Bolt Action Goes Digital With Order Dice and a Built-In Army Painter

The world's biggest WW2 tabletop game is going digital, and the latest dev diaries make it clear Slitherine isn't trying to reinvent it. Bolt Action: The Video Game, the official PC adaptation of Warlord Games' WW2 wargame, keeps the six-order system (Fire, Advance, Run, Ambush, Rally, Down) and the famous Order Dice activation, where units fire in unpredictable sequence rather than going army-by-army. That randomness is the whole soul of Bolt Action on the tabletop, and Slitherine has built the game around preserving it.

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The launch roster is the US, Britain and Germany, with each faction getting unique units and special rules. Soviet Union and Japan are being floated as DLC further down the line. Single-player runs a dynamic campaign from D-Day through Normandy and northern France, plus skirmish missions with randomised conditions. Multiplayer goes ranked, with army-list construction lifted from the tabletop. For the hobby crowd, there's also a full Army Painter mode, letting you recolour and customise miniatures without buying new paints or burning hobby hours.

Some things shift for the digital medium. Pin tokens, vehicle damage and morale all happen on-screen with the modifiers visible, and there's proper fog of war, which is impossible at a physical table. That should make Bolt Action far more accessible to players who'd never sit down with a 200-page rulebook.

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Slitherine has confirmed a 2026 Steam launch but no firm date yet. UK fans in particular have reason to watch: Warlord Games is based in Nottingham, Bolt Action came out of UK design studios, and the brand has been on a tear since Bolt Action 3rd Edition launched in September 2024. If you'd rather find an in-person tournament before the digital version drops, check who's running Bolt Action near you.

Sources: Slitherine | Strategy & Wargaming | PCGamesN