Analyzing Company of Heroes 3 Game Design

Pavel Konstantinov
By Pavel Konstantinov

CEO & Founder at RetroStyle Games |

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What is the most critical aspect of game design? Usually, the most important part is how information is given to the player. RTS games need icons as a middleman between deep mechanics and natural choices. This is why our team worked together with Relic Entertainment to remake over 100 icons for the Company of Heroes. Our game art outsourcing studio had a goal to make the icons more clear, attractive, and, at the same time, simple.

Analyzing Company of Heroes 3 game design

Company of Heroes is one of the most well-known real-time strategy franchises. The third part of the game is set in World War II, focusing mainly on the Allied Forces in Italy and Axis forces in North Africa. New game locations needed new icons, and this is why the developers hired someone like us to enhance the game interface. In this article, we’ll explain the most important elements of Company of Heroes 3’s design. Also, we’ll highlight how our contribution refined the game’s visual language.

Game Icon Design in Company of Heroes 3

In Company of Heroes 3, we wanted to make every battle tell a story because this is a game where the outcome of a battle depends on quick decision-making. And one of the main things that can help you with that is the right set of icons. They have to show abilities, unit status, and tactical options. And this is the task the company proudly solved with the help of our services. Properly made icons can enhance the gameplay because the whole strategy relies on players’ reactions. If icons for different commands look too similar, it can create difficulties during gameplay and affect the overall user experience.

Our task was to improve consistency, and better fit into the refreshed game look.  Some icons were missing detail and readability. This affected gameplay, particularly in high-stakes RTS gameplay.

We gathered public opinion and used our knowledge of app icon design services to create a functional suite of icons. The job was to sharpen silhouettes, improve contrast, and fine-tune details in each icon. What follows is our redesign process and how we came up with the icons for Company of Heroes 3.

The Company of Heroes 3 patch had various types of icons:

  • 1

    Battlegroup icons

    Showing critical strategic mechanics and unit compositions.

  • 2

    Ability icons

    For unit and commander skills, they keep the game clear even amidst combat chaos.

  • 3

    Decorator icons

    Secondary map markers, show navigation and tactical awareness.

  • 4

    Portrait icons

    Unit and character portraits, adding faction identity.

Along the way, we focused on three guiding values: consistency, readability, and authenticity. New icons enhanced Company of Heroes 3’s new style and created a smoother experience for players.

Various types of icons in Company of Heroes 3

Major CoH Game Mechanics

Developing an art related to Company of Heroes gave us an experience of the game’s inner mechanics. We understood why it is so important to have clear icons that players can read. No matter how beautiful a game’s systems are, players need an intuitive means of speaking to them. The gameplay relies on rapid decision-making, unit positioning, and planning. So, well-designed UI elements are what make the game playable.

Key mechanics every player should master:

  • 1

    Cover & Positioning

    Infantry combat efficiency is managed through cover mechanics. Thick cover reduces incoming fire, and flanking can side-step enemy defenses;

  • 2

    TrueSight System

    Units only see what's directly ahead of them, so ambushes and smoke screens are a tactical element;

  • 3

    Territory Control

    Resource production is based on seizing and holding connected sectors;

  • 4

    Armor Engagement

    The "Rule of Twos" is critical - two anti-tank options combined (e.g., grenades + AT rifles) give greater chances against tanks;

  • 5

    Tactical Map & Micro

    Effective use of the tactical map and hotkeys speeds up orders.

Key mechanics in Company of Heroes 3

This way, we made Company of Heroes concept art and redesigned gameplay icons. So now they are more legible without losing the franchise’s look. An icon must communicate its function immediately, even in the heat of battle. We refined visuals so that both veterans and newcomers could understand important information.

Good mechanics and UI go hand in hand, but to make a playable prototype you need talented designers. If you are developing a strategy game and need game prototype designers, you need to hire game prototype designers. Let's build something gamers will adore — one prototype at a time.

Game Icon Design in Company of Heroes 3

One of our key tasks was analyzing community feedback. Players actively discussed UI and icon issues on platforms like Reddit, Steam forums, and game communities. Their input shaped our approach, so our redesign fixed real concerns. We didn’t just make new cool icons, we heard players, because it’s our job.

Players shared feedback about the art direction of the new icons. They wanted them to have a more realistic and darker aesthetic. The icons were too sanitized and simplified. This made the UI feel disconnected from the realism the series is famous for.

A more realistic and darker aesthetic for icons

Another issue was a lack of distinctiveness. Too many icons looked similar, and it was difficult to distinguish between unit types at a glance. This was especially an issue with British units, where Vickers, Mortar Teams, and Infantry Sections had similar designs. In an RTS game where decisions must be made quickly, similar icons are a terrible choice.

Players also requested 2D artwork over 3D model-based icons. They felt that 2D-painted icons were more readable at a glance. The shift to 3D-rendered icons was seen as a step back in both readability and visuals.

The request for 2D-painted icons for Company of Heroes 3

Improved contrast and harder borders were another frequent request. A few icons blended too much with the UI through transparency effects and were hard to read in the middle of intense combat. Players suggested that using harder borders or unique color patterns for each type of unit could make it easier to read.

Using harder borders or unique color patterns for Company of Heroes 3

There was also a debate about portraits vs. logos for unit icons. Some players enjoyed character portraits because they felt they gave the units more character. Others enjoyed abstract symbols, as they felt they were more readable.

