The War Z beta to launch on Halloween, trailer shows night time bandit stand-off

An alpha for The War Z will kick off on October 15, a couple of weeks before the launch of a closed beta on October 31.

An alpha for The War Z will kick off on October 15, a couple of weeks before the launch of a closed beta on October 31. There are two pre-order packages available now on The War Z siteoffering "Pioneer" alpha access for $29.99, or "Survivor" beta access for $19.49. The Pioneer package also comes with $15 of in-game currency, a badge to show off your pioneer status and a month of "'Stronghold' map server hosting."

There's a new trailer to celebrate this month of testing madness. It shows an encounter between a pair of players, some ambient zombies, and a well fortified house full of player-controlled bandits. Read on to watch the tense stand-off, and see someone stealthily shoot the LOUDEST SNIPER RIFLE at some unsuspecting enemies.

For more footage of The War Z's big open map of Colorado, check out The War Z trailerfrom earlier this week.