Today, Bulkhead Interactive, the developers of The Turning Test, has announced that Battalion 1944 will be available on Steam's Early Access February 1.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wQ9dkqxF9Y
Battalion 1944 is a game that was built to emulate the "close combat" FPS titles of the early 90's. To help facilitate this, Bulkhead will be hosting a beta from Friday, January 19th to Sunday, January 21st. Kickstarter backers will automatically be granted access, with streaming and content creation also allowed.
“It feels good to get Battalion 1944 into the hands of gamers after working on it so hard, we’ve been testing the game behind closed doors with our Kickstarter backers. It’s now time for us to extend our testing to Early Access to help what I believe can one of the best competitive FPS games ever.” - Joe Brammer, Studio Lead at Bulkhead InteractiveThe title will feature "tightly crafted" 5v5 multiplayer maps and "perfectly honed" weapons from the WW2 era. During the beta weekend, players will be able to enjoy Domination on Manorhouse V1, as well as the newly introduced competitive mode, Wartide, on Liberation, the second and final map available next weekend.
“Getting to grips with the intense nature of the Second World War is something that’s been key to our process, that’s something I also think comes across in this new reveal trailer - the action in a Battalion 1944 encounter is as feverish as it is credible. We’ve looked to bed the play down in maps that are both competitive and authentic, for which our trips to Normandy proved immensely useful”. - Howard Philpott, Creative Producer at Bulkhead InteractiveThe Early Access version of Battalion 1944 will ship with six modes. Four have been announced so far: Domination, Wartide, Team Deathmatch, and Capture The Flag. The cost of the tile for Early Access for £11.99/€14.99/$14.99. Interestingly, since the title will cost less than the lowest tier of Battalion 1944's Kickstarter, players will receive "unique backers only skins, multiple cosmetic and vanity focused loot crates."
For those that wish to take part in next weekend's beta, be sure to go here.
What do you think of this announcement? Are you going to play Battalion 1944? Let us know in the comments!