Play The Division for free in next week's open beta

The rumors were mostly true: The Division will get an open beta next week. Unfortunately, it will be a little bit shorter than the old Xbox Italy Facebook leak indicated. The beta will begin on February 18 on Xbox One, then on February 19 on PS4 and PC, and will close on February 21. But even if it's just a weekend rather than the better part of a week, it's still open and free to all comers.

On top of everything previously seen in the closed beta, the open beta will also include a new story mission. When last we left post-outbreak New York City, the only big mission was to rescue a viral expert from Madison Square Garden and unlock your HQ's medical wing. Hopefully the new mission will let you bring your tech or security wings online, thereby adding new skills, perks, and talents to try.

This will be the last chance for the public to try The Division before it comes out on March 8, according to Ubisoft. Not to mention that everyone who plays in the open beta will also get a "special in-game reward" in the full version, which makes me just a little bit salty that I already made plans to go out of town that weekend. You folks will just have to save Manhattan without me, alright? And remember, no goofing off at the extraction point!

Seen something newsworthy? Tell us!

Connor Sheridan

I got a BA in journalism from Central Michigan University - though the best education I received there was from CM Life, its student-run newspaper. Long before that, I started pursuing my degree in video games by bugging my older brother to let me play Zelda on the Super Nintendo. I've previously been a news intern for GameSpot, a news writer for CVG, and now I'm a staff writer here at GamesRadar.