Over four years since the launch of hardcore World War 2 shooter Hell Let Loose, a whole new installment, Hell Let Loose: Vietnam, is on the way. But its devs want to make one thing very clear – this isn't a replacement for the first game in the series.
Sitting down with franchise director Steve Woodward and producer Craig Clark at Gamescom, I'm shown what the upcoming shooter looks like in action. New mechanics like swimming and even the ability to fly around in helicopters immediately ensure that Vietnam feels fresh, but the pair emphasize during our conversation that just because a new game is happening, that doesn't mean that fans of the original are being "abandoned." It's not a sequel, they tell me, but more of a separate experience, and one that's being worked on by a different internal team than those who are continuing to develop Hell Let Loose.
"There's so many fans of the current game that, you know, we want to make sure that they're still fans, we don't want them to feel like we've abandoned them in any way," Woodward explains. "But we also want to bring the game to new audiences as well, which potentially, if you don't like World War 2, you might like Vietnam. But, you know, we actually hope that players will like both."
Giving fans what they want
Developer: Expression Games
Publisher: Team17
Platform(s): PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S
Release date: 2026
By Woodward's own admission, the onboarding experience for the original Hell Let Loose is "not as good as it can be, and so it's difficult for new players to get into the game," but this is something that the team hopes to address with Vietnam. "Really, we want to grow the overall player base and keep the existing player base happy," he adds.
Clark agrees, explaining how Vietnam's success can be a net positive for the original game. "If someone likes something in Vietnam, we can take that and move it into the first [game]. If someone wants something brought from 1 into Vietnam, because we're still developing both titles, we can do that as well."
The producer knows that "you're never going to appease everyone," but adds that "the biggest thing from my perspective is the fact that we're not taking away anything that people loved about Hell Let Loose. The game modes are still going to be there. We're going to add new game modes. We're not going to replace ones that people love. Warfare mode, Offensive mode – they're going to stay there, and they're going to function as they should. We're going to improve the things that players have been asking to be improved."
Clark admits that "one thing that sometimes frustrates me" when it comes to games is when "something changes that everyone fundamentally loves." However, he thinks Hell Let Loose: Vietnam is "what a brand extension should be," by "adding things and removing the frustrations."
We don't want to limit the players' ability to… transition between either game
Steve Woodward, franchise director
There are, of course, differences in the weapons you can get your hands on in Hell Let Loose: Vietnam compared to the original, but things still shouldn't feel too dissimilar if you've poured hours upon hours into the 2021 game. "We just needed to think of what is the historically accurate version of [a given weapon], essentially, and what changed in terms of the actual combat [in the Vietnam War] wasn't too large," Clark begins. "In the Vietnam War, there were mortars. The equivalent of that we have in World War 2 is artillery."
This also means that skills should be largely transferrable between the two games. "We don't want to limit the players' ability to… transition between either game, because, as we said earlier, the core principles of the game are the same. We're not changing those," Woodward adds.
As for why the series is going to Vietnam in the first place, Clark says "it's basically what the community have been asking for." He recalls: "Every time I open Reddit, I feel like I will see a post [saying] like, 'this would be a great game in the Vietnam War.'"
Furthermore, "we knew that there was space there to achieve it, and we knew that the players wanted it," he continues, "so it all, from my perspective, felt very much [like], 'let's do it.'"
Going forward, the devs are keen to keep listening to what the community wants, and using their wishes to help direct the series. "Who knows what the future holds?" Woodward says. "We might go further into the future. We might go more to the past. We could go any direction we want, as long as we're staying true to what Hell Let Loose is, that's the main thing. Historically accurate – or sympathetic – and staying true to the core values of the game."
Hell Let Loose: Vietnam is set to release at an unspecified date in 2026 across PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.
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