It was only last week 343 Industries brought out the first public test of Halo Infinite, and this week, it will be the turn of another Microsoft game: Age of Empires IV. The highly anticipated real-time strategy game"s largest public play test will begin on August 5 in the form of a closed beta, with it ending on August 16.
Relic Entertainment and World’s Edge will be picking eligible Age Insiders to participate in the beta, and there"s not much time left to sign up for the program. Head here before 4:59 pm PT today (Tuesday, August 3) to set up a profile. Make sure to upload the required DxDiag file, verify the email address, and link a Steam account if that"s the preferred platform as opposed to the Microsoft Store.
The closed beta will provide access to the tutorial mission for getting a hang of this entry, as well as skirmish matches against AI or other players, going up to eight slots. While only a handful of maps will be available in the beta, multiple sizes and biomes will be present to keep things fresh. When the host has it enabled, spectating will also be possible of others" games.
Four of the eight civilizations present in the full game are given to beta testers, them being Mongol, English, Delhi Sultanate, and Chinese factions.
Here are the hardware specifications required closed beta build:
- OS: Windows 10
- Processor: 1.7-2.7GHz (turbo) 4 core: Intel Core i5-4460T (35w) / AMD FX-6300 or better
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 760 / AMD Radeon R7 260X or better with at least 2 GB of VRAM
The closed beta will be kicking off across Steam and Microsoft Store, with invites going out to thousands of Insiders. Age of Empires IV currently has an October 28 launch date attached to it, and aside from it coming to the two aforementioned stores, it will also hit Microsoft"s Xbox Game Pass subscription.