Gritty Battlefield-like FPS World War 3 enters early access on October 19th
War, war may change a lot in early access
Military FPS-heads who look back fondly at Battlefield 4's modern messy urban combat might want to take a peek at World War 3 next month. Developed by Necrovision studio The Farm 51 and announced back in June, it looks and sounds very much in the vein of Battlefield games past, and enters early access next month on October 19th, sneakily preempting the delayed Battlefield 5.
Below, a trailer from Gamescom last month, showing off its grey and smokey battlefields, cover destruction and other militaristic gubbins.
From the looks of the trailer below, World War 3 reminds me immediately of Battlefield 4's urban launch maps, right down to the colour grading and dense volumetric fog and dust effects. The Farm 51 promise that it'll be a little more gritty and realistic (especially in its gun handling) than the Battlefield series, including locational damage on vehicles. I admit I like the look of the damaged optics at round 45 seconds in. That said, it wears its inspirations on its sleeve, with the constant centred scoring pop-ups being cribbed directly from Dice's FPS series.
As someone who quite enjoyed Battlefield 5's beta weekend due to its more colourful, readable fights, this one doesn't seem like it's for me, but I can see it appealing to a more overtly serious crowd. There's definitely room out there for another big online squad FPS, although I can't help but question their wisdom in launching a week after Call Of Duty: Black Ops 4.
Players may be able to get their hands on World War 3 as early as October, but The Farm 51 think that it won't be finished for another year at least. They estimate another 12-15 months of development until they're ready to put a tactical gunmetal bow on it and send it off to war. During that time, they plan to add a bit more of everything - more maps, more playmodes, more features, and hopefully squash a lot of bugs along the way. The final price of the game will be higher.
World War 3's early access debut happens on October 19th, and will cost $28 (around £21, although exchange rates are unpredictable) at launch. You can find it here on Steam.