Total War: Arena Hits Closed Beta, Adds New Faction, Commander, Maps

Creative Assembly’s free-to-play multiplayer Total War: Arena has cleared a major milestone on its way to launch, heading into closed beta after a successful alpha. Well, that’s what they tell us, at least… I mean, who ever said they had a crappy alpha?

Whatever the case, Arena storms into closed beta with a new Barbarian faction, led by the cunning Arminius, perpetrator of the massacre of three Roman legions in the Battle of Teutoberg Forest in 9 AD. The new map is the Rubicon, the first river-crossing map in the game, which served as the northern boundary of Italy proper, and which Julius Caesar famously crossed in 49 BC to assert his dominance over Rome.

The closed beta also brings new commander orders and consumables, as well as the usual smattering of bug fixes. You can read all about the changes here and sign up for the beta here.