In Stronghold 2, besides Kingmaker you can play against human players from all around the world. This mode roughly follows the Kingmaker mode, with the difference that AI lords cannot be added to the game. Each game supports 8 players, although it can vary on the map size and/or players needs. The multiplayer service used to be powered by Gamespy, but with their servers shut down, it moved to GameRanger. Network games can be started from the GameRanger client, after a free download and registration is complete.