release date is yet to be determined.
Visit the Steam Page for more information and initial screenshots of the game.

95 Responses to “Announcing Cold Waters”

  1. Darren

    Will there be a mobile version and soon, even multiplayer mode for both mobile and PC??? Nice work, killerfish 🙂 Will definitely buy it

    Reply
    • Noah Jones

      What will it cost and how big is it? I will make a showcase video for you. Is that alright? And could you put a link to my YouTube if you would like me to make a video? I really want to premote my channel and also the people that play your games. I love the two games you have at the moment and might but the full version of Atlantic fleet. Thanks for your time

      -sincerely, Noah “nojo1099” Jones

      Reply
      • C. Rybarczyk

        Hey Killerfish! I have always loved your games! Whenever I was bored, I would just do a massive single mision battle in Atlantic Fleet. Will we be able to do the same in Cold Waters? Also, will we be able to pilot Soviet subs such as the Typhoon and Oscar II classes?

        Reply
        • Killerfish Games

          Yes. With text files you can use all the same tools that we used to author Single and Campaign missions.
          No Soviet subs at initial release, but editing text files should be able to make them playable.
          We are considering a full Soviet campaign post-release.

          Reply
    • scott

      One of the things that always helped with the learning curve playing Microprose games(red storm/stealth fighter etc.) was the keyboard overlay. Is there a chance an overlay could be included with Cold Waters.

      Reply
      • Killerfish Games

        Perhaps, although it would be possible to create your own as all the help information is in text files.
        Also there is a built-in help section which lists all keyboard commands.

        Reply
  2. MattF4U-4

    Will we be able to control surface ships as well? And which Nations can we control(Sorry,little confused)

    Regardless,can’t wait for the game!

    Reply
    • Killerfish Games

      For the initial release you’ll be able to control a single US nuclear attack submarine and multiple submarine classes will be available to choose from.

      Reply
      • MattF4U-4

        Awesome. Any surface ship control and Russian ships/Subs planned to be controllable down the road?

        I’ll be buying it either way though,really wanted a Cold War game.

        Reply
        • Kuiper

          Hi, im a big fan of Atlantic and Pacific fleet on iOS. Any plans to release this on Mobile? Thanks!

          Reply
      • sharkgill503

        Do you have plans for playable subs from other NATO countries (Oberon, Trafalgar, Kobben etc.)?

        Reply
      • Killerfish Games

        This is the date of the announcement announcing that we are working on the game.
        It is not a release date.

        Reply
    • Lee

      Yes, we will be able to control surface vessels as well, from Russian and US warships. Maybe British ships later too.

      Reply
    • Killerfish Games

      Perhaps, but if we don’t add that functionality directly, modding will likely be able to add it.

      Reply
  3. Zachery Ziegert

    Is there plans for a mobile version? I would definitely prefer to play on my phone for when I need to kill time.

    Reply
    • Killerfish Games

      MOBILE VERSIONS (iOS, Android, Kindle?)
      We would like to do these some time after the initial PC/Mac release. However do note that Cold Waters is a full PC game, unlike our previous titles. So it is very likely that the mobile versions will have to be simplified to some extent in order to run on the various devices.

      Reply
      • Graustreif

        Killerfish but you won’t quit developing for mobiles too? Please don’t do that, I play your games only on my mobile!

        Reply
      • Razgriz 2

        Yeah, I understand. Just so long as it happens eventually, I’ll be the happiest guy on the planet.

        Reply
  4. soos heer

    Hi killerfish. Realy nice jop!!!!! One question will cold wters and atlantic fleet be aviable for ps4 in next time?

    Reply
    • Dagger245

      I don’t think they will make it for consoles. Best thing to do is get a mobile device son

      Reply
  5. Dan

    Pity as I was hoping for something in the Atlantic / Pacific fleet vain.
    This is completely different I guess I’ll just carry on with Atlantic fleet & hope they do an update to refresh it.

    Reply
    • Mike

      Red Storm Rising was one of the best naval games I ever played. It had a great feel to it. I am looking forward to seeing this one. Hopefully this new version will be a worthy successor.

      Reply
  6. Pheonix

    I never played the game Red Storm Rising, but I read the book, one of the best books I’ve ever read with shooting down satellites to tank battles

    Reply
  7. Lee

    Brilliant! I can’t wait! Hopefully you guys release a mobile version of it later, because that would be great. A couple future games you guys could make is one set in WW1, and maybe a sequel to Pacific and Atlantic fleet.

    Reply
  8. gm11

    This game is going to have so much potential with the modding. We will finally have a commercially available simulation where we can visualize a duel between Iowa and Kirov by modding (I haven’t seen a game with both the modernized Iowa and Kirov in it.). Modding would also theoretically allow ships from various time periods to be added and battle. I have wanted a game like this for a very long time. I would even wait into the 2020’s for a port of the full PC game to mobile when mobile devices get much more powerful.

