Call of Duty: WWII has captured many of the headlines for returning to the series' roots of historical combat, but for PC FPS fans there's one title that is hotly anticipated. Battalion 1944 is a WW2-based shooter that not only takes on historical combat but goes back to the roots of competitive FPS games.

It's due to launch on February 1 in Steam Early Access, but ahead of that, the developers have shared the roadmap for the title in its progress towards a full launch in 2019.

Essentially there will be quarterly updates, beginning with Spring 2018 at Early Access launch to add various features and new content. Summer will see new content alongside the first official Battalion LAN event, while later in the year more esports focused updates are due to be pushed out. All leading to the big launch currently slated for 2019 alongside free DLC that has yet to be announced. Speaking of, Battalion 1944 is already going to be very affordable, but all DLC content will also be free, which makes it ridiculous value.

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Eventually, we're expecting to see a console release, but the first year of life in the public eye for the game looks very similar to the path PUBG took. Being in active development and Early Access is no longer a barrier to competition and it's shaping up to be a bright 12 months for what's going to be arguably the most anticipated shooter of the year for PC gamers. I played a very early build back in April 2017 and even then, it was clear to see that Bulkhead and Square Enix Collective are onto a good thing.

The closed beta will be taking place very soon, but for anyone not lucky enough to get in on that action, it'll be available through Steam Early Access from February 1. Check out the full roadmap on the official Battalion 1944 website.