Rend is an in-development faction-based survival game with a fantasy theme. It's made by new independent studio Frostkeep Studios, which is made up of former developers from World of Warcraft, League of Legends, Overwatch, and more. After we had the chance to see it at PAX West last year, Rend is finally having its first public alpha, which you can sign up for a chance to be invited on its website here.

The quick rundown on Rend is that it is a survival game focused on faction cooperation. Each server will see three factions with equal numbers of players attempting to collect enough souls to be crowned the victors. Over the course of a "match" that could last a few months, there will be combat with players, with monsters, siege warfare, crafting better gear, hunting down bigger monsters and challenges for good gear, and more. To find out much more about what Rend is, read our write-up from PAX West linked above.

The alpha phase for Rend will slowly ramp up, so if you don't see an invite on the first wave, just wait and you may see one in your future. The process will go on for a little while, as Frostkeep plans to go over a lot of different aspects of Rend, which they've detailed in a roadmap here:

Advanced PvP Mechanics : Adds base siege weapons and strategic capture points with an eye towards overall PvP balance.

: Adds base siege weapons and strategic capture points with an eye towards overall PvP balance. The Reckoning : Drops the faction base shields and brings waves of the Lost to the party.

: Drops the faction base shields and brings waves of the Lost to the party. Taming System : Allows players to capture Rend’s creatures as pets capable of being ridden, harvesting resources, and fighting enemies.

: Allows players to capture Rend’s creatures as pets capable of being ridden, harvesting resources, and fighting enemies. Late-Game Crafting : Introduces high-tier recipes along with powerful draughts, resource transmutation, and finalized research trees.

: Introduces high-tier recipes along with powerful draughts, resource transmutation, and finalized research trees. Talents and Perks : While gradually balanced each patch, this update will put the four archetypes, talent system, and crafting perks in even better harmony.

: While gradually balanced each patch, this update will put the four archetypes, talent system, and crafting perks in even better harmony. Social System : Makes faction reputation and related permissions more robust with improved player control.

: Makes faction reputation and related permissions more robust with improved player control. Late-Game Biomes : Unveils some as-of-yet unannounced environments.

: Unveils some as-of-yet unannounced environments. Full Character Rework : Entirely replacing the player characters with all-new models, textures, rigging, and animation.

: Entirely replacing the player characters with all-new models, textures, rigging, and animation. User Interface: Already drafted out and undergoing final polish, the game’s finished interface will be implemented in stages over the course of Alpha.

Our standard for Early Access is simple: the game must be in a state such that if we were to never touch its code ever again, Rend would be considered a finished, complete game worth its buy-to-play-only price. We believe this was the original vision for Early Access and we will hold ourselves and our games to that standard. You should too.

After the alpha, Rend plans to enter Steam as an early access title later this year. In regards to their approach to early access, Frostkeep had this to say:With some uneasiness players may feel about early access, Frostkeep at least has the right attitude towards how to do it correctly. Of course, their counting on your voice to keep that a true statement, too.

Again, you can sign up for the alpha on the Rend website and if you have any questions, Frostkeep has a list of FAQs here.

What do you think of Rend? Will you be signing up for the alpha? Let us know in the comments below!