Wartales announces Knights of Fardensa and a free cavalry update for December 9

Wartales is adding mounted warfare on December 9, when Shiro Games releases Knights of Fardensa alongside a free update. The expansion takes mercenary companies into a new region governed by noble families and a valuable horse trade, while the accompanying update makes cavalry available to players beyond the DLC’s campaign.

That split is the most useful detail in the November 4 announcement. The free update introduces the Horseman Mastery Class for mercenaries and horse breeding at Trading Posts. Existing characters can develop into mounted fighters, allowing established companies to incorporate cavalry without discarding the people they have already trained. Breeding combines inherited traits to develop horses for different tactical roles.

The paid expansion is announced for PC through Steam and GOG at $19.99, £16.99 or €19.99, with a 10% introductory discount for two weeks. It requires Wartales. The December announcement does not provide a matching console release date.

A horse monopoly becomes a political conflict

The expansion’s Steam description explains why horses sit at the center of the story. The Ald Hertogg family controls Fardensa’s mounts and trade, but that authority is weakening. Stolen horses are reaching the continent, while smaller noble houses are forming an unstable opposition.

The mercenary band’s work feeds directly into that dispute. Announced assignments include a murder investigation, a construction project that can be protected or sabotaged, an infiltration, and the recovery of stolen property. Individual houses face crises that can change their position in the rebellion. Players can support the opposition or work covertly for the ruling family, with those choices determining their side in the concluding battle and the region’s eventual ruler.

A separate thread involves an old knightly order and clues preserved in a mysterious book. Its trials include helping vulnerable people, confronting outlaws, finding a lost sword and capturing a legendary horse. The campaign provides a route toward the Knight title, giving the new region a personal progression thread as well as its political struggle.

How it fits an existing company

The base game’s structure revolves around recruiting and equipping a mercenary band, taking contracts and developing a camp between turn-based battles. It also supports cooperative expeditions for up to four players, who share resources and plan encounters together. Cavalry therefore arrives within an established system of characters, equipment and company management.

For returning players, the immediate planning question is whether they want the Fardensa storyline or simply want to experiment with mounted recruits. The announced division makes those separate choices: the region and its political campaign belong to Knights of Fardensa, while Horseman Mastery and breeding are part of the free major update. Both are scheduled for December 9, so neither should be mistaken for a feature already available in the current November build.