You can play the Company of Heroes 3 multiplayer pre-alpha for free from today
A public multiplayer pre-alpha is going live for RTS game Company of Heroes 3 today – and anyone will be able to sign up and play it.
Relic Entertainment and Sega have announced a Company of Heroes 3 multiplayer pre-alpha, available to anyone who signs up, will be playable later today. Given that the game isn't due to launch until late 2022, it's a pretty far-in-advance to get a taste for the game's specific brand of RTS action.
The amount of content you'll get to try out this far ahead of the game's proper launch is pretty impressive, too: the multiplayer pre-alpha suite will include four Italian maps that you can use to test out multiple game modes (including co-op vs AI, competitive PvP, and Skirmish vs AI). Playable factions include botht the US or the Wehrmacht.
Though the alpha isn't set to go live until 9am PT / 12pm ET / 5pm GMT today (November 30), you can pre-load the game right now to maximise the amount of time you'll actually get to play the game once it's installed on your machine. All you need to do is sign-up for free and link your Steam account to Relic.
The pre-alpha is live until Monday, December 6 at 8pm PT / 11pm ET / 4am GMT (December 7), giving you just over a week to get your teeth into what Relic is set to offer in the long awaited RTS follow-up.
Per the developer, gameplay for the new title has been enhanced with new features, making for "the deepest tactical experience to date." The campaign features a dynamic map, allowing you to command ground, air, and naval forces and build supply lines as you lead the Allies’ campaign to retake mainland Italy from Axis forces.
Company of Heroes 3 was announced back in July this year and is due to release on PC in 2022, but before it does, Relic wants to hear from its players via its CoH-Development platform and gain feedback from the ever-growing community. As such, you can almost certainly expect more tests like this in the future.