Wildstar enters open beta on Thursday, will be free to try for ten days

If you have anything more than a passing interest in Wildstar, then it's likely you've already picked up one of the many beta keys Carbine left lying around on the internet's floor. If you only have a passing interest in Wildstar, then even that may have been too much effort. In which case, your turn to play comes this week, when the upcoming MMO enters a short pre-launch open beta phase.

The open beta will run from Thursday, May 8th until Sunday, May 18th. A post on the Wildstar blog explains how it will work. New players will be able to insta-generate an access key through a new open beta page. For returning players, you'll just need to update the launcher and be good to go.

As part of the open beta period, the pre-access level cap will be increased to 30. For Wildstar beta veterans, that's five new levels of progression to try. For newbies? Even without the extra levelling content, you can—as Kotaku recently uncovered—use the beta to build a hoverboard skate park.

Phil Savage
Editor-in-Chief

Phil has been writing for PC Gamer for nearly a decade, starting out as a freelance writer covering everything from free games to MMOs. He eventually joined full-time as a news writer, before moving to the magazine to review immersive sims, RPGs and Hitman games. Now he leads PC Gamer's UK team, but still sometimes finds the time to write about his ongoing obsessions with Destiny 2, GTA Online and Apex Legends. When he's not levelling up battle passes, he's checking out the latest tactics game or dipping back into Guild Wars 2. He's largely responsible for the whole Tub Geralt thing, but still isn't sorry.