The Command & Conquer beta begins in the first half of 2013, it was announced on the official Command & Conquer blog by community manager EA_CIRE.

This will be the longest-running beta phase in the history of the franchise, reads the post.

"Now, we know you have a lot more questions about the new Command & Conquer and you may be wondering why we are so silent about it," writes EA_CIRE. "We've decided to actually let the game speak for itself, instead of starting the typical marketing noise you normally would expect. That being said, it might be a few more months before we reveal more information - we don't just want to tell you about the game, we want to show you."

This upcoming installment in the Command & Conquer series began life as the PC-exclusive RTS title Command & Conquer Generals 2 before being transformed into a free-to-play digital platform and reportedly re-focusing attention onto multiplayer.

Acknowledging this new direction, EA_CIRE writes while "many" might say the upcoming title "is not a 'true' C&C," the team aims to deliver a "fun to play, engaging, and high quality RTS experiences."

"This new direction has a lot of potential and there are no boundaries or limits to what we can do together in the future in terms of content."

Command & Conquer is scheduled to release in 2013.