ARMS beta announced on Nintendo Switch, more characters revealed

Taylor Cocke
Get your hands on ARMS for the Nintendo Switch starting May 26 (Nintendo)
Get your hands on ARMS for the Nintendo Switch starting May 26 (Nintendo)

Upcoming Switch fighting game ARMS will be getting a free beta on May 26-28, then June 2-4, Nintendo announced Wednesday via Nintendo Direct.

In classic Nintendo fashion, it won’t be as simple as just downloading it and playing it for the whole weekend, though. On the two Fridays, the beta will only be open for an hour at 5:00 p.m PT. On the Saturdays, it’ll be open at 5:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m., and 5:00 p.m., again for one hour each. On Sundays, it’s just the 5:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. slots.

If you can’t remember all that, head over to the official ARMS page for the full details.

Nintendo also announced that there will be new characters, new stages, and new equippable ARMS all coming as free updates after the game is released. While the developer hasn’t nailed down the exact number of combatants to come with the game, but 10 have been revealed so far.

Three new characters were revealed during the Direct, including Twinelle (whose fists come out of her hair), Kid Kobra (a projectile-firing breakdancer), and Byte & Barq (a robot with a robot dog buddy).

ARMS will feature the potential for 20 player lobbies, with 10 Switch consoles connecting with two players each.

Switch owners will be able to pick up ARMS on June 16.

Follow Taylor Cocke on Twitter @taylorcocke.