Prisoners of War
Middle East Empire 2027 Patch Notes — February 18, 2026
Aggregated from Steam, cross-tracked with Battle.net coverage on GamePatchNote.
Dear players,
We are excited to introduce a major expansion to the battlefield experience: the 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐖𝐚𝐫 (𝐏𝐨𝐖) 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐄𝐱𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦.
This update adds a new layer of realism and strategic depth to your international relations and military campaigns.
Here is what you can expect in the new version:
⚔️ 𝐂𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐌𝐘 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐂𝐄𝐒
Wars are no longer just about the number of troops lost.
During large-scale invasions and major battles, your army now has a chance to capture enemy soldiers alive.
This creates a new dynamic where winning a battle gives you valuable human assets that can be used for diplomacy or economic gain.
⛓️ 𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐄𝐑 𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐀𝐆𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓
A new dedicated Prisoners of War interface will allow you to oversee two distinct areas:
🔹 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐈 𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐝: A detailed list of foreign troops currently in your prisons.
🔹 𝐌𝐲 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐎𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬: Track your own soldiers who were captured during combat and are being held in foreign territories.
🤝 𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐃𝐈𝐏𝐋𝐎𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐂 𝐎𝐏𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒
With the PoW system, you have new ways to interact with other nations:
🕊️ 𝐇𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞: You can choose to release prisoners to improve relations with their home country.
💰 𝐑𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐦 𝐍𝐞𝐠𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬: Demand financial compensation for the return of captured troops or pay a ransom to bring your own soldiers home.
🔄 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐄𝐱𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞: If both nations hold each other's soldiers, you can coordinate a mutual exchange.
Note: You can attempt one PoW negotiation per country per turn, and negotiations are only available if you are not currently in an active state of war.
✨ 𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐎𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐂 𝐅𝐑𝐄𝐄𝐃𝐎𝐌
Diplomacy matters! If you sign a Peace Treaty or form a Military Alliance with a country, both nations will automatically and immediately release all prisoners of war back to their respective home armies as a gesture of trust.
🏛️ 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐒𝐓 & 𝐋𝐈𝐁𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍
When a country is conquered and removed from the map, the PoW system handles the remaining prisoners realistically:
* Any of your troops held by the defeated country are immediately liberated and return to your army.
* Soldiers from third-party nations held by the defeated country are returned to their original homes.
* Prisoners of the defeated nation held by other neutral countries will be disbanded automatically.
⚠️ 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐂 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐄𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐒
Holding prisoners is a responsibility. If they are kept in poor conditions for too long, they may suffer from disease or hunger.
Such incidents will be reported in the news and will cause your international relations to deteriorate.
🤖 𝐃𝐘𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐂 𝐀𝐈 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍
The AI has been fully upgraded to use these mechanics.
AI leaders will now evaluate their economy and military needs to propose exchanges or offer ransoms for their citizens.
You can accept or decline these offers directly through your diplomacy news feed.
This update is designed to make every conflict feel more impactful and give you more tools to lead your nation to glory.
Other game fixed issues
Fixed: Bug causing duplicate messages in diplomacy news.
Fixed: Bug causing troops to disappear into reserves during naval invasions.
Fixed: Land border recognition for Canada and Australia after conquering neighbors.
Fixed more reported issues and continue to improve Artificial Intelligence.
Improved: Sea invasions now automatically convert to land wars if a shared border is established.
We plan to add countless new diplomacy & spies & war options, technologies...
Your support is important to us to continue developing.
Thank you,
iGindis Team❤