The long awaited reboot of Electronic Arts" SimCity franchise is slated for launch in March 2013. However, you have a chance to check out an early version of the urban city building and planning game next weekend. EA has announced that it will hold a closed beta for SimCity from January 25th to the 28th.
If you want to be a part of the beta weekend, you need to sign up on the SimCity website by 9 pm Eastern time tonight. There"s no word on just how many people will be picked to participate in the beta test but EA indicates it will only invite a small number of players. The beta FAQ page reveals that the beta build will allow users to create and build a city in a scenario designed to be played in one hour, although there are no limits on how many times you can play that scenario during the closed beta weekend.
EA adds. "We’ve given you all the tools to build up a medium density city, given access to the Casino Big Business, all of the basic services, loads of public transportation options, and several options on how you can power your city." The beta is also designed to test the online servers for SimCity, which will include features like leaderboards and a Global Challenge during the beta test.
The full version of the game will have many multiplayer features, which is a first for the SimCity franchise. The beta version will be PC only, but a Mac version of the full game is also slated for release.
Source: SimCity website | Image via EA