Guilty Gear Strive‘s open beta is almost here. With its launch comes the chance to test one of the most anticipated games of 2021 as well as the next entry in one of the genre’s most beloved franchises.
While Guilty Gear Strive promises an open beta, it’s an open beta similar to ones we’ve seen from other games in the past. That is to say that that the beta will only be “open” to users at different times, will come with certain content restrictions, and may not necessarily represent the final game. That being said, it’s a pretty generous open beta compared to some of the other game trials we’ve seen in recent months.
Here’s what else you need to know about the Guilty Gear Strive beta.
When Does the Guilty Gear Strive Beta Start?
You’ll have two chances to jump into the Guilty Gear Strive open beta based on whether you preordered the game.
If you did pre-order Guilty Gear Strive, you can access the game’s beta by downloading it from the PlayStation Store starting on February 17 at 10:00 am PT. However, you will not be able to access the beta until February 17 at 7:00 pm PT.
If you didn’t pre-order Guilty Gear Strive, then you’ll need to wait until February 18 at 7:00 pm PT to download the open beta from the PlayStation Store.
The Guilty Gear Strive open beta will end on February 21 at around 7:00 am PT.
What Characters are Available in the Guilty Gear Strive Beta?
The Guilty Gear Strive open beta will allow you to play as any character except for Mito Anji and the mysterious 15th character. There do not currently appear to be any plans in place to update the beta with those characters at that time.
Still, that means you’ll be able to access the following characters during the beta:
Sol Badguy
Ky Kiske
May
Faust
Potemkin
Chipp Zanuff
Zato-1
Millia Rage
Axl Low
Leo Whitefang
Ramlethal Valentine
Nagoriyuki
Giovanna
What Modes Are Included in the Guilty Gear Strive Beta?
The Guilty Gear Strive beta will feature the following modes:
- Versus Mode
- Tutorial Mode
- Training Mode
- Network Mode
How do Online Matches Work in the Guilty Gear Strive Beta?
If you’re going to try out online matches in the Guilty Gear Strive beta, then there are a few restrictions and recommendations you need to know about:
- You don’t need a PlayStation Plus membership to participate in online matches during the beta period
- You will need an online connection to play the open beta content (even if it’s an offline mode)
- The Guilty Gear Strive team are aiming for optimal network connections, but they warn that players with vastly different connections may experience lag and other issues
- The Guilty Gear Strive open beta will allow you to view connection differences, ping, and rollback frames that result from connection issues. The team asks that this information be shared in any reports regarding technical problems.
Generally speaking, the Guilty Gear team advises that any issues experienced in the open beta be reported. They also note that progress will not carry over from the beta to the game and that some content may be changed prior to release.
Guilty Gear Strive is scheduled to be released on April 6, 2021 for PS4 and PC.