The game was also released as Stronghold Warchest. Though the Arabian troops do not require any weapons to produce, they are rather expensive. The game features a multitude of new Arabian units that can be purchased in a new building, the mercenary post. Crusader has much in common with the original Stronghold, but differs from its predecessor in the fact that the game is no longer set in a pseudo-Europe, instead being set in the Middle East during the Crusades. Stronghold: Crusader, released on July 31, 2002, is the successor to Firefly Studios's 2001 real-time strategy video game Stronghold.