    Reply
    • Mike

      In the old RSR game, one commanded a USN submarine only. No playing the side. After reading the Cold Waters forum on Steam, it appears that will be case with this new version. I don’t see this as a bad thing. The game play on original was lots of fun.

      Reply
      • MattF4U-4

        They said that they’re considering adding a lot more than what we Weill have upon initial release.

        Reply
  9. Fausto

    Thanks for your work. Many of us are “orphans” of Dangerouws Waters, be patient if you load of questions and requests. I think it would be essential to develop the multiplayer in the future for the duration of the game.

    Reply
  10. Herold10

    Really hoping you guys don’t forget about your roots on mobile. Some of us have been here since pacific fleet and only use mobile. Really hope you guys don’t start to far and out fase mobile. Was hoping initial release woul include mobile but I guess not. Love the Cold War idea but the idea of mobile not being part of the main release distresses me. Not sure about buying with that thought in mind.

    Reply
  11. gm11

    The game is finally Greenlit!

    Kilerfish Games, what will be the price of the game? I am already looking into registering on Steam and getting a Steam Gift Card.

    Reply
  12. Bigmac83

    I love atlantic fleet best mobile game ever!!! I hope we see some version cold waters mobile too or please make console version at least!!!

    Reply
    • Iron Man 666

      Maybe they will release Cold Waters on 25th of December as a gift. If I remember well, last year they released an important update for Atlantic Fleet around December – January so perhaps … Damn I hope they’ll put it on mobiles too.

      Reply
      • Iron Man 666

        And the idea of making videos of battles that we can watch later is really good as well

        Reply
  13. Dan

    Any plans to add anything to Atlantic fleet
    The old ships have a certain something the modern ships even Cold War era ships don’t have it’s like a mechanical clock vs a digital watch one is a mechanical masterpiece & one is a printed object.
    Lots of people still enjoying Atlantic fleet but it could do with a few more ships (particularly the German side needs more) I’d like to see vittero vento or even some old German ships there is also vanguard & Iowa

    Reply
    • Killerfish Games

      If we go back to WWII it will be with an entirely new game/sequel.
      In particular we would like to introduce modding tools so that players can make content and tailor the game to how they would like it to be.

      Reply
      • Iron Man 666

        Hi Killerfish, do you now have an idea about the Cold Waters release date ? and about mobile version ?
        and also this great idea of making videos of battles

        Reply
        • Killerfish Games

          Cold Waters should be out by mid-next year.
          Mobile version has yet to be examined. It will be quite a significant conversion of the original game to get it running and playing well on mobile.
          There are so many video recording options out there already, making this a very low priority feature for us to consider.

          Reply
  14. Iosif Vessarionovich Dzhugashvil

    So, is there an option to play as the USSR or is this purely a capitalist pro-western game?
    Also, does the in-game USSR fleet have Kirov-class nuclear battlecruisers, Akula (Typhoon-class) superheavy nuclear submarines and Admiral Kuznetzov aircraft carrier?

    Reply
    • Killerfish Games

      We don’t have a political affiliation. We focus on the technology, challenges and tactical decisions of naval combat.
      Initially Soviet playable vessels are unlikely. However we’re considering adding playable Soviet subs.
      Also it would be extremely easy to modify some text files to make the Soviet subs playable and you easily could put them into custom missions against NATO subs, again just by editing text files.
      We are also looking into making a full playable Soviet campaign as well as adding playable nuclear (and maybe diesel) subs from other nations as well (British, French are the first on the list).

      Reply
  15. gm11

    At 0:12 of the announcement trailer, we see a ship that seems to look like a merchant. What role will these ships play in the game? Will merchant ships’ tonnage still play a role to some extent like in Atlantic Fleet?

    What did the IL-38 drop at 0:16 in the game trailer (I’m guessing either a sonobuoy or torpedo)? The Tu-142 is also making an appearance in the game. What weapons wil the Tu-142 be able to use?

    How will airstrikes work in Cold Waters if it works differently from Atlantic Fleet? When will they be available?

    Reply
    • Killerfish Games

      Soviet “merchants” are replenishment tankers, sub tenders or larger resupply convoys reinforcing a front of the land war. These are missions based on all of these scenarios.

      Tonnage: yes. Tonnage provides a small bonus to the war’s progression. Completing missions earns most points however. Tonnage is also used for awarding medals.

      Correct: was an aerial torpedo.
      Tu-142 carries aerial torpedoes, depth bombs, active and passive sonobuoys.

      Very different. Cold Waters is a submarine simulation. Airstrikes are used against your submarine only.

      Reply
      • anonymous

        any chance that US surface fleet will appear even if they are un-playable or random US airstrikes that are out of the player’s control?

