Upcoming strategy game "Total War: Arena" is free to play this week.
Developer Gaming Assembly and publisher Wargaming Alliance have announced that the epic-scale 10 versus 10 multiplayer game is open for free play from Nov. 24 to Dec. 4.
For those who have been waiting for the game since it was announced way back in 2013, that is definitely a long time coming. This week, absolutely anyone can take arms and lead the Romans, Barbarians, or Greeks into battle. They will all receive a range of boosts and mission rewards to aid them during their fights.
According to the official announcement sent to Gamasutra, everyone who played the free testing will automatically get free access to the closed beta to continue their fight. They will also receive three special premium units as a gift. These should give them new ways to fight and speed up in-game progress across the Roman Tier 4 Auxiliary Cavalry, the Barbarian Tier 4 Bloodsworn, and the Greek Tier 4 Telesillas Argives.
Apart from testing out the game, the developers hope the players could give much-needed feedback.
"Total War: Arena's open week is the perfect opportunity to really test our servers with a large number of players," said Product Director Sergei Laptenok of Wargaming Alliance.
"Total War: Arena" was first revealed at the Game Developers Conference in March 2013. However, bigger projects put "Arena" in the backseat. Now, developers assure fans that it has progressed a lot since then.
Currently in closed beta, the game's mechanics are still being fine-tuned to give players a "constantly evolving and engaging experience." Developers say most of the game's progress has been mainly led by player feedbacks on forums and other channels, and this free week is supposed to help them even more.
No specific date yet on when "Total War: Arena" will be released.
