⚜ SteamCozy

Home / Games / Close Combat: The Bloody First

Close Combat: The Bloody First

Close Combat: The Bloody First

Close Combat: The Bloody First is the latest release in the critically-acclaimed Close Combat series, and the first using the new 3D Archon engine. With this Close Combat: The Bloody First combines classic Close Combat tactical gameplay with battles fought across a wide variety of diverse 3D landsca

Released Oct 3, 2019 Developer Matrix Games Platforms Windows StrategyMilitarySimulationWarTactical
View on Steam ↗ $39.99 (US · as of 2026-05-14)

What players say

Steam review score and the most-helpful voices, which may include critical ones. Score via SteamSpy as of 2026-05-14.

53.0%positive457 reviews
Recommended · 6 found this helpful

“one of those many games overlooked by many, with plenty of reasons why, some i agree with, some i don't, the title close combat, i disagree with the many who state this isn't one in the series, for me it's a follow on that went in a new direction and worked well, i liked the…”

— a player, Steam review · 203 hrs played
Not recommended · 1 found this helpful

“I have been long time fan of this franchise, it just has not kept up graphically and units lack any real basic intelligence or understanding of tactics. I had hoped to see a transtion to a WARNO style of game play or Steel divison. Will dust this one off like its predecessors if…”

— a player, Steam review · 1 hrs played
Read more reviews ↗

Player activity

Monthly average concurrent players. Live count fetched 2026-08-02 20:22 UTC · history via SteamCharts.

8playing at last check
624-hour peak
308all-time peak
0 50 100 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 91 avg · Oct 2019

Latest official news

Developer announcements via the Steam news API — links go to the original posts. More across all games on the news hub.

May 16, 2024
Legendary strategies are back!

While media regularly share news about games disappearing from digital distribution, publishers like SNEG ensure that as many iconic titles as possible are easily accessible to players. The Warlords s

Apr 15, 2021
Close Combat: Modern Tactics is now available on Steam

Back in 2007, Matrix Games proudly presented Close Combat: Modern Tactics . A detailed, real-time war simulator based on an actual tool developed for and used by the United States Marine Corps. This f

Apr 01, 2021
Close Combat: The Bloody First - "Veteran" mod is now available for download

The first massive mod for Close Combat: The Bloody First is now available. It is called Veteran and it was developed by a well-known modder in the community, Nomada_Firefox. He took upon himself the t

May 07, 2020
Close Combat - Wacht am Rhein is available on Steam

The Battle of the Bulge or Hitler's last gambit is the bloodiest battle fought by American soldiers in WWII. If it had succeeded, it would have led to the destruction of 4 Allied armies and, possibly,

Mar 30, 2020
Map Editor and Modding Tools added in 1.1.1!

Close Combat The Bloody First has been updated to version 1.1.1! This is truly the Big 1 update and it is full of nice additions and improvements. The most significative element in this update is the

Games like Close Combat: The Bloody First

From our knowledge graph — ranked by shared traits, not a black box. Each card says why it's here.

Screenshots

Official Steam store screenshots — click any shot to enlarge.

Facts & details

From the Steam store record, snapshot 2026-05-14.

GenresSimulation, Strategy
Player tagsStrategy · Military · Simulation · War · Tactical · Real Time Tactics · Wargame · Historical · World War II · Singleplayer · Real-Time · Turn-Based Tactics (SteamSpy community voting)
FeaturesSingle-player · Multi-player · PvP · Online PvP · Steam Cloud · Family Sharing
LanguagesEnglish * , German, Spanish - Spain, French, Traditional Chinese *
Estimated owners20,000 – 50,000 (SteamSpy)
Official sitehttp://www.matrixgames.com/products/product.asp?gid=686
Minimum system requirements (PC)

Minimum: OS *: Windows 7/8/10 Processor: 2GHz processor Memory: 4 GB RAM Graphics: 1 GB DirectX 9 Compatible Graphics Card (2GB recommended) DirectX: Version 9.0c Storage: 4 GB available space Sound Card: DirectX Compatible Sound Card Additional Notes: An Internet connection is required for 2-player head to head play.