        Reply
        • anonymous

          Plus any chance of a last update to atlantic fleet?
          1.There are still strange damage models for north carolina- hitting the boiler room still destroys the turrets and the a near miss to the turrets still makes an explosion to the boiler room despite the ship not being hit
          2.Aircraft carriers are always at the front a formation of ships however realistically an aircraft carrier would not be leading a column of battleships into a surface duel
          3.Any chance of extra aircraft carriers not Escort Carriers but actual carriers for this one reason – An actual carrier carries Dive bombers where as most escorts do not Dive bombers an actua carrier to me is much more useful and extra CVs like Ranger which were in the atlantic at the time of US declare war I could kill their surface fleets faster with a CV than I can with CVEs

          Reply
        • Killerfish Games

          Not in 3D at this time (surface fleet and airstrikes do occur at the level of the strategic map).
          But for 3D, they might get added as part of a Soviet campaign. Then there would be the option to have friendlies directly in the NATO campaign.

          Reply
          • anonymous

            Are there any forms of allied ships (like destroyers with supply ships)

          • Killerfish Games

            Not directly. They exist at the strategic layer and your ability to successfully perform missions will ensure their survival.

    • Killerfish Games

      Initially on Steam.
      There are no plans to publish on the Mac App store at this time, although we are considering other stores.

      Reply
  16. Joseph Glusman

    Hi killer fish games! I am Joseph Glusman and I have purchased Atlantic fleet on steam. I have a question, a serious question. Can you add some american battleships, and carriers that played a short role in the Atlantic, also some carriers for the German Navy. To be honest you have not added all of Germany’s warships, they had two carriers. Please make a new update on Atlantic Fleet, I am getting impatient on your new game waiting for it to come out. Please add more ships on Atlantic fleet.

    Reply
    • Killerfish Games

      We’d love to, but unfortunately at the moment we’re not working on Atlantic Fleet.
      At some point in the future we plan to re-visit WWII naval combat though.

      Reply
  17. Joseph Glusman

    Please add the Zeppelin carrier, it would make a really huge difference and make the game more interesting!

    Reply
    • MattF4U-4

      Neither were ever commissioned or even completed,and while you may argue that the H-39 and Lion class battleships in games were never built either,those were initially a prize for completing some things in game.

      Plus,the Graf Zeppelin class carriers would be pointless for Germany,like all Carriers they require babysitting from surface ships,surface ships that you either don’t need or they take away from commerce raiding ability.

      Reply
  18. totay

    Hello killerfish is this a sandbox like you can goof around in the game with your sub. Like free roam without doing any missions. And with there be an exterior cam like silent Hunter where you can see the other ships in your area.

    Reply
    • Killerfish Games

      Yes, the campaign contains a theatre sized map in which you can roam about looking for targets. Recon aircraft, satellites and SOSUS barriers will reveal the locations of enemy task forces as they are detected.

      Reply
  19. cyb3r17

    20 years overdue, I remember Fast Attack back in the mid 90’s which was fun but lacked the campaign intrigue and single scenarios RSR had. I love the fact that this can be modded, would hope to see other theaters and maybe even era’s (2000’s in the Pacific Ocean, 1990’s Persian Gulf, 1980’s Mediterranean and US East Coast). There is a ton of potential for this game.

    I realize you have to limit scope and depth to make the project manageable, so its not possible to make it a combined fleet action simulation (I’m sure modders will take care of that down the road 🙂 🙂 myself included maybe). Regardless of if it costs USD $50 or $100 my check is already written.

    Just out of curiousity, will a full blown scenario editor be part of the game. I realized RSR did not have one but it would have been nice.

    Reply
    • Killerfish Games

      Other eras and theatres are already being considered. Persian Gulf and South China Sea have come up as possible new theatres/eras to support, but we’ll look into these post-launch.
      Scenario editor: Indirectly. We’ve exposed just about every piece of data in the game which is available in text files. Users will be able to modify these text files to create new missions, edit ship/weapon/sensor parameters, add new language support, create new campaign missions and events or even author an entire campaign.

      Reply
  20. totay

    alright killer fish I got yourcomment , and this will be my last question I’m going to ask you. The mission editor. how do you get to it is it through the single missions? and when you get to the editor would be like Atlantic fleet? You know you choose your sub, pick a ship to fight. Then you can play?

    Reply
    • Killerfish Games

      At the moment missions are edited via text files.
      We are not sure if we are going to make an interface to edit game content directly in the game as well… there’s just so much to edit!
      Editing text files will allow you to modify pretty much every aspect of a mission.

      Reply
  21. totay

    It’s just I don’t know how to edit text files. I mean it sounds hard and complex. I mean i’m not a developer or anything but to make your game sell well it needs a built in editor. Then the little guy like a person who doesn’t know about “text” files can build their own custom scenarios. Then if he or she posted a video about that it could make people wanna buy the game for that feature. But this is your game so I hope the text files are not hard and everbody can know how to use it and how to get to it.

