What happens when an irresistible force encounters an immovable object? The upcoming cooperative monster-slaying game, Killing Floor 3, discovered the answer recently when participants in its closed online testing session were presented with a nondisclosure agreement (NDA), as shared on Reddit. The NDA stipulated that participants would be bound by its terms for a whopping five years – an unreasonable duration, considering KF3 is expected to launch on July 24th, which is only four years, three hundred fifty-four days away.
Unsurprisingly, this agreement was breached almost immediately. Some Twitch streamers even clicked through it live on air. Addressing the situation in a forum post, Tripwire Interactive, the game’s developers, stated that they ceased attempting to enforce the NDA within the first hour of the test. They also apologized for the excessive demand. The post confirmed that another stress test, open to PC players who can still register, will occur later today, Wednesday the 16th, and will not include any legal restrictions on sharing information.
NDAs are a standard practice when game developers conduct limited pre-release playtests. However, the five-year duration in KF3’s case was clearly excessive. Tripwire explained that the situation resulted from using boilerplate paperwork, stating that “5 years is our standard boilerplate language for internal tests and was too heavy handed for this context,” adding that “It was never our intention to enforce a 5-year ban on discussing the game.” The post suggested that some effort was initially made to enforce the agreement, which would be understandable if participants had only been asked to keep details quiet for a few days. Not for the length of time it took to construct a major landmark.
Gamers don’t exactly have a stellar record when it comes to NDA compliance. Consider the Fortnite tester who leaked Season 2 details, or the rogue Marathon streamer who broadcasted an hour of the upcoming FPS before Bungie intervened. Or the memorable case of YouTuber Uncle Dane, a renowned Team Fortress 2 Engie player, who leaked Deadlock to such an extent that Valve abandoned their secrecy policy altogether.
Regardless, the new, restriction-free stress test commences today at 2 PM BST / 9 AM EST and will last for 12 hours. This offers a significantly more substantial opportunity to experience Killing Floor 3 than the previous two-hour session. You can request access via Steam to see what all the excitement is about.
Killing Floor 3 has certainly generated its fair share of buzz. It was previously pushed back from a planned March 2025 launch following a problematic open beta. Players widely criticized the game’s performance, gun mechanics, and shift from a freely customizable character and perk system (as seen in Killing Floors 1 and 2) to a more hero-shooter-oriented Specialist system. According to many accounts from the recent stress test, Tripwire has made promising improvements. However, they plan to implement the separation of characters and perks after launch.