War of the Roses closed beta starts today

Sharpen your arrows, sharpen your swords, sharpen everything that can be used to poke holes in people: the first wave of War of the Roses beta keys is being issued. The House of York and the House of Lancaster are recruiting via the beta sign-up page -- you'll have to compete for an invite with over 100,000 other beta registrants, but referring five friends will guarantee access.

Our recent hands-on preview exposes the elaborate, challenging, and goofy medieval combat that awaits testers. If you're interested in the research behind the game, have a watch of the latest behind-the-scenes video below:

Tyler grew up in Silicon Valley during the '80s and '90s, playing games like Zork and Arkanoid on early PCs. He was later captivated by Myst, SimCity, Civilization, Command & Conquer, all the shooters they call "boomer shooters" now, and PS1 classic Bushido Blade (that's right: he had Bleem!). Tyler joined PC Gamer in 2011, and today he's focused on the site's news coverage. His hobbies include amateur boxing and adding to his 1,200-plus hours in Rocket League.