Sony is following in Xbox and Steam's footsteps with an official PlayStation beta program that'll let players test out certain new games and features ahead of their official launch.
To be clear, Sony has held various beta programs over the years letting players test and provide feedback for in-development games and features, but this new one is more like a centralized hub where testers will be able to access all available betas in one place and choose which ones they want to participate in. It's a similar idea to the Xbox Insider Program and Valve's Steam Client Beta.
In the announcement, PlayStation says "a single registration for Beta Program at PlayStation will allow you to express interest in gaining beta access to test participating games for the PS5 console and PC, new PS5 console features, PlayStation App features, and even user experience features on PlayStation.com. You only need to sign up once to express interest in these various betas, and if you receive an invitation to a specific beta, it's up to you to decide whether you’d like to participate or not."
PlayStation's beta program is free and registration is live right here, at least in the US. The only requirements are that you're of legal age in your region, you have an active PlayStation Network account in good standing, and you live in a region that supports the program.
Of course, registering for the beta program doesn't guarantee you'll be selected. Sony says it's trying "to include as many players as possible" but "sometimes we may get more interest than we can accommodate."
Here's hoping the best PS5 games are still to come.
