Team Respawn Blog

Stats and Analytics
Weekly Halo Wars 2 community digest from Team Respawn stats lookups: 1,389 new players this week, Captain Cutter tops leader picks, and Team War leads tracked modes.

Stats and Analytics
Team Respawn’s July 2026 sample: 27,914 matches and 6,930 unique gamertags in 30 days — a lower-bound Halo Wars 2 player count, playlist breakdown, and why the game still looks healthy.

Stats and Analytics
HW2 stats week of July 6, 2026: 1,630 new players, 3,317 Team War matches — Captain Cutter tops leaders, Bedrock leads maps in Team Respawn's weekly digest.

Stats and Analytics
HW2 stats week of June 29, 2026: 1,602 new players, 3,286 Team War matches — Captain Cutter and Bedrock lead Team Respawn's weekly Halo Wars 2 digest.

Stats and Analytics
HW2 stats week of June 22, 2026: 913 new players, 2,627 Team War matches — a quieter week with Captain Cutter still on top in Team Respawn's digest.

Stats and Analytics
HW2 stats week of June 15, 2026: 1,784 new players, 3,144 Team War matches — Captain Cutter and Bedrock dominate Team Respawn's weekly HW2 report.

Stats and Analytics
HW2 stats week of June 8, 2026: 1,187 new players, 2,768 Team War matches — Captain Cutter tops leaders on Sentry week in Team Respawn's digest.

Walkthroughs
A relaxed solo playthrough of A Short Hike — a peaceful open-world exploration game about climbing Hawk Peak to make a phone call.

Stats and Analytics
Weekly Halo Wars 2 digest from Team Respawn lookups: ranked and mode breakdowns, top leaders and maps, campaign tracking, and community search trends.

Spotlight
A peer-reviewed-style field study of super turtle equilibrium on Sentry and Badlands, the Team Respawn dominance coefficient, and five-hour match evidence.

Spotlight
R.U.S.E. is back on Steam via Eugen Systems. Notes from the tutorial mission: tabletop zoom, chip stacks, supply depots, ambush terrain, Ruses, and why the 2026 PC re-release still feels special.

Spotlight
Written companion to the video: Xbox Player Voice, why HW2 matchmaking still works, the Steam plus cross-play ask, crash and balance hopes, old Steam depot activity as speculation, and how voting can help.

Retro
From DreamWorks and Spielberg through EA LA and Danger Close, why Warfighter shelved the series, what VR’s Above and Beyond signals, and where the back catalogue is playable today.

Spotlight
Notes from the first campaign mission on PC (medium): third-person pacing, subsonic ammo, traversal, traps, Fleck cannons, dam objectives, and classic Sniper Elite kill-cam feedback.

Spotlight
Companion notes to the video: Red Team’s role and lore, Forge’s arc and sacrifice, Anders and Cutter, Serena’s six years alone and rampancy—and why the Spirit of Fire crew stops a Covenant Forerunner gambit decades before Halo CE.

Retro
From Crackdown 1’s Halo 3 beta tailwind and co-op sandbox to Crackdown 2’s freak outbreak, Crackdown 3’s cloud-destruction pivot—and whether Microsoft might revisit the series.

Guides
Install the C&C Online launcher, use Hook to enable your game, launch from Origin or Steam, then sign in and host a Custom Match lobby for multiplayer.

Guides
Age of Mythology Retold relic guide: how relics differ from other Age games, scouting and prioritizing them, and console UI tips for new players.

Retro
Blur is framed as a standout Xbox 360 / PS3–era arcade combat racer from Activision and Bizarre Creations: power-up heavy, aggressive, and often described as “Mario Kart for adults” (with the joke that adults play Mario Kart anyway).

Retro
The video treats Call of Duty: Roads to Victory as a curiosity: a World War II–era CoD built for the PSP when the brand was still strongly associated with WWII, months before the franchise’s modern pivot with Call of Duty 4.

