'Dawn Of War III' Gets Multiplayer Open Beta

Relic Entertainment started accepting sign-ups for a Dawn of War III multiplayer open beta that will run from April 21-24. That isn't long before the game's release--it's set to debut on April 27--but you should still have a chance to see what it has to offer before opening your wallet.

Dawn of War III first caught our attention in 2016 with a reveal trailer and hands-off demo of its campaign. We left with the impression that the real-time strategy game based on Warhammer 40,000 had promise--a notion reinforced when we got our hands on the game a few months later at PAX West. The demo was packed with thrilling battles that challenged us without making us feel like there was no point in even trying to win a fight.

Relic and Sega finally announced in March that Dawn of War III will debut on April 27. (The companies also revealed the game's system requirements.) Now the companies have revealed the multiplayer open beta and its scope. Here's what you can expect, according to a page on the game's website:

You will have access to all three of the game’s factions – Space Marines, Eldar, and Orks – and a selection of powerful elite heroes for each. The Open Beta will also include a number of Doctrines so you can begin to experiment in equipping your army for different strategic scenarios, and the Army Painter to customize the way they look. You can compete against other players in custom or auto-matched battles with a choice of three different maps.

The open beta will also try to convince you to pre-order Dawn of War III by giving you a glimpse of the included Masters of War Skin Pack. That expansion doesn't offer any extra content, but it will give you some more aesthetic options in exchange for buying the game before release. You won't have a lot of time to do so, given that there's only three days between the beta's end and the game's launch, but the option is still there.

There's just one minor concern--an image comparing the open beta to the full game says progress won't carry over after launch:

That's a bummer. If you don't mind those limitations and the reset progress, though, you can sign up for the open beta on the Dawn of War III website.