Halo Wars 2’s open beta begins next week

Halo Wars 2 is a little over a month away, and to help ease that wait, 343 Industries will be releasing an open beta for all Xbox One and Windows 10 users on January 20th. The beta will run from the 20th to January 30th, so you'll have plenty of time to play before launch!

The beta will allow players to play a brand new mode called Blitz. The mode is a card-based strategy game where you see the action unfolding on screen as you strategically use your cards. Basically, the core gameplay has been completely changed from base building and getting resources to using your card deck to your own advantage. It sounds like a pretty refreshing mode for an RTS game! You can view a trailer for the mode below.

None of your progress will carry over from the beta to the final game, but players who play the beta will have special rewards waiting for them in the retail version of the game. Players who simply log-in to the beta once will be granted a Blitz card pack, and players who complete one match in the beta will be granted a second card pack!

Halo Wars 2 will be releasing on Xbox One and PC (which is getting a very high-quality physical release) February 21st.

[Halo Waypoint]