Spotlight
PlayStation trophies versus Xbox achievements: tiers, Platinums, DLC lists, profile levels — and why raw Gamerscore often fails to tell a story.

Retro
My love letter to the classic RollerCoaster Tycoon line: late-90s PC success, Chris Sawyer’s one-developer craft, OpenRCT2 and RCT3, and why sandbox plus management still resonates with me.

Spotlight
How Ensemble Studios designed Halo Wars around a controller-only platform — unit selection, locked base slots, and maps built for fixed bases — and why that blueprint still defines console RTS.

Retro
Co-op, aggro, three releases in five years, preservation headaches on modern Xbox, and why a remaster might be the path back.

Reviews
First impressions of the Ashes of the Singularity 2 demo — a large-scale RTS that blends Command & Conquer, Company of Heroes, and Halo Wars.

Walkthroughs
Heroic co-op Operation Spearbreaker DLC walkthrough for Halo Wars 2: Gatecrashers and Not on My Watch — ODST squad tips, Johnson leader powers, beam dodging, and timed finale strategies.

Walkthroughs
A full walkthrough of Gears of War: Ultimate Edition. Watch the complete campaign run.

Walkthroughs
A full walkthrough of Goblin Commander: Unleash the Horde. Watch the complete campaign run.

Walkthroughs
A full walkthrough of Halo 2 Anniversary. Watch the complete campaign run.

Walkthroughs
A full walkthrough of Halo 3 ODST. Watch the complete campaign run.

Walkthroughs
A full walkthrough of Halo 3. Watch the complete campaign run.

Walkthroughs
A full walkthrough of Halo 4. Watch the complete campaign run.

Walkthroughs
A full walkthrough of Halo Combat Evolved Anniversary. Watch the complete campaign run.

Walkthroughs
Andy and Gus tackle the full Halo Infinite campaign on Legendary in co-op — completing the Storehaus run through mainline Halo (except Halo 5), ~8.5 hours, linear missions plus Zeta Halo sandbox, and mixed verdicts on campaign vs. open world.

Walkthroughs
Legendary co-op playthrough of Halo Reach in MCC—mission-by-mission notes from Andy and Gus, plus overall campaign takeaways.

Walkthroughs
A full walkthrough of the Halo Wars 2 campaign. Watch the complete run.

Reviews
After 1,000+ hours in Halo Wars 2: is this console RTS worth buying in 2026? Pros, cons, matchmaking health, and whether it still holds up five years on.

Reviews
2026 Halo Wars 2 leader tier list: Atriox, Colony, and Johnson top S-tier while Yap Yap and Isabel sit lower — every leader ranked with playstyle notes.

Reviews
Halo Wars 2 map tier list for 2026: Sentry and Badlands lead S-tier while Fort Jordan sinks to F — Blitz and Terminus Firefight maps included.

Reviews
A comprehensive review of Terminus Firefight mode in Halo Wars 2. Discover the strategic depth, leader synergies, and what makes this mode worth playing.

Reviews
Top 10 UNSC leader powers in Halo Wars 2: Johnson's Bunker, Jerome's Victory Mine, and Ghost in the Machine lead — a subjective active-power ranking for team play.

Guides
Find every Halo Wars 2 skull location, unlock condition, and effect in this campaign guide — all 15 skulls with mission-by-mission strategies.

Guides
Best Terminus Firefight leaders in Halo Wars 2: Johnson, Pavium, and Anders top the list — 3v3 combos, survival strategies, and wave-clearing builds.

Reviews
Top 10 Banished leader powers in Halo Wars 2: Voridus's Cataclysm, Grunt Dome, and Combat Spoils lead — a subjective active-power ranking for team play.

Guides
New to Halo Wars 2? Learn the basics with these ten essential tips to get you started on the battlefield!

Guides
Ten beginner tips for Age of Empires IV on PC or Xbox: villagers, aging up, army timing, and map awareness — quick video guide for your first ranked or skirmish games.

