Creative Assembly is having an open week of testing for their free to play Total War: Arena. The event will conclude on 04 December 2017. Creative Assembly partnered up with Wargaming to merge Total War gameplay with a free to play model.
Total War: Arena is a free-to-play experiment announced several years ago. It hasn't been forgotten as an open week for the game kicked off today.
The open week runs from 12:00 GMT today to 09:00 on 04 December. During that time, anyone can sign up to lead the Romans, Barbarians or Greeks into battle, and everyone who does so will be granted permanent access to the closed beta. Those players will also receive three special premium units as a gift.
Creative Assembly
There will also be a range of boosts and mission rewards available to all players during the open week.
"Total War: Arena’s open week is the perfect opportunity to really test our servers with a large number of players,” said Sergei Laptenok, Total War: Arena Product Director at Wargaming Alliance. “Anyone can take on strategic gameplay and join massive, historical battles.”
"The open week is another exciting step in the game’s development," said Creative Assembly’s Game Director, Gabor Beressy. "We continue to be very grateful to our committed players who have been part of the development so far, and welcome new players to join the growing community."
Creative Assembly
Total War: Arena was announced four and a half years ago. One could be easily forgiven for thinking the game had been shelved, but this open weekend brings hope of a different outcome.
The game's developers - Creative Assembly have more than doubled in size in four years' time. A partnership with Wargaming has also been announced last year.
Here's a quick reminder of what Total War: Arena is about. The game is a free to play multiplayer featuring a more accessible version of Total War’s real-time tactics combat. Matches are 10 vs 10, with each player choosing three units to take into battle and a commander to lead them.
Creative Assembly
Commanders have three abilities which define their playstyle, and are inspired by real history - Vercingetorix, who would burn his own people’s villages so the Romans couldn’t use them to resupply, has an area-of-effect fire attack. Matches last up to ten minutes, and the goal is to either wipe out all enemy troops or capture their base.
