Batalj is a 1v1 action-strategy game that looks like Overwatch and plays like XCOM currently in development at Swedish studio Fall Damage, whose members include DICE co-founder Markus Nyström. A closed beta began in early December and was expected to run until the end of 2018, but today the developers announced that it has been extended to the end of January, and effectively opened to everyone.
“Shutting down the Closed Beta at New Year’s Eve didn’t feel like the right thing to do considering our active dialogue with our community that keeps getting better and better," Fall Damage CEO Dan Vaderlind said. "Instead, extending the Closed Beta to the end of the month with a huge update coming in the second week of January including a new map, new units and new heroes. We’re excited to see how the meta changes."
Batalj (it means "combat" in Swedish) features head-to-head combat between squads assembled from nine unique heroes and 54 "distinctly different" units. Battles are turn-based but turns are resolved simultaneously, a twist on the genre that promises to put a premium on thinking ahead and predicting what your opponent will do.
The beta is still technically closed, but keys are now available to anyone who wants to give it a shot: Just head to playbatalj.com, sign up for the Batalj newsletter, and follow the game on Twitter. Do that and a Steam key will magically appear on your screen. The full game is expected to be out later this year.
