EA’s Medal of Honor Multiplayer Open Beta Now Live
Gamers Invited to Experience the Most Authentic Modern Combat Action Game Set in Today’s War, Fighting Today’s Enemy in Afghanistan
Taliban Team Name Removed from Multiplayer Match-ups While Gameplay, Environments, Weapons and Character Models Remain the Same
AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND, Oct 05, 2010 — Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS) announced today that PC gamers worldwide can now play Medal of Honor(TM). For just three days – until October 8 at 5.59pm EDT in Australia and October 8 at 7.59pm NZDT in New Zealand – EA has pre-released a portion of the Medal of Honor multiplayer game, allowing thousands of players worldwide to see that Medal of Honor delivers unparalleled authentic action set in the unforgiving Afghanistan terrain using real-world weapons. The Open Beta also allows the development team to load-test the multiplayer servers to ensure easy connectivity and a smooth play experience when the game launches on October 14 in Australia and October 15 in New Zealand. Gamers can download the Open Beta today at www.medalofhonor.com/pcopenbeta*.
The PC Multiplayer Open Beta goes live just days after EA announced that the opposing team in Medal of Honor multiplayer has been renamed Opposing Force (OPFOR). The change applies only to the name of the opposing team in multiplayer — the gameplay, environments, characters models and weapons have not changed. No changes have been made to the single-player game. Medal of Honor remains the same outstanding play experience that Official Xbox Magazine in the U.S. and Games Master in the UK each scored an 85. The team name “Taliban” was removed out of respect for the families of serving, veteran and fallen U.S. Soldiers. To further honor the troops, EA is giving back to several charities including Give Back 10, The Mission Continues and Adopt-a-Soldier. As the list of organizations EA supports continues to grow, visit www.medalofhonor.com/giveback to learn more.
“The heartbeat of Medal of Honor has always resided in the reverence for American and Allied soldiers. The decision to remove the Taliban team name was out of respect for the families of these men and women,” said Greg Goodrich, Executive Producer, Medal of Honor. “All elements beyond the substitution of the Taliban team name in the multiplayer portion of the game will remain unchanged. We have released this PC Multiplayer Open Beta to let players see for themselves.”
Developed by DICE, Medal of Honor multiplayer delivers world-class First Person Shooter action and dedicated server support with all of the authentic settings, weapons and realistic action depicted in the single-player game. The Medal of Honor PC Multiplayer Open Beta features two new maps inspired by real world locations: Kunar Base and Shahikot Mountains. Kunar Base is played in the Sector Control multiplayer mode where two sides fight to control tactical sectors of the map. Shahikot Mountains is played in the objective-based Combat Mission multiplayer mode where gamers battle through a series of objectives to defeat the opposing team. Both modes pit teams of 12 players (total 24 players) against one another with realistic destruction, tactical support actions and a weapon customization system that generates hundreds of combinations.
For the first time in its 11-year history, Medal of Honor leaves the WWII theatre and enters the modern setting of war-torn Afghanistan. The game is told through the lens of a small band of fictional characters. Medal of Honor introduces players to the Tier 1 Operator, an elite warrior and relatively unknown instrument of the U.S. Military that operates under the National Command Authority to take on missions no one else can handle.
Medal of Honor hits retail stores on October 14, 2010 in Australia (Oct. 15 in NZ). To find out more information on Medal of Honor or to access the PC Multiplayer Open Beta, visit: www.MedalofHonor.com. Follow the game on twitter at: www.twitter.com/medalofhonor or become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/medalofhonor.
* Conditions and limitations apply. See http://www.medalofhonor.com/pcopenbeta for details.