Running from January 19-22.
The closed beta for BattleCrew: Space Pirates will begin this later this week, developer Dontnod Eleven has announced.
Starting Thursday, January 19 at 11am ET/8am PT/4pm UK, players in North America and Western Europe will be able try out the upcoming 2.5D multiplayer shooter on Steam. The closed beta will then conclude on Sunday, January 22 at 11am ET/8am PT/4pm UK. To participate, you can sign up for the beta here.
In BattleCrew: Space Pirates, players control various heroes, each with their own unique set of skills, as they battle with and against friends across different maps and multiplayer modes.
The closed beta features five different maps and two modes: Team Deathmatch and Gold Rush. In Team Deathmatch, two teams of two face off in a fight to defeat as many enemy pirates as possible. Meanwhile, Gold Rush sees two teams of four fighting to collect gold while fending off the enemy team.
The closed beta will feature “new gameplay updates as well as additional improvements,” including the ability to create your own squads. While Team Deathmatch will be playable during the closed beta, it won’t be immediately available when the game launches via Steam Early Access. Instead, the mode will launch later as a free update.
BattleCrew: Space Pirates will release as an Early Access title at the end of the month. During the Early Access phase, Dontnod plans to add in new maps, skins and more additional content in the lead-up to the launch of the full game.
Alex Osborn is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter and subscribe to his video content on YouTube.