Total War: Arena announced as free-to-play MOBA

UK developer Creative Assembly has announced Total War: Arena, a free-to-play spin-off of the popular Total War series coming to PC.

Lead designer James Russell announced the team-based game today as part of a panel at GDC 2013, detailing that it will be an online-only free-to-play title that mixes elements of both the real-time strategy and MOBA genres.

According to publisher Sega, Total War: Arena will allow players to pit history's greatest military commanders and their armies against each other. No other details were given.

No release date was mentioned, but a closed beta test for the game will be made available in the coming months.

Creative Assembly is also working on Total War: Rome II, which is scheduled for a PC release in October, and a new game for consoles set in the Aliens universe.