FAIRFAX, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--BioWare™, a division of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA), today announced that Warhammer® Online: Wrath of Heroes™, a new Player-Versus-Player (PvP) Play4Free game based on the critically acclaimed MMORPG, Warhammer® Online: Age of Reckoning™, has entered open beta. Starting today, gamers around the world can challenge others to highly competitive, fast and frenetic arena-style PvP combat for free*.

“BioWare Mythic has a strong heritage in creating fun, intense PvP combat, and they’ve stepped up their game to deliver a whole new challenge to even more players with Wrath of Heroes,” said Dr. Ray Muzyka, Co-founder, BioWare and General Manager, BioWare Label. “I’m really proud of the team for creating a fiercely competitive, fast-paced online PvP arena experience; Wrath of Heroes has compelling progression and awesome depth in strategy and tactics, — all in a highly accessible free to play game.”

“With Wrath of Heroes, BioWare has taken some of the most exciting elements of Warhammer Online and created a wonderfully compelling experience that will delight our existing fans and introduce even more players to the unique and diverse Warhammer world,” said Jon Gillard, Head of Licensing, Games Workshop Group PLC.

Warhammer Online: Wrath of Heroes is advancing online PvP games by delivering instant, fast-paced and competitive three-sided 6v6v6 PvP arena gameplay – for free! As the latest entry in EA’s Play4Free portfolio, the game throws three teams into battle against each other, where players can choose from a wide range of unique heroes from the Warhammer universe on the fly. This cutthroat setup creates highly dynamic matches where teams constantly live on the edge of victory or defeat and alliances are quickly formed and just as quickly forgotten. With the instant playability of battles that last an intense 15 minutes, a small download size, and no cost to enter, Wrath of Heroes can scratch the competitive PvP itch for gamers of any type.

Players worldwide can sign up for the open beta and download the client by visiting the game’s official web site at www.wrathofheroes.com. For more information on Warhammer Online: Wrath of Heroes, please follow the game on Twitter at http://twitter.com/wrathofheroes or “Like” the game on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/wrathofheroes.

About Games Workshop

Games Workshop Group PLC (LSE:GAW.L) is based in Nottingham, UK. Games Workshop designs, manufactures, retails, and distributes its range of Warhammer® and Warhammer® 40,000 games, miniature soldiers, novels and model kits through more than 392 of its own Hobby centers, the Internet and independent retail channels in more than 50 countries worldwide. Further details on the company can be obtained at www.games-workshop.com.

About Play4Free

Electronic Arts is committed to driving the industry with its digital transformation. Offering a diverse portfolio of premium games, EA's Play4Free titles are developed by Easy studios in Stockholm, Sweden; Phenomic Studios in Ingelheim, Germany; and the Vancouver-based Play4Free team. With a low barrier to entry and over 25 million players around the globe, EA’s world-class Play4Free titles allow gamers to play in the universe of existing and new franchises. Play4Free games are distributed worldwide in a wide selection of languages. For more information, please visit www.play4free.com.

About BioWare

The BioWare Label is a division of EA which crafts high quality multiplatform role-playing, MMO and strategy games, focused on emotionally engaging, rich stories with unforgettable characters and vast worlds to discover. Since 1995, BioWare has created some of the world's most critically acclaimed titles and franchises, including Baldur's Gate™, Neverwinter Nights™, Star Wars®: Knights of the Old Republic™, Jade Empire™, Mass Effect™ and Dragon Age™. BioWare also operates the award-winning MMOs Warhammer® Online: Age of Reckoning®, Dark Age of Camelot™ and Ultima Online™.

BioWare currently operates in eight locations across the world, including Edmonton (Alberta, Canada), Montreal (Quebec, Canada), Austin (Texas), Fairfax (Virginia), San Francisco (California), Los Angeles (California). Sacramento (California) and Galway (Ireland). In 2008, BioWare was acquired by Electronic Arts, a leading global interactive entertainment publisher. In 2011 EA created the BioWare Label, alongside EA Games, EA Sports and EA Play. For more information on BioWare, visit www.bioware.com, or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/biofeed. To join the millions of fans already registered with the BioWare community, go to http://social.bioware.com.

About Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) is a global leader in digital interactive entertainment. The Company’s game franchises are offered as both packaged goods products and online services delivered through Internet-connected consoles, personal computers, mobile phones and tablets. EA has more than 100 million registered players and operates in 75 countries.

In fiscal 2011, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $3.6 billion. Headquartered in Redwood City, California, EA is recognized for critically acclaimed, high-quality blockbuster franchises such as The Sims™, Madden NFL, FIFA Soccer, Need for Speed™, Battlefield, and Mass Effect™. More information about EA is available at http://info.ea.com.

Bioware, Mass Effect, Dragon Age and Jade Empire are trademarks of EA International (Studio and Publishing) Ltd. The Sims and Need for Speed are trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. John Madden, NFL and FIFA are the property of their respective owners and used with permission. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Warhammer Online: Wrath of Heroes © Games Workshop Limited 2012. Games Workshop, Warhammer, Warhammer Online, Wrath of Heroes, Age of Reckoning, the foregoing marks’ respective logos and all associated marks, logos, places, names, creatures, races and race insignia/devices/logos/symbols, vehicles, locations, weapons, units and unit insignia, characters, products and illustrations from the Warhammer World and Warhammer Online: Wrath of Heroes game setting are either ®, TM and/or © Games Workshop Ltd 2000-2012, variably registered in the UK and other countries around the world.

*INTERNET CONNECTION AND ACCEPTANCE OF BETA AGREEMENT REQUIRED. SEE FINAL PRODUCT DETAILS, EULA AND CONTENT PROTECTION TECHNOLOGY AT WWW.EA.COM/1/PRODUCT-EULAS IF AND WHEN AVAILABLE.