EndWar Private Beta Invites Going Out

According to several Kotakuites who decidedly broke the NDA by sending in tips, the invites for the private beta test of Tom Clancy's EndWar are now going out to those lucky enough to secure a spot. Here is a sample of the acceptance letter, with names changed to protect the guilty.

Hello, NDA Ignoring Bastard

We're pleased to inform you that you have been selected to participate in the Tom Clancy's EndWar Private Beta.
You now have access to the full EndWar Beta website at www.endwarbeta.com and can begin posting on the forums.

Your username is: NDABREAKER2008

Don't forget to check out the "how to play" section for helpful information on getting started. The EndWar Beta will be ready for you soon and once it's available for download we'll be sure to let you know.

I am going to start using NDABreaker2008 as my handle every time I sign up for a beta test, just to see if anyone ever lets me in. Congrats to those who got in! We promise not to say anything to Ubisoft unless they offer us candy. Hit the jump for exciting screens from the beta instructions!

EndWar Launches Private Beta

Ubisoft's voice-command real-time strategy game EndWay is getting a private beta this summer. A site set up for those invited into the beta says that it will take place for three weeks in June and July and only be in English.

The three gig download will feature three maps for 1v1 and 2v2 matches, but no offline play.

I hope they launch a public beta as well. As with most new ideas, the concept of voice-command mixing with real-time strategy isn't easy to wrap your head around without trying it first hand.

As I mentioned in my preview of the game earlier this year, it seems to work quite well and despite the reduced unit types, I think there's enough depth in the game to keep things interesting.

EndWar [Via Joystiq]

I got a chance to sneak over to Ubisoft's San Francisco office during the Game Developers Conference and sit down with Michael de Plater, creative director Tom Clancy's EndWar, to talk about the upcoming voice-command strategy game. Better still, I also got a chance to actually play it—and what I saw impressed me.

De Plater said that part of the impetus for the game was the fact that, as real-time strategies have evolved, the genre has left a lot of people behind. People like my dad, even people, in some cases, like me. People, basically, who aren't interested in dealing with a Zerg rush five minutes into the game and instead want to play something a bit closer to, say, a detailed and realistic game of chess.

"One of the things we hear a lot of us is 'I used to love real time strategies, but it's gotten too complex'," he said. "So we decided to make a tactical game, slow the pace down. We call this game strategy at the speed of thought."

Endwar Riflemen Profiled

Tom Clancy's EndWorld Impressions

Ubiday: Voice Controlled RTS, Tons of Vids