Insurgency: Sandstorm's Exclusive Beta Starts This Week

Insurgency: Sandstorm is letting players into an open beta this week, but only those who fulfill certain requirements first.

This beta starts on Aug. 9 and marks the first opportunity that at-home players have to try the game. However, you'll have to preorder the game first if you want access to the first beta. Developer New World Interactive and publisher Focus Home Interactive are allowing all who preordered the