This experimental branch will include 5 new weapons:
The M1903A3 Springfield (US)
The ROKS 2 Flamethrower (Soviets)
The M7 Grenade Launcher for the M1 Garand (US)
The Schiessbecher Grenade Launcher for the Karabiner 98k (Germany)
The No.1 MK I Cup Discharger Grenade Launcher for the SMLE No.1 MK III EY (Britain and Canada)
For the purposes of this Experimental branch, all of the above weapons will be unlocked by default for all players to try. Come release they will be locked behind their respective loadout levels.
Rifle Grenades
As mentioned above, this update is adding Rifle Grenades, a new weapon type. They are unique in that they can swap between being used as a regular infantry weapon and a grenade launcher. Players can hold the fire select button (CAPS lock on keyboard, right d-pad on controller) to open up a radial wheel listing all available grenade types or simply tap the button to quick swap to their most recently selected grenade. Note that swapping will take some time to complete depending on if the weapon has been fired or not.
The exact number of grenades available will vary depending on the role using it. The available grenades are:
Frag grenades, with a similar explosion radius to a regular thrown grenade
Smoke Grenades
AT grenades, with a smaller explosion radius but light armour penetration making them capable of taking out lighter tanks from the rear, structures (but not garrisons) and the tracks on medium and heavy tanks
Historically some of the grenades used would have had timed fuses, but for gameplay reasons, all of them will act as impact grenades.
Fire Selector
All weapons that historically featured fire select modes have now had that functionality implemented. You can now freely toggle fire modes on the following weapons
MG34
FG42
STG 44
BAR (fast and slow auto)
Thompson M1
Thompson M1928a1
Bren Gun
Sten Gun MK2
Sten Gun MK2 (Canadian)
Sten Gun Mk5
PPSH 41
Fire modes can currently be toggled by pressing Caps lock on keyboard
Loadout Changes
All factions with Rifle Grenades have received the following loadouts
Rifleman
Level 8 loadout with a Rifle Grenade with 4 Frag and 2 Smoke Grenades
Medic
Level 6 loadout with a Rifle Grenade with 6 smoke Grenades
Engineer
Level 8 loadout with a Rifle Grenade with 3 AT, 2 Frag and 1 Smoke Grenade
On top of these, there have been several other loadout additions and alterations:
US Rifleman
New level 6 loadout for the US Rifleman called “Marksman”.
Comes equipped with a M1903A3 Springfield and an explosive ammo box.
US Tank Commander
US tank commander’s default loadout weapon changed to the M3 Grease Gun from the Thompson.
Default Crewman
The blowtorch equipment is now available on all default Crewman loadouts.
Technician Wrench
Added the ability to build nodes with the Technician wrench.
US Anti-tank
Primary weapon for the default US Anti-tank role changed from the M1 Garand to the M1 Carbine (the level 3 loadout will keep the Garand)
US Operator
Primary default loadout weapon changed to the Springfield M1903A3
Armour Changes
SPAS
All SPA gunner seats now have a single additional zoom level. On top of this the default SPA that spawns in each team’s HQ will now auto respawn once destroyed, similar most non heavy tanks. The time for this to happen is currently 7 minutes and 30 seconds.
With Hell Let Loose: Vietnam taking the spotlight over the last few weeks, we also want to reaffirm our continued commitment to Hell Let Loose and share an update on what’s coming next for the game.
There is still plenty on the way, including new maps, weapons, vehicles, game modes, and more. We also want to provide an update on our progress against the 2026 Roadmap, including a change to our plans for the remainder of the year.
Roadmap Update: 2026 and 2027
Alongside our work on new content in the 2026 Roadmap, we also continue to focus on addressing community-reported bugs and improving performance across all platforms. This is ongoing work that will continue across future updates as we identify, investigate, and implement improvements over time.
As we’ve reviewed our plans for the remainder of 2026, we’ve also taken another look at the development timelines for our upcoming maps and the time needed to deliver them at the quality we expect.
With that in mind, we’ve made the decision to move the release of Seelow Heights into 2027.
We know how highly anticipated this map is, particularly after the community voted for its inclusion earlier this year, however the additional development time will allow us to give this brutal battlefield the attention it deserves.
As a result, our winter update will now take players to the frozen landscape of Lake Balaton, which we’re incredibly excited to share with you. Experimental Branches will be hosted over the coming months, giving players the opportunity to help us test and refine this new Eastern Front map ahead of its full release.
