As has become customary in the run-up to every single E3 in recent memory, leaks, rumors and announcements relating to the year’s biggest games start appearing on the internet at a dizzying rate, and while many turn out to be completely untrue, there’s always an equal amount that are so convincing that they may as well have been leaked intentionally by the developers and publishers themselves.
Enter Halo Wars 2, a follow-up to the 2009 original that was announced at last year’s E3 and is, according to a leaked listing spotted by MondoXbox, getting an open beta on June 13.
The description on the product page reads:
Be among the first to experience the explosive return of real-time strategy to the Halo universe in the Halo Wars 2 multiplayer beta for Xbox One.
Limited Time Beta Starts: June 13, 2016; Ends: June 20, 2016. Xbox One, broadband internet (ISP fees apply) and Xbox Live Gold membership (sold separately) required.
Considering the listing was spotted on the Official Xbox Store, there’s little room for doubt over authenticity, and with the start date coinciding with Microsoft’s E3 conference next Monday, the company will undoubtedly have been saving the announcement of the beta as being a surprise reveal.
Microsoft will surely be disappointed that the news has leaked ahead of next week, but RTS fans will undoubtedly be delighted that Creative Assembly’s Halo Wars 2 will finally be playable in just a few days.