Star Wars Battlefront closed alpha coming to PC, EA sending out invites

Star Wars Battlefront developer EA DICE is launching closed alpha testing of the game on Windows PC, and the company has begun sending out alpha invites, according to an email from EA that was forwarded to Polygon.

The Battlefront alpha will be available only through EA's Origin service on PC. "The purpose of the Star Wars Battlefront Closed Alpha is to perform a number of technical tests that will help the team at DICE as they continue the development of the game," reads the email from EA.

The email is an invitation to apply for the alpha. It notes that applying doesn't guarantee entry because "space in the Closed Alpha is very limited and we may not be able to accept all players who apply."

EA listed the following minimum system requirements for the alpha, and said that they apply only to the alpha, not the final Battlefront game:

• CPU: Quad Core CPU e.g. Intel Core i5-2300 @ 2.8 GHz or AMD Phenom II x4 955 @ 3.2 GHz or AMD FX-8350 @ 4.0 GHz
• RAM: 6 GB
• OS: Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8/8.1 (64-bit operating system required)
• Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 or AMD Radeon HD 7970 with 2 GB of Video Memory

The company also warns in the email that the alpha "does not represent final quality of the game." EA continues, "Performance at this stage of development may be inconsistent, with possible issues such as server lag and downtime." The email adds that characters and progress made in the alpha will not transfer to the full game.

Interested parties may apply for alpha access on the Star Wars Battlefront website. EA will be taking applications until 1:59 a.m. Central European Summer Time on Tuesday, June 30 (7:59 p.m. EDT on Monday, June 29).

[Thanks, Adam]