How to play the Concord beta and when is it available?

The next Concord beta is now available, and as we're entering the Open Beta phase this means that anyone can download it and give it a go for themselves – those on PS5 don't even need to have a PS+ subscription to play during this beta weekend! This is a perfect opportunity to try out Firewalk's hero shooter over a month before the August 23 launch date, as well as meeting the full 16-character roster while experiencing a number of different maps and game modes. Thanks to Concord crossplay you'll be able to join up with friends across PS5 and PC – although you will need a PSN account to play Concord on PC if you don't have one already. For the lowdown on what's included, here's when the Concord beta is running and how to access it.

When is the Concord beta running?

The Concord beta is divided up into two separate sessions, which will be running over consecutive weekends. These are as follows:

• Concord Beta Early Access weekend: 12-14 July (Friday-Sunday)
• Concord Open Beta weekend: 18-21 July (Thursday-Sunday)

To play the Concord Early Access beta, you need to pre-order the game through the PlayStation Store, PlayStation Direct, Epic Games Store, or Steam, after which you'll be sent an email – this will contain codes for you and four of your friends so you can all access the beta early! (On Steam, your additional beta invites can be found in your inventory.) Those that have pre-ordered can also pre-load the Early Access Beta on PS5 now so that you can hop right in when it launches at 10am PDT / 1pm EDT / 6pm BST on July 12.

If you're a PlayStation Plus subscriber, you can also play this Early Access session, but pre-loading is not an option unfortunately, so you'll have to download it as soon as it launches at 10am PST.

As for the Concord Open Beta, anyone can play so you just need to install it onto your PS5 or PC when it launches on July 18 at 10am PDT / 1pm EDT / 6pm BST with no pre-purchase required. However, those on PS5 can pre-download the beta from July 17 at 10am PDT to get ahead and dive straight in at launch.

Be aware that progress carries over from the Early Access Beta to the Open Beta, so you can get a good head start by playing early. Unfortunately, beta progress does not carry over to the full game, which launches on August 23. Beta testers will be awarded with the Lil' Frog weapon charm and the Star Flare Business Card as a thank you gift.

Which characters are in the Concord beta?

The Concord beta will include all 16 of the available characters, or Freegunners as they're referred to in the game, so you'll get to try them all out to decide which one(s) are your favorite and best match your playstyle. All of the Freegunners have now been confirmed, and they are:

• 1-0ff
• Bazz
• DaVeers
• Daw
• Duchess
• Emari
• Haymar
• It-Z
• Jabali
• Kyps
• Lark
• Lennox
• Roka
• Star Child
• Teo
• Vale

What maps and game modes can you play in the Concord beta?

The full release of the game will include 12 unique maps in a variety of settings, plus six distinct team-based game modes, and this will be expanded on further after launch with regular free updates for all players. The Concord beta will have the following maps and game modes available:

Maps:

• Freewater
• Shock Risk
• Star Chamber
• Water Hazard
• Bone Mines (Open Beta only)

Game Modes:

• Cargo Run
• Clash Point
• Trophy Hunt
• Area Control (Open Beta only)

Want to read more? Concord devs defend PSN requirement after Helldivers 2 backlash: "The goal is for players to come together"

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