Men of War: Assault Squad 2 open beta available with pre-purchase

DigitalMindSoft's Men of War: Assault Squad 2—a follow-up to its infantry-heavy standalone expansion—is now in open beta, but you'll have to spend a little money to get in.

DigitalMindSoft's Men of War: Assault Squad 2—a follow-up to its infantry-heavy standalone expansion—is now in open beta, but you'll have to spend a little money to get in. The game's regular price is set at $35/£25, though it's currently offered at a 20 percent discount for $28/£20.

Assault Squad 2 uses a totally new engine (the same one Call to Armswill use) and its multiplayer has transitioned from GameSpy to Steamworks, both of which were huge steps, DigitalMindSoft says. As with many games in open beta and early access, DigitalMindSoft warns that you should be prepared for technical issues, especially in multiplayer. You should read about them in this FAQpage before deciding whether or not to jump in.

Addressing these issues is DigitalMindSoft's first priority. Once it resolves them, it will move on to add new features and considering player feedback.

DigitalMindSoft also responded to fans who are worried that AS2 was created solely to fund the development of Call to Arms. "This is incorrect," it said. "AS2 has been discussed and agreed on before we went public with our plans for Call to Arms. In fact, the development of Call to Arms allowed us to invest way more into the engine which benefits all of us. Undoubtedly, Assault Squad 2 contains the most changes out of any Men of War games and we will continue to support the game post release."

The beta includes 15 new singleplayer skirmishes, 25 reworked skirmishes from the original Assault Squad, and its multiplayer and cooperative modes. You can buy into the beta and find out more about what's in it on Steam.