THQ Nordic announced that the SpellForce 3 beta begins today, focused on multiplayer action, and they also kindly sent 5K codes to give away. The developers at Grimlore Games will finalize game balancing based on the input of players.

　　This SpellForce 3 beta will go on for several weeks, staying up 24/7 until July. Here's a schedule of updates:

　　19th of May: Humans, 1vs126th of May: Orcs, 1vs12nd of June: Elves, 1vs19th of June: all three factions in 1vs1 battles16th of June: all three factions in 2vs2 battle23rd of June: all three factions in 3vs3 battle30th of June: One map from Singleplayer- campaign playable in the betaSpellForce 3 Beta Giveaway

　　In case you're not familiar with the franchise, its core gameplay is a mix of strategy and RPG elements. You can check out our preview from PAX East 2017 here and a general overview of the game below, alongside a tutorial video that helps newcomers understand the basics.

　　Create and customise: create your group of heroes and choose a number of different combos with a range of skill structures.Boost and command your army: Prepare your troops and fight the greatest of all battles. You can also exploit numerous strategic aspects (e.g. terrain, troop formations, visibility, exploration, etc.), that would make Sun Tzu proud!Epic storyline: Unravel a deep and complex plot that eventually leads up to the events that trigger the Convocation ritual, which will change the whole world.Extensive universe and lots of loot: Explore the world of Eo, discover intrigues and secrets and collect a whole load of loot for your hero.Complex single-player campaign: Over 30 hours of gameplay time, and even more if you’re able to discover everything Grimlore Games has incorporated into the game world.Multiplayer: Strong multiplayer component with various modes - play in versus battles with up to 6 Players or master the single-player campaign with a friend in coop mode.The full game will launch on PC in Q3 2017.