Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader’s closed alpha test is live

One of the most interesting Warhammer titles to come along, developer Owlcat’s cRPG Rogue Trader has headed into a closed alpha phase.

Developing the far future

When you talk about Warhammer 40K video games, you usually are talking about a FPS, third-person shooter, or some kind of real-time strategy title. But not so with Owlcat Games’ Rogue Trader.

Set in Games Workshop’s dark and grim far future time, Rogue Trader eschews straight-up action for something a little more RPGish. Oka, maybe a lot more RPGish, since Rogue Trader is a cRPG in the classic style.

The development house is reportedly working closely with Games Workshop on the game, and is looking to launch some time in 2023. That will happen for consoles and the PC both, though today’s news is strictly for the computational set.

That’s because the game has entered into alpha phase. This first test of the title will eventually morph into the beta, before going final, though it is a closed release. And that means that not just anyone can get onboard. Kind of.

While you can’t just ‘sign up’ for the test, you can get in on the acton via a pre-order. According to Owlcat, “anyone who pre-purchases the Developer’s Digital Pack or Collector’s Edition will still be able to try the game early starting from today”. Just one caveat there though, as though you can play it, your progress won’t be saved for the eventual retail launch. So, yeah, you’ll have to start over, though that might not be a negative, since this is a pretty early look at Rogue Trader’s world.

If you’re interested, pre-orders are now open, and fans can also wishlist the game via Steam and GOG.