Guides
This is a Halo Wars 2 tutorial I put together on advanced movement: chaining orders, hold position, control groups, splitting when a beam (or similar power) hits, and squeezing information out of fog of war.

Guides
A guide for the Atlantean civilization in Age of Mythology.

Guides
Egyptians AoM Retold guide: pharaoh economy, monument favor, priest mechanics, barracks-to-stronghold military scaling, and beginner build orders on Xbox.

Guides
Beginner walkthrough for Greeks in Age of Mythology Retold on Xbox/controller: economy, temple and aging, defense, myth units, trade, and Titans—controller shortcuts where they matter.

Guides
Learn how to break the super turtle in Halo Wars 2.

Guides
AoE II villager efficiency guide for Xbox: shorter lumber and farm walks, mill placement, fish traps, and military production habits for console players.

Guides
Learn how to play as Atriox in Halo Wars 2.

Guides
Learn how to play as Captain Cutter in Halo Wars 2.

Guides
Learn how to play as Colony in Halo Wars 2.

Guides
Learn how to play as Kinsano in Halo Wars 2.

Guides
Learn how to play as Pavium in Halo Wars 2.

Guides
Learn how to play as Sgt. Forge in Halo Wars 2.

Guides
Learn how to play as The Banished in Halo Wars 2.

Guides
Learn how to play as UNSC in Halo Wars 2.

Guides
Learn how to play as Voridus in Halo Wars 2.

Guides
Learn how to play as Yap Yap in Halo Wars 2.

Guides
Learn how to stop air spam in Halo Wars 2.

Guides
Age of Empires IV Nomad Megarandom explained for new players: random civ and map starts, where to settle your Town Center, and early economy habits on PC or Xbox.

Guides
Villagers, aging up, when to add military, proxy and castle drops, starter counters, and trading — a beginner loop for Age of Empires II from Jimbo, Gus, and Andy.

Guides
A short, dense skill guide for Age of Mythology: Retold—economy, relics, military production, water, civ adaptation, trade, TCs, upgrades, scouting, and learning habits.

Guides
PS5 beginner guide for Age of Mythology: Retold — DualSense controls, economy basics, god powers, and first-match habits for players new to console RTS.

Guides
Beginner tips for Age of Mythology: Retold on Xbox — controller basics, economy, aging, and defense so new players can survive their first skirmishes.

Guides
Xbox defensive guide for Age of Mythology: Retold — Century towers, Hades Sentinel, walls vs chokepoints, and when to invest in gold-heavy fortifications.

Guides
Why Arcadia City is the hardest Halo Wars mission: cargo ships win (not civilians), dual-site defense, Hornets, Forge Hog, and Heal and Repair tips.

Guides
Scarab mission tips for Halo Wars (original): pylons, Scorpions and Wolverines, Forge and MAC, reading the beam, and closing on the core.

Guides
Follow-up to basic movement for AoE2 DE on Xbox: chaining villager orders, control groups and production buildings, the Find menu, forward proxy bases, flares, and fast minimap camera moves.

Guides
Walkthrough-style breakdown of getting moving in Age of Empires II: DE on Xbox: villagers, priority presets, early resources, aging up, and controller basics (radial menus, attack move, rally points).

Guides
A comprehensive guide for new players to the world of Age of Empires IV, covering civilizations, resources, and combat. This guide is for the Xbox version of the game.

Guides
Xbox controller guide for Age of Empires IV: camera, villager commands, control groups, and UI shortcuts so console players can compete without a mouse and keyboard.

Guides
Anders Halo Wars 2 guide: Sentinel spam, Protector upgrades, siege Sentinels, and R&D cost reductions for high-risk base-breaking play.

Guides
Halo Wars 2 super turtle guide: best maps (Sentry, Badlands), top leaders like Pavium and Johnson, build orders, and defensive strategies for 2v2.