It was only a matter of time before we knew what the next title in the IL-2: Great Battles Series was going to be and now we know that a big announcement is incoming thanks to a tease that showed up on the IL-2 forums earlier today.

Hidden in plain sight

Earlier today, an audio message appeared on the IL-2 forums that is 34 seconds long containing all Morse-code. The series of short and long tones, according to several members of the IL-2 community, contain the following message:

FLASH ALL PILOTS STAND BY FOR IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT 26 NOVEMBER

FLASH is usually reserved for high priority messages or emergencies (it’s surely the former) and we have clear indication that in 24-hours we’re going to know a whole lot more about the future of the IL-2 series.

What can it be?

There are about a dozen different scenarios swirling around out there. While everyone has their favourite scenario, the bottom line on whatever 1CGS is doing will be based on having credible and useful research information as well as a clear business case. Still, we can attempt to do some last minute speculation.

There are possibilities that the series may be going in a few different directions including the Pacific theatre and the Battle of Midway – a long stated goal by Jason and the developers. That direction has proven problematic due to research issues and it’s unclear if 1CGS has managed to solve that problem in the last two years.

Does this static Typhoon portent a future Normandy update?

Other western front scenarios such as Italy, Normandy and the Battle of France have all credibly been suggested by the community as having the aircraft and the name recognition to potentially be able to get people interested. While the Pacific is something that many are hoping for, a good number of people I suspect wouldn’t be disappointed if the next entry continued building on their western front work.

We can make some guesses. A few have pointed out that on November 26th, 1941, the Japanese carrier strike group set out for Pearl Habour. A Japanese logo appeared on the Axis aircraft list back two patches ago and Japan as a nation was added to the mission builder. The use of Morse-code also seems to be more of a Pacific theme

Recently a Typhoon showed up in the mission builder as a static aircraft too which could suggest a Normandy themed expansion to the series as well. This would dovetail really nicely with Bodenplatte and add more highly desired aircraft to the set.

What about Flying Circus and Tank Crew?

Back in 2017 when 1CGS announced their plans for the future, that announcement was widely expected to be about just one product but Jason and the team surprised us with three. Flying Circus and Tank Crew were added to the list and have since become established as part of the IL-2: Great Battles Series.

While I think there is a possibility for sequels to both of these titles, we don’t know what the economics are of these and if they will be able to drive both of these titles forward too. While Tank Crew could exist as it’s own thing without a sequel, there are plenty of possibilities to follow up with. Flying Circus, however, begs to be granted a sequel with a Vol 2 not only adding more aircraft but also hopefully redressing the missing single player experience of Vol 1 for both titles (not unprecedented for 1CGS).

Tomorrow’s update could address these questions or it could stick to just the mainline series.

Whatever the case, we’re going to know a whole lot more very soon!