Following Expeditions: Conquistador (2013), Viking (2017) and Rome (2022), Campfire Cabal and THQ Nordic are continuing the historical tactical role-playing game series with the release of Expeditions: Samurai. The game launched in Early Access with major new additions.
Expeditions: Samurai is set in feudal Japan during the turbulent Sengoku era. It is inspired by the real-life story of the seafarer William Adams (of Shogun book and TV show fame), who arrived in Japan as a navigator in 1600 and would soon become the first European to be granted the title of 'Samurai'. In Expeditions: Samurai, Adams never leaves England; instead, the player character sails to Japan aboard the Dutch frigate De Albatros as the newly elected leader of a motley crew of privateers, becoming embroiled in an ongoing civil war that is nearing its climax. From there, players must survive, build a new crew and manoeuvre through the political landscape full of intrigue and factional conflict. However, the Early Access version only covers the beginning of the story, and just when it gets interesting, it's over.
Expeditions: Samurai © Campfire Cabal and THQ Nordic
Like its predecessors, the game features real-time isometric exploration, where players search for resources, equipment, and clues. It also involves dialogue with rival daimyōs (feudal lords) and clans, where players must make choices, as well as turn-based tactical combat. Players create their own character and set off with three companions of their choice to complete missions. In total, there are eight crew members, each with their own story. Compared to previous games, the dialogue scenes feature animated 3D character portraits, albeit in a somewhat rougher, comic-book-style art style – particularly when compared to Expeditions: Rome, the difference in quality is clear.
Expeditions: Samurai © Campfire Cabal and THQ Nordic
Battles are turn-based and take place on a hexagonal grid. Actions consume action points. The tactical battles are pleasantly challenging thanks to lines of sight, elevation levels, flanking manoeuvres and special actions, even though they place a stronger emphasis on close combat. It is also possible to use objects in the game world to gain an advantage. However, the stealth system is completely new. Before a battle, players can hide in tall grass or in the shadows. This enables them to bypass guards or launch a powerful surprise attack, seamlessly blending real-time stealth with tactical turn-based combat in a manner similar to Mutant Year Zero. It would be interesting to see the developers expand and refine the system further over time.
Expeditions: Samurai © Campfire Cabal and THQ Nordic
For the first time in the series' history, there is an online co-op mode that allows players to play through the campaign with a friend. In single-player mode, players control Captain Flynn alone; in co-op mode, they control a pair of twins. "Coordinate sneak attacks or clever combat manoeuvres, throw a distracting firecracker at just the right moment to let your partner sneak past a sentry or execute a flawlessly timed double stealth takedown," explain the developers. In Expeditions: Rome, there were extensive war campaigns with dedicated war camps and siege battles. Currently, however, Expeditions: Samurai does not offer anything of the sort, but a Player Village is set to be added to the full version. The developers should also continue to refine the UI and UX, as movement on the maps is still somewhat clunky.
Expeditions: Samurai © Campfire Cabal and THQ Nordic
Expeditions: Samurai is being developed by Campfire Cabal in Denmark. Logic Artists developed the three previous games before becoming part of Dynasty Studios (Web3 Games) after working on Expeditions: Rome. However, as some of the development team wanted to continue making classic role-playing games, former core members — including Creative Director Jonas Wæver — founded Campfire Cabal in partnership with the publisher THQ Nordic in 2022. Wæver writes the following on Steam: "First off, not everyone who worked on Expeditions: Rome will join Dynasty. Secondly, as others have pointed out here, the Expeditions series has been owned by THQ Nordic since before Rome began development. The creation of Dynasty will not affect the support of Rome nor the DLC plans. As for Dynasty I can't really talk about that because I have nothing to do with it :) "
In August 2023, reports of the studio's closure were posted on the official website. In May 2025, it was announced that: "We are finally ready to reveal that Campfire Cabal was never shut down. Though we did have to say goodbye to many of our colleagues, the studio survived and a compact team continued the project we had started in 2022. At the end of March of 2025, we received the green light to scale back up and transition into full production." Expeditions: Samurai was then unveiled in June 2026.
Expeditions: Samurai was released on PC via Early Access on 7 August 2026. At launch, the game, which usually costs €29.99, was available at a discounted price of less than €20. Depending on feedback and how the game is received, the full version is expected in Q1 2027.
The Early Access version includes core mechanics such as combat, exploration, stealth and world map travel, as well as five main quests (first act), three side quests and 14 world locations. However, important elements such as World Map Encounters, Player Village and Crafting are still missing. The developers estimate that the release will offer roughly 6-8 hours of gameplay. Campfire Cabal: "We expect Update 1 to come out fairly soon after our initial release, as the influx of players will no doubt focus our efforts and guide us to make certain improvements and changes to the game, which we'll want to get back into the hands of players as fast as we can." Update 2 is expected to add a similar or even greater amount of content to that in the initial release, providing an additional 6–10 hours of gameplay. Update 3 will mostly focus on gameplay content, such as new equipment and character options. The final update will include the full story, as well as Player Village, Crafting and new game modes. Version 1.0 will then offer over 50 hours of gameplay.
Expeditions: Samurai shows good potential as a tactical role-playing game in its Early Access version. However, it's clear that a few elements are missing or a little rough around the edges.
