Paradox Interactive has today announced that the upcoming medieval squad combat title, War of the Roses, will be opening up its beta to those that have registered. Currently more then 100,000 players have signed up to the beta, and Paradox has begun handing out keys in the first wave.

"It's a real testament to the hard work that Fatshark has put into the game, that over 100,000 people have signed up for the Beta," said Gordon Van Dyke, Senior Producer for War of the Roses. "The level of enthusiasm that people have had to start playing has been incredible, and we can't wait to hear what they think once they're actually in the game. Our goal right now is to make sure every last person who signed up gets into the beta, but forging 100,000 swords takes a while. We'll be letting folks in, following the priority order we've set, and I'll see every last one of you on the battlefield!"

Furthermore, today Paradox Interactive announced the date that War of the Roses will become available for pre-order. Players will be able to reserve their copies at the finest purveyors of quality games and livestock on August 20th, 2012.

For those that haven't signed up for the beta yet, you can do so by checking out the official website. You can also check out a new behind-the-scenes development video below which shows off some of the history behind the game and also some new gameplay.