Fallout ’76 is expected to be one of the biggest video games of the holiday season. It won’t hit stores officially until Nov. 14. But fans who just can’t wait will be able to give the game a whirl much sooner.
Bethesda Softworks has announced the game’s beta test, cleverly called B.E.T.A. (Break-It Early Test Application), which will debut on Microsoft’s Xbox One on Oct. 23 and on PlayStation 4 and PC a week later.
Players will have to have pre-ordered Fallout ’76 in order to take part on the beta test.
The pre-release game will certainly be buggy. And Bethesda warns that the servers won’t be available 24/7, as it goes in to repair issues. However, the beta will be of the full game, rather than just a portion of it. And Bethesda says it plans on letting players in the beta carry over any progress they make during this period into the official launch of the game.
To whet player appetites (and boost pre-orders), Bethesda has also released the in-game introduction to Fallout ’76.
The game’s B.E.T.A. will do more than help the company squash bugs before the game launches. It will also build buzz and awareness for the game, which will face stiff competition from Take-Two Interactive Software. Red Dead Redemption 2, widely expected to be the biggest game of 2018, will go on sale Oct. 26.