It boasts "new AI opponents and maps", a "new crusader extreme trail", "battles featuring over 10,000 units" and Windows Vista compatibility. It was released in June 2008. It also contains an updated version of the original "Stronghold: Crusader", which includes everything except for outposts, the god powers and the Extreme Crusader Trail. However, if the official HD patch is installed, outposts can be built on maps on the original Stronghold Crusader part of Stronghold Crusader Extreme. The "Extreme" version received "generally unfavorable reviews" according to Metacritic. It was criticized for its extreme difficulty, lack of new audio, and not having graphical quality up to par for a game released in 2008. On August 30, 2012, Firefly Studios announced "Stronghold Crusader II", a sequel to the original "Crusader" game. The company said that the game would be self-published, with additional funding to be sourced via crowd-funding site Gambitious. The game was released on September 23, 2014.