Company of Heroes 3 final tech test starts later today and you’re all invited
Signups for the final pre-release playtest are open now on Steam.
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The World War 2 RTSCompany of Heroes 3is set to launch in February, but before that happens a multiplayer tech test will take place on Steam beginning on January 11—and you can sign up to take part now.
This tech test is open to everyone, and getting in is very simple: Just head around toCompany of Heroes 3’s Steam pageand click the “Request Access” button for the playtest, available just below the pre-purchase options. Click again to confirm, and you’re done—that’s it, that’s the whole process. You’ll be notified by email when the test goes live, or if you sign up after it’s already underway, you’ll be prompted to download the test version immediately.
There have already been a couple of multiplayer tests for Company of Heroes 3, and we’ve also had some hands-on time with the campaign. which haschanged quite a bitover the course of the past year; developer Relic also recently confirmed that Company of Heroes 3 willsupport modsat launch.
Unfortunately, players in this upcoming tech test won’t get to sample the campaign, as it’s strictly for multiplayer, primarily to stress-test Relic’s servers ahead of release. But executive producer David Littman told us inDecemberthat it’s also a good way for newcomers to the series to see if it’s something they’d be into. Given the price—that is, free—I’d have to agree.
The playtest will include PvP and AI skirmishes for 1v1, 2v2, 3v3, and 4v4, with all four launch factions—US, British, Wehrmatch, and Deutsches Afrikakorps, which for some reason is categorized separately from the Wehrmacht—and a total of eight maps. The test will kick off at 10 am PT/1 pm ET on January 11, and run until the same time on January 16; downtime is scheduled for 1pm PT/4 pm ET to 3pm PT/6 pm ET on January 12, but the exact timing will be dependent on player numbers.
Here’s what you’ll need to play:
Minimum:
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“Your participation will allow us to prepare for launch by testing our infrastructure on a larger scale,” Relic’s full tech testannouncementsays. “The test also helps us identify new bugs and issues that cannot be caught without having thousands of people playing the game at the same time.
“Your feedback during this test is critical. Though the game is essentially ready for launch, your feedback on your experience - everything from faction balance to units to systems and more - will help inform fixes and patches in the first few weeks and months of the game’s life. This will also help us iterate on quality-of-life improvements, feature priorities, future iterations of gameplay elements and content.”
Relic also shared a list of known issues and bugs that will be present in the playtest, which you can dig into below.
Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill.Lotsof Henry Cavill.
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