Electronic Arts has announced Battlefield 1 will have a public beta, meaning you'll get to play and test the game before it launches this autumn.

The public beta will kick off 31 August for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC players. All you need to do to play the beta is become a Battlefield Insider, which is free to join before 21 August, and then you'll be granted access to the beta when it launches. In the first-person shooter's beta, you'll experience historical combat and play popular game modes like Rush and Conquest.

Battlefield 1 follows Battlefield 4 but is confusingly titled Battlefield 1. It will release for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC on 21 October and is set during World War I, allowing you to fight in the air and on the ground in countries like France, Italy, and elsewhere. If you recall, the Battlefield franchise began as a World War II fighting game when it was launched in 2002, so EA is basically taking things back with Battlefield 1.

In a blog post, EA described why it chose World War I as the setting for the game: "With Battlefield 1 we set out to create some of the largest create, most dynamic battles in FPS history while continuing to tap into what fans love most about the franchise. One of the things that makes World War I such an amazing era is just how advanced it really was [...] Tanks, planes, machine guns, artillery - a lot of the tech you've used in other Battlefield games was perfected during this era, letting the classic Battlefield DNA shine through."

Battlefield 1 has a single-player mode as well as online multiplayer, and it will let you join 64-player battles. Watch the game's latest trailer below to see all sorts of World War I horror featured throughout, including global-scale conflict, tanks, trucks, and plenty of zeppelins.