Portraits vs logos for unit icons for Company of Heroes 3

Taking this feedback into consideration, we developed a style guide. Our main goals were:

  • 1

    Readability

    Each icon is instantly recognizable;

  • 2

    Historical accuracy

    Grounding the icons in World War II style without over-stylizing them;

  • 3

    Consistency

    Unifying the COH 3 artwork style so that icons felt like they were part of the same visuals, rather than pieces from different games.

We worked with Relic Entertainment throughout the process. The team used their branding and technical requirements, as well as player feedback. The result was an icon set that improved gameplay legibility, making Company of Heroes 3 more polished.

Historically accurate concept art for Company of Heroes 3

Difficulties During UI/UX Design

The challenge was to create icons that would be true to World War II without being so dense to be unreadable or pointless in an RTS context. By making concept designs for COH3 we understood what kind of path we were going for. Stylistic transition to suit the game UI was a key adjustment for us. Through work on new icons, we wanted them to fit into CoH3’s existing UI, ranging from ability overlays to unit banners. We’d work on refining levels of contrast and color scheme matching to introduce a visual integration.

Visually appealing concept art for Company of Heroes 3

Another important factor was historical accuracy vs. usability. Some icon designs were simplified for easier clarity. Realism was paramount, but excessive detail or period-accurate imagery would worsen quick identification. For example, we made complex military insignias and unit badges simpler to quickly recognize each icon during combat.

AI-generated artwork is popular in game development right now, no doubt, it quickens development. So Relic Entertainment specifically required hand-designed icons. Quality control and stylistic consistency were the reasons for that. It’s something that AI fails to manage effectively when it comes to detailed UI projects.

Lastly, we did style unification among factions. Company of Heroes 3 features different factions, including the US, UK, DAK, and German troops, each with an assortment of units and what they can do. One aspect of our company UI/UX design work was making icons look similar for every faction, but still maintaining different identities. We created a similar design platform. It can be used universally, without the user interface for any single faction being disconnected from others.

Bold and structured compositions for UK icons
Strong geometric shapes and high-contrast elements for DE icons
Bright highlights and clear silhouettes for US icons
Dust-toned color schemes and motion effects of DAK icons

By overcoming these challenges, with our game UI/UX design services, we made a set of icons that nicely blended into Company of Heroes 3’s revamped UI.

Unboxing the Company of Heroes Gift Box from Developers

During his visit to Vancouver, our CEO Pavel Konstantinov had the chance to meet with the Relic Entertainment team. It was a chance to sit down with fellow like-minded developers, exchange ideas, and solidify our alliance.

The meeting of CEO Pavel Konstantinov with the Relic Entertainment team

As a gesture of appreciation, Relic surprised Pavel with a unique Company of Heroes gift box. What was inside of it? The box had a collection of items that reflected the rich history of the Company of Heroes:

  • 1

    WWII-Inspired Flag

    A vintage-style blue war flag with a white star.

  • 2

    "Collector's Edition Tin Box"

    A metal tin case featuring the Company of Heroes logo, resembling a World War issue tin box.

  • 3

    Limited Edition Challenge Coin

    A coin produced in military style with CoH branding.

  • 4

    Authentic-Looking War Documents

    Letters, mission reports, and propaganda-style posters.

  • 5

    Company of Heroes 15th Anniversary Poster

    A themed poster with national flags and war symbols, commemorating 15 years of CoH.

  • 6

    Themed Patch and Medal

    An official CoH-themed patch and a medal.

  • 7

    Wooden Ammo Box Replica

    A small wooden ammunition box that looks like WWII ammunition crates.

  • 8

    Tactical Bullet Pencil

    A brass bullet-shaped pencil.

  • 9

    Black CoH T-shirt

    A shirt featuring a distinctive yellow logo.

Unboxing the Company of Heroes Gift Box from Developers

We look forward to future collaborations with the Company of Heroes group and assisting the franchise further.

Final Results

The redesign of the Company of Heroes 3 icon was an upgrade. Earlier, the majority of icons did not have a uniform style. They were hard to distinguish, and some of them clashed with the updated UI. Also, many players considered the appearance too dull or out of harmony with the atmosphere of the game. The redesign was meant to solve these issues.

After the patch, the new icons blended with the game’s UI, making reading and faction recognition easier. Now units and abilities are more easily recognized by players. More identifiable icons and a neater Company of Heroes game art in general brought it all into balance.

The public reaction to the update was extremely positive. Players liked the increased clarity, better faction differentiation, and general smoother look. Forum and Steam threads mentioned how the redesign made it easier to identify units and that it made the interface look better.

Well-designed icons help with tactical choices by making battlefield situations easily understandable. When UI/UX is well done, you can’t notice it — it’s just here working for you.

FAQs

FAQ line Indie Game Art Style

The company of Heroes has destructible environments and a dynamic frontline system. It mixes traditional RTS strategy with squad-based combat. The game has a cinematic presentation and realistic battlefield physics. This way, each battle feels intense and strategic.

The Company of Heroes 3 has a dynamic campaign map, so players can plan movements across an open battlefield. Tactical Pause in single-player allows players to queue order. More environmental destruction adds more realism and faction diversity. 

The game expands on the series’ core mechanics with a more open campaign. There, the player builds the war effort through strategic decisions. The Tactical Pause system has new possibilities in real-time combat planning. Improved AI and destructible environments introduce more varied combat than ever before.

The game requires a 64-bit processor and Windows 10 or later. Minimum specs: Intel i5-6th Gen or AMD Ryzen 3 1200, 8GB RAM, and a GTX 950 or RX 460 GPU. Recommended specs: i7-8700 or Ryzen 5 3600, 16GB RAM, and an RTX 2060 or RX 5600 GPU.

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