The Walking Dead: Betrayal Gets Free Weekend for Early Access Launch

The Walking Dead: Betrayal was officially revealed this August, and the developers at Other Ocean Interactive also announced that it would be launching the new social deception game in early access. And, because the game is so focused on playing with other people, the developers decided to kick off that early access period with a free weekend. Starting today, anyone who wants to hop in has until September 18 to download the game and get into a game. The hope is that the free weekend will lead to tons of players getting into the game and giving it a solid starting playerbase.

If you do decide to jump in, you'll have those four days of access mentioned above. From there, you'll need to spend $19.99 to get full access. Importantly, if you buy The Walking Dead: Betrayal during early access, you'll unlock a Rick Grimes skin to use in-game. From the official description, it seems like you'll be able to buy that skin down the line, but getting in now gives it to you for free. It's also worth noting that Other Ocean Interactive has already announced that the price will not increase when the game comes out of early access, so the Grimes skin is the big benefit for getting in early.

What is The Walking Dead: Betrayal?

The fences are down, #TWDBetrayal's FREE weekend on @Steam starts NOW until September 18th!

🎮: https://t.co/o5dDsxAQPD pic.twitter.com/kKjXLMWhCQ

— Skybound Games (@skyboundgames) September 14, 2023

The Walking Dead: Betrayal will likely remind many players of games like Among Us, and that's by design. Other Ocean Interactive's last game was Project Winter, an eight-person multiplayer game that mixed social deception and survival. The Walking Dead: Betrayal essentially puts a TWD skin over that formula. You'll group with up to eight other players against the zombie hordes and try to find all the parts you need to escape the area before a horde of zombies takes over. 

There is one important wrinkle in that formula. At least one player takes on the role of the Traitor who is actively working against the rest of the survivors. It's not totally clear why they're doing that, as the game doesn't have an overarching narrative at this point. Other Ocean Interactive could add something like that during early access, but for now, the only thing that makes sense about the Traitors is that they're fun to play.

Prior to the game's announcement, we sat down with the developers and played two games. During those games, we noted that playing as the Traitor is the best part, saying, "Being a despicable rogue has rarely felt quite this fun with the right group involved." Hopefully, as the game moves through its early access period, we'll see Other Ocean expand on the maps, items, and abilities on offer to turn The Walking Dead: Betrayal into something special.

The Walking Dead: Betrayal is out now in early access on PC. Other Ocean Interactive plans to fully launch the game early next year, though things can always change during development. Make sure to keep an eye on the developer's social media channels to see if anything changes.