Blitzkrieg is a World War II real-time tactics game from the Russian studio Nival Interactive, built on its Enigma engine. It came out in Russia on March 28, 2003, then in North America on May 12 and in Europe on May 15, 2003.
The game has three campaigns, Allied (American and British), German and Soviet, divided into chapters that follow the course of the war. There is no base building and no resource gathering: the focus is on battles, with more than 350 units and objects and a largely destructible environment, bridges and buildings included. Core units carry over between chapters and gain rank and experience.
The Enigma engine went on to power many other games, such as Stalingrad, Cuban Missile Crisis and Desert Law. Russian players built a large mod scene around it, with GZM the biggest Russian-language mod. The source code was released in 2025.12
Names and releases
| Region | Title on the box | Platform | Date | Publisher | Src |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NA | Blitzkrieg | Windows | May 12, 2003 | — | 1 |
| RU | Блицкриг | Windows | Mar 28, 2003 | — | 1 |
| EU | Blitzkrieg | Windows | May 15, 2003 | — | 1 |
| WW | BlitzkriegMac App Store. | Mac | Apr 20, 2011 | Virtual Programming | 1 |
| WW | Blitzkrieg AnthologySteam. | Windows | Sep 16, 2014 | Nival | 3 |
Also known as: Блицкриг RU1Blitzkrieg Anthology WW1
Box art by region
RU Блицкриг
Box art © its publishers, shown to identify each release. Scans: Wikipedia.
Version differences
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Censorshipall versions
There are no swastikas in the game; for example, the German tank assault badge is shown without one.2
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ContentBlitzkrieg Anthology
Blitzkrieg Anthology collects the game with the Burning Horizon, Rolling Thunder and Iron Division expansions.1
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Bug fixBlitzkrieg Anthology
Some versions of the original used StarForce copy protection, which Blitzkrieg Anthology does not appear to use.1
Translations
Where to play legally today
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GOG Purchase
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Steam Purchase
Blitzkrieg Anthology
Windows; English, German, Russian (full audio)
Checked: 2026-10-133store.steampowered.com
How to run it today
Buy Blitzkrieg Anthology on Steam or GOG (Windows). Steam lists English, German and Russian with full audio.3
Best version
Blitzkrieg Anthology bundles the game with its three expansions and, unlike some versions of the original, does not appear to use StarForce.1
In lists
Sources
Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13
Spotted a mistake? Write to atlas@old-games.net.