The Banner Saga Post-funding Update #24-26

Across the last three updates to Stoic's well-funded The Banner Saga Kickstarter campaign, the small team has shared quite a bit of information about the game's beta, with tonight's #26 entry finally announcing that all current backers now have access to beta keys. If you pledged some money to the cause, go give the strategy/RPG a hands-on whirl:
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen! We're happy to announce that all backers have now received beta keys and should be able to get in the game and try out the combat.

In addition, we've just released a new build with a lot of new things. We've added the fifth playable class, the Backbiter. He's an upgraded axeman using the Shield Wall passive and his active ability is Run Through, which allows you to pass through enemy units, doing armor damage, before stabbing them in the back. It really opens up movement on the board and is a ton of fun, give it a try! We've also fixed the crashing/divergence problem that plagued the last build so you shouldn't have trouble finishing your matches now.

If you haven't been added to beta yet but would like to get involved, you're always welcome. Please head to our forums and create an account using the same email address as your kickstarter account. That's all you need to do, and we'll send out keys and instructions on how to get the client on a regular basis.

If you have signed up on the forums but have NOT received your beta key, please head to this page and let us know. We've added over 6000 backers so far and we apologize if you have been missed.

In other mini-update news, all remaining prize packages (including the shadowbox, landscapes and animation cels) are shipping tomorrow! Keep an eye out for those in your mailbox.

As for production, things are rolling along at an accelerated pace in our effort to release Factions. All of the characters being tested in Factions will be found in the single player campaign and once Factions is released we'll start working on more features native to the single player game, such as AI-controlled enemies, spawners, additional combat maps and, dare I say it, eventually guild crests. We'll also be contacting Viking God and Unique item prizes soon thereafter (and I am personally really looking forward to that).