Developer The Farm 51 (Chernobylite) and publisher MY.GAMES announced that their upcoming 20vs20 tactical Battlefield-like FPS World War 3 will be released as a free-to-play game after two years long of being a paid Steam Early Access title. Anyone who bought the game before October 4, 2021, or during the Early Access period, is automatically eligible to partake in the closed beta test that will be held on November 25 until March 2022 when the open beta launches.
The November closed beta test will feature four maps taking place in Berlin, Warsaw, Polyarny, and Moscow across two different game modes, along with a sample of gear and weapon customization options that will be available in the full game. After the open beta period, then World War 3 is switching to a free-to-play distribution model. Aside from access to the closed beta, MY.GAMES promises that Early Access supporters will be able to claim Lieutenant Pack worth $49.99 as thanks for their early support of the project.
People who didn’t buy the Early Access version can pay for Closed Beta Test Packs to gain access that is available at various pricing tiers: from $14.99, $29.99, $49.99, and up to $299.99 that gives bonus weapon and character skins as well as 15,000 UNC in-game currency. There is also an extremely “limited, prestigious” President Pack available only to one single buyer for $5,000,000. It sounds insane, but at least MY.GAMES said that anyone who bought the President Pack didn’t just get a life-sized replica of an in-game helmet and unique, one-of-a-kind character skin but also invited to star in a World War 3 film adaptation and help to design a map based on a real-world location of their choosing. I’m not sure all of it is worth five million bucks, but I doubt anyone who paid that much for a video game cares about how much money they can burn in the first place.