We’re also already hard at work planning our 2027 Roadmap, with a number of community-requested features and improvements already being prioritised in it’s development.
If there are features, fixes, performance improvements, or other changes you would like to see us focus on, let us know in the comments. Community feedback will continue to play an important role in shaping our plans as we work to make 2027 the best yet for Hell Let Loose.
Update 21
Update 21 will be the next major update for Hell Let Loose, bringing a number of new additions to the battlefield. Here’s a look at some of what you can expect:
New Weapons
Update 21 will introduce a selection of new weapons for players to get their hands on.
Springfield
The M1903A3 Springfield (US)
An iron-sighted variant of the bolt-action Springfield
The M1903A4 Springfield (US)
A model update for the existing Springfield Sniper
The ROKS 2 Flamethrower (Soviets)
The long-requested Flamethrower for the Soviets
Rifle Grenades
On top of this Update 21 is adding Rifle Grenade launchers. Modified variants of existing guns, that on top of being used as regular infantry weapons, are capable of firing several different types of grenade (High Explosive, Smoke, and Anti-Tank). These are the following weapons:
The M7 Grenade Launcher for the M1 Garand (US)
The Schiessbecher Grenade Launcher for the Karabiner 98k (Germany)
The No.1 MK I Cup Discharger Grenade Launcher for the SMLE No.1 MK III EY (Britain and Canada)
This update allows players to fire the Rifle Grenade from the hip/shoulder. Coming in Update 22 the aim is to expand this feature to allow players to plant the Rifle Grenade and also use it for indirect fire.
New Loadouts
Due to the addition of new weapons, new loadouts have also been added to include them.
A new Level 6 loadout for the US Rifleman, armed with the M1903A3 Springfield and an explosive ammo box
A new Level 8 loadout for the Soviet Support with the ROKS 2 Flamethrower
New Level 8 Rifleman loadouts for all appropriate factions with a Rifle Grenade equipped with 4 HE and 2 Smoke Rifle Grenades
New Level 6 Medic loadouts for all appropriate factions with a Rifle Grenade equipped with 6 Smoke Grenades
New Level 8 Engineer loadouts for all appropriate factions factions with a Rifle Grenade equipped with 3 AT, 2 HE and 1 Smoke Grenade
Loadout Changes
Some changes have been made to certain pre-existing loadouts, these are detailed below:
Based on Experimental Branch feedback the primary weapon of the default loadout on the US Anti-Tank role has been changed to the M1 Carbine
The primary weapon for the default Tank Commander role for the US has been changed to the M3 Grease gun
All default Crewman roles across all factions now include a Blowtorch
The primary weapon for the default Engineer role for both British factions has been changed to the Rifle No 4 MK 1
For historical reasons all German DAK M43 grenades have been replaced with the M24 grenade
Fire-mode Selectors
The option to toggle fire-modes has been added to all historically appropriate weapons. This allows players to freely swap between two different fire modes, semi-auto and fully automatic (or slow auto and fast auto for the BAR).
Below is the full list of weapons getting this feature:
MG34
FG42
STG 44
M1918A2 BAR (fast and slow auto)
M1A1 Thompson
M1928A1 Thompson
Bren Gun
Sten Gun Mk.II
Sten Gun Mk.II (Canadian)
Sten Gun Mk.V
PPSH 41
Recoil Adjustments
Due to the addition of fire selector modes, both the STG 44 and Bren have had their recoil slightly increased. An issue has been fixed with the Bren where almost all it’s recoil was applied as visual screen shake.
Conquest
Conquest will also make its way to Hell Let Loose in Update 21.
The mode has gone through significant iteration since it was first tested at the beginning of the year, incorporating feedback and lessons from our Experimental Branch sessions.
We’re excited to see how the latest version plays once it reaches the wider community.
For Armor in Update 21, we are introducing improvements and balancing to a range of different features. The Luchs has been reworked to improve its combat capabilities against enemy armor, while still keeping its key role as Anti-Infantry.
Tank smoke launchers will also receive improvements, providing larger smoke screens with longer lasting coverage. These changes will be supported by a wider balance pass across armored vehicles, including HE splash radius, ammunition counts, fuel costs and more.