    Reply
    • Killerfish Games

      The text files should be easy enough for most players to be able to edit.
      If not, the community will no doubt make a heap of missions and campaigns that you would be able to download and play.

      Reply
  22. Dave M

    Red Storm Rising was good as a PC game, a board game and a book. Long before PCs were ubiquitous, Bonds and Clancy experimented with many different damage models and ultimately came up with a damage model equating the ship displacement in tons vs the warhead sizes of the weapons. Not optimal, but it works, especially since a lot of these systems never saw actual combat and all sides tended to overestimate and underestimate capabilities. I created some very heavy duty mainframe based simulation algorithms during the 1980s, myself. Sometimes simpler models are best. One of the naval games I wish would get re-created for iOS is Harpoon.

    Reply
  23. gm11

    1. Are crew voices and radio chatter going to be in the game?

    2. Will a replay system be implemented into the game with cinematic views?

    3. Will allied air support or recon be available in some missions?

    4. Will the modernized Iowa-class battleships be in the game even if they are only mission parameters? Considering the game being set in the 1980’s, it is possible that USS Iowa would participate in the game’s conflict at the very least as she was deployed in European waters in late 80’s (i.e. gunfire support).

    5. Can the full game be ported eventually especially when mobile devices get more powerful (yes, I know storage can still be an issue)? For text file editing in the mobile version, I think it is possible to allow iTunes File Sharing support in the game. txt files could be extracted and edited on the PC and transferred back via iFunBox to the app.

    6. Any ETA on when we can expect an actual gameplay video to be uploaded to your YouTube channel?

    Reply
    • Killerfish Games

      1. Not at this time. But might be able to be modded in.

      2. Not at this time. It is a feature we’d love to have but just haven’t had the time to implement.

      3. Not in missions as they occur once contact has been established. But in the campaign, you will rely on recon information from aircraft, satellites and SOSUS barriers to reveal the location and course of enemy forces.

      4. Not initially as the only NATO vessels in 3D are your submarine. However if we make a full Soviet campaign the Iowa Class would make a very nice target indeed.

      5. Unlikely. The full game is far too big for mobile platforms and they lack keyboard and mouse support. If a mobile port comes it would have to be simplified to some extent, made smaller and more efficient along with a whole new use interface. We will assess the viability of a mobile port after the PC/Mac versions are released.

      6. We’re waiting on getting all the new ship models into the game before shooting more video. Shouldn’t be more than a few weeks to get them in, then we have to find time to shoot, edit and publish videos.

      Reply
  24. Ron Prochaska

    Hello Killerfish, I have a question about the battle ships in Cold Waters. Since I saw the screen shot of a battle ship with three turrets , will the turrets move and shoot in the game? Since I love battle ships I would like to see them shoot their guns.

    Reply
    • Killerfish Games

      Yes. Surface your submarine within their gun range and the gun turrets will turn and start firing at you.
      The ship you say was the Soviet Sverdlov class cruiser.

      Reply
  25. Ocelot

    Hey, this seems extremely intriguing as there are no up to date moden sub games. I would really look forward to multiplayer support though, if me and my friends would want to switch from Dangerous Waters to this.

    Reply
  26. Alwin

    It would be have a kind of classes of the Soviet Navy like the Slava Class Kirov class,and Aircaft Carrier too?

    Reply
  27. pt

    Please this game has just about every thing but….. I beg you put a 688i control room in the original release it just needs to respond as would and have that ai crew telling you what’s going on….. Just for the people that don’t always want an outside view……..!!!
    Would be a classic overnight….!!!!!!!

    Reply
    • Killerfish Games

      1. To be determined. Cold Waters is a full PC game and a mobile version might not be possible or may have to be greatly simplified.
      2. Should be out by mid-2017.

      Reply
  28. totay

    Hello killerfish I hope if you make another ship mobile game it will be real time like cold waters.

    Reply
  29. xman

    Hello Killerfish, I have a question. will you make a mobile game with ships? But real time like cold waters?

    Reply
  30. Kuiper

    Hi, im a big fan of Atlantic and Pacific fleet on iOS, an plans to release this on Mobile! I will certainly buy it.

    Reply
  31. Rob142

    Hello; Looks like a great game with a lot of potential. My big question is:
    21:9 aspect ratio, full screen with no black sidebars?
    I have a Dell Ultrasharp curved 34″ monitor 3440×1440 resolution which all my top games support. I only purchase games that support this ratio.
    Thanks

    Reply
  32. Mikael

    Hey! Hot and fresh game out of kitchen! Amazing release but can you guys please make a free mobile version of it? Free but high GB is it ok? If not its ok then :).

    Reply

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