In March of this year it was announced that Team Fusion, an unofficial mod group working with IL-2: Cliffs of Dover would be officially partnering with 1C Game Studios on an updated version of IL-2: Cliffs of Dover. That partnership takes on new meaning today as IL-2: Cliffs of Dover is re-released in the new Blitz edition.

Cliffs of Dover realizes its true potential

When IL-2: Cliffs of Dover was released in 2011 it was highly anticipated as a follow on to the original and highly successful IL-2 Sturmovik series. It wasn’t. The product was a buggy mess with poor performance on even the best PCs of the time and there were issues. Lots of issues.

When official support for the title ended, fans of the series took it upon themselves to do what they could to make IL-2: Cliffs of Dover run better and somehow realize its true potential. Most of those fans united under the Team Fusion umbrella and for several years now they have been busy making things better for the series. Performance improved, bugs were squashed, and new features and content were slowly added.

In March, 1C Game Studios announced they would be officially partnering with Team Fusion (now Team Fusion Simulations) and that it would open the door to an official Steam based re-release of the original title with all of the improvements that the group had been able to piece together. More, Team Fusion Simulations would gain access to the source code and that it could then promise more significant upgrades.

Today all of that comes true with the Cliffs of Dover Blitz edition re-release on the Steam Store. This release goes a very long way towards realizing the dreams of the original while delivering an upgraded and updated product.

Product content highlights

The new Blitz edition of Cliffs of Dover is a fully realized package with a lot of content in it. Here are some product highlights:

• 48 flyable Aircraft Types and Variants, another 16 non-flyable
• Large Map of Southwest England, the Channel and Northern France with Seasonal Textures
• Fighter and Bomber Campaigns for the RAF and Luftwaffe
• Single-Player Missions
• Quick Mission Builder for instant action
• Full Mission Builder for detailed missions and campaigns
• Up to 100 players online in Multiplayer Mode
• Player Controlled Tanks and Anti-Aircraft Artillery
• Updated to DX-11 Graphics

Keep in mind that 48 flyable aircraft types refers to a lot of variations. There are new variations of Spitfire, Blenheim, Bf110, Bf109 and many more that help fill out the Battle of Britain time period in a very detailed way.

There is a more complete list available as well. A lot of changes from the original release include upgraded graphics, revised terrain textures, bugs fixed that include map bugs and performance sapping issues, and generally the whole title has been given an upgrade top to bottom.

The series forms its own new continuity with the IL-2: Dover Series logo denoting which products its compatible with. At the moment its just IL-2: Cliffs of Dover Blitz but that will change as Team Fusion builds a North Africa based follow up.

How do I get the new Blitz edition?

If you already own IL-2: Cliffs of Dover via the Steam Store… then this update to the title is completely free.

That’s actually really impressive. They could have potentially charged money for this but I think in many ways this is a big thank you to fans for sticking through the tough parts of the last six years since the initial disappointing release.

Regular pricing will be $24.99 on the Steam Store, however, at the moment they are offering a 25% off deal that will end January 4th.

If you don’t own this… You can buy it on the IL-2 website and on the Steam Store.

Read the full announcement too!