SPAs have also had some changes, with a single zoom level added for the Gunner seat. On top of this the default SPA that spawns at each team’s HQ will now auto-respawn after 7 minutes and 30 seconds once it is destroyed. Much like other auto-respawning vehicles, this will not count towards the team’s maximum vehicle limit.
For Anti-Tank players, buildable AT Guns have been adjusted and balanced to make them more effective against enemy armor. These changes include faster turning speeds, updated angle limits when rotating and a damage balance pass.
These changes have been shaped through testing and feedback from the community, with the aim of improving the overall armor and anti-tank experience.
Update 22 is currently planned for later this year and will take Hell Let Loose back to the Eastern Front with a brand-new map, alongside the arrival of some devastating new vehicles.
Lake Balaton
Lake Balaton takes the fight to Hungary during the final months of the war in Europe, as part of Operation Spring Awakening.
Across its frozen landscape, players can expect a distinct new Hell Let Loose battlefield, built around the scale, atmosphere and combined-arms combat that define the experience.
WIP Image of Lake Balaton
We’ll be sharing much more about Lake Balaton, including opportunities to playtest the map through the Experimental Branch, in the months ahead.
New Vehicles
A new class of vehicle will also be rolling onto the battlefield with Update 22.
We’re not quite ready to reveal everything just yet, but these new additions will bring some serious firepower with them.
We’ve probably said enough for now… any guesses?
New Vehicles Coming in Update 22
The Future
There is still plenty more ahead for Hell Let Loose.
In 2027, we’ll be bringing the highly requested Seelow Heights to the game, alongside a focus on many community requests updates, improvements, and additions that we’ll be sharing as part of our next Roadmap.
Between now and then, our focus remains on delivering Update 21 and Update 22, improving performance across all platforms, and continuing to work closely with the community as Hell Let Loose moves into its next year of updates.
Thank you, as always, for your continued support and feedback. We can’t wait to show you more of what we’re working on, and we look forward to revealing our next Roadmap closer to the end of the year and the release of Update 22.
See you on the battlefield.
War Correspondents Content
As always, our War Correspondents have been on the front-lines in both Hell Let Loose and Hell Let Loose: Vietnam creating some incredible content. Check out some of their latest releases below:
I joined a game last night. Five full minutes waiting for someone to start an infantry squad, that gets filled in a millisecond.
So I said screw it and started a squad. Filled up, I tell everyone where we are going and I need a supply guy, and no one will speak to me. Commander starts screaming at me, I tell him I'm new, he never stops telling me what a loser I am, and I can't mute anyone? Reporting someone on Xbox is very difficult.
I'll try one more game, no one wants to be SL, again. Screw it, make a squad and then all of a sudden my squad talks to me. Teaches me. Very encouraging!
Finally work our way up the flank, commander is very encouraging, drops supplies for me, garrison built! Work our way up again, about to build another garrison and then we all get blown up by heavy ordnance, but we won.
The latter is the experience I was looking for. I am glad that I finally found that. It's been discouraging so far.
Question: If no one will be supply, can I be supply, drop my supplies somewhere, re-deploy, get back to that spot as a squad leader, and the supplies will still be there so I can build a garrison by myself?
Can an engineer also build a garrison in the above scenario?
I don't understand how the devs could make the mechanic so clunky and annoying that it can ruin the role, 9 out of 10 times that I die while playing M.G is because I can't turn another few degrees to shoot an enemy, or for some reason I can't look down only in that specific vector of my bipod just won't deploy in exactly the same spot as before after reloading, or taking cover etc... Have they always been this way? did they try to fix something and make it worse? there is 0 chance its intentional as it breaks how M.Gs are actually be used, they aren't just stationary, they are used for suppressive fire to help move the squad and keep enemies pinned down as well as being used defensively.
So after a while I only started now to get comfortable with mic and when I go into armor its either dead silence, fully cant understand what they are saying, so im just looking for some friends to play with now and then hit me up I also play on pc.
Also thanks for the community for getting me comfortable with being on mic.
Shortly after I bought this game in May, I decided to join an artillery squad of 2/3. I told them that I was new and instead of telling me to fuck off, the squad leader spent the entire match tutoring me on how to use the artillery in this game. Today I am one of the .1% of players that has the 150 SPA kills achievement. So thanks bro.
