Nosgoth open beta begins next week

Nosgoth

Square Enix has announced that the free-to-play Legacy of Kain spin-off Nosgoth will go into open beta next week. The game will be taken offline on January 19 to make final preparations for the big day, and then opened to all at 10 am PST on January 21.

Nosgoth was announced in 2013 as a class-based multiplayer game pitting humans against vampires, based on the multiplayer mode of the canceled sequel to the 2003 release Legacy of Kain: Defiance. As you might surmise, the action is asymmetrical: Vampires are almost unstoppably powerful up close, while humans have access to devastating ranged weaponry and alchemy.

"Our goal for the Open Beta is to deliver a fun and engrossing metagame and we realize that working closely with our community is the best way for us to balance and deepen the experience going forward," Game Director Corey Davis said in a statement.

Players will earn double experience during the first week of the open beta, and developer Psyonix will be streaming a live session on Twitch at 11:30 am PST on launch day. The Nosgoth client will be available from Steam—free, remember—while more information about the game is at Nosgoth.com.

Andy Chalk

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.