Total War: Arena represents a new direction for the Total War franchise, and is in development by a dedicated team at Creative Assembly, focused on a purely multiplayer experience.

Each player controls three units of warriors, led by an iconic commander from history, each with their own battle style.  Players level up commanders and units to open up more specialist skills, weaponry, armor and abilities.  Decisive strategies, combat tactics and teamwork decide who is victorious.

The lines have been drawn and the war horns have been sounded, which means Total War: ARENA is now ready for its Closed Beta Test (CBT) to begin.

Right out of the gate, budding tacticians have three factions at their disposal: Romans, Greeks, and Barbarians, featuring ten iconic commanders from Caesar, Leonidas, and, new for the CBT—Boudica.

Commanders can get to grips with 140+ units, covering archers, spearmen, blade-wielders, siege units, and more. Boudica also brings with her an entirely new Barbarian Army Tech Tree to progress through, including fearsome Wardogs to take a bite out of the enemy. With different playstyles for each unit, faction, and commander, players have a wealth of tactical options at their disposal to master nine battlefields such as Hadrian’s Wall and Thermopylae.

“We’re all extremely excited to reach this benchmark of Closed Beta,” said Sergei Laptenok Total War: ARENA Product Director at Wargaming. “It’s thanks to the players who helped us out in the Alpha and the team’s hard work that we’ve come this far. Now, we want those Alpha players to join the CBT, so we can continue improving the game and introducing awesome content in the future.”

“The Closed Beta launch marks the start of an exciting new phase for Total War: ARENA,” said Gabor Beressy, Total War: ARENA Game Director at Creative Assembly.  “We look forward to welcoming more players and sharing new content with them.”

To say thanks to all Alpha players who provided valuable feedback to enhance Total War: ARENA, the team have automatically included them into CBT. With the lifting of the game’s NDA, players can share their battle stories online with their friends and the community.

Key Features:

• Team-based strategy with epic-scale real-time battles.
• Built for multiplayer RTS fans: fast 10v10 battles where decisive strategies, combat tactics and teamwork will decide who is victorious.
• Each player controls three units of warriors led by an iconic commander from history, each with their own battle style. Choose from Alexander the Great, Leonidas, Germanicus, Caesar and more.
• Deep progression layer – level up Commanders and units to open up even more specialist skills, weaponry, armor and abilities.
• Total War’s award-winning tactical battle gameplay, refined purely for multiplayer.
• Play for free – with option for in-game purchases to customize units and speed progression.