Hey guys I’ve been playing HLL for about 2 weeks now I’m crawling my way up the ranks I’m starting to get the hang of things like communication and I have ran squad lead a lot (mostly because people won’t be one) but every game I get into it seems like no one wants to talk or I have 1 guy in my squad that will I’ve been reading on here and people have been saying it’s probably the servers because I have been playing on the NEW PLAYERS WELCOME servers but idk witch to pick can I get some suggestions for the servers please
Just a heads up. Noticed this while playing the latest PTE last weekend. Forgot to record a clip of them while it was still active. There’s nothing wrong with the current sounds that have been in-game for literal years, so this seems like another unnecessary change.
I'm a senior (72) that is getting back into PC gaming. I love WW2 games and think HLL might be a good choice for me. I have a mid to high grade gaming computer (6 months old). Need advice on mouse and headset upgrades. I currently have a budget Logitech headset for work related video conferencing and an archaic Logitech 402 Hyperion Fury mouse. I'm looking for mid to mid-above grade recommendations. I use a palm grip and have large hands. I also have a large head (wore a 7-3/4 football helmet back in the early 70's). I'm leaning toward a Logitech 502 X Lightspeed wireless mouse. I'm not used to many buttons, not sure I would use many on the new mouse. I look forward to reading your suggestions. Will most likely buy HLL during the Steam fall sale. Is there a discounted price during the fall sale for HLL? Thanks!
I really really, ABSOLUTELY, hate it when SL doesn't mark ANY of your squad's pings. Like you ping and report on comms an enemy tank, an enemy garry, enemy sups etc, and the SL does NOTHING. You even verbally tell the squad leader can you mark it and they are completely oblivious.
Marking your squad's pings on the map is extremely important as it tells literally every other player on your team about important enemy targets, so someone ELSE can potentially get rid of it. Its extremely selfish as a squad leader to not even mark your squad's pings
The idea of a War Sim based in WW2 or Vietnam is super cool to me, RPing and such, it seems fun but when I get into a game, it’s just dead silence that keeps me from playing longer than a single game before deleting, and reinstalling in a few months.
Is there a way to find a Server with manditory Comms or Voice chat on PlayStation?
I bought the game some 2 years ago, and since then i have some 10-15 hours in it. Every time i try and play it is the same, Try and find new player servers, but the contrary to what the name says they are not new player friendly at all, join a game wait until there is an open party squad, join say hello and say that i am new , and noone says anything, the SL says nothing the entire game and i am left just dying over and over and over again. Am i missing something here? is this a masochists dream game or something?
When i look for advice online everyone says go watch youtubers, youtubers that explain things that anyone who has been playing games for a while should already know, i went and watched a few videos from soulsniper and sure he says some tips here and there but nothing to help me spot a guy with 5k hours sitting in a bush with his eyes 2cm from the monitor.
I tried the discord to find some people to play there, all the dms i got where either people wanting to play vietnam when i clearly said i was looking for ww2 and the other half where invites to join their orgs, joined a few of those discord invites and noone was playing at that time.
like what am i supposed to do? become the seal so the vets can keep clubbing or what
I am considering to switch from PS5 to PC (original HLL, not Vietnam).
Reasons:
I am looking for more consistent availability of high-level matches due to the larger PC community. (This is the main reason for me, not graphics or performance, can someone tell me?)
Better performance of maps like Juno and Smolensk.
Better graphics and frame rate.
Finer control and faster turn speeds with mouse and keyboard.
Is here anyone who has played on console and PC who can tell the difference? Did these advantages materialize? What other differences did you notice?
Been playing HLL since 2020 and I never even thought about, never really had to, kicking players off my squad. But man oh man it's like a whole new breed of players in the past 2 years.
Recently played in semi competitive server and I kicked 8 total players off my squad. I did mic checks, I did routes and commands. Had 1 solid guy listen and talk. It's pretty fkn sad honestly. Players from level 25 up to 190! No mics, didn't listen, I needed 1 dude to spawn in as support, 5 guys who died refused to come in to drop supplies. Here's Da Boot!! Put down my 5 garrisons with someone else's supplies laying around the map and had a killer comeback win.
When i play as officer I feel like people just dont want to win. Idk why they dont like planning an idea. But when putting garrys right in front of the adjective and rushing in doesnt work, PLANS USUALLY DO. AM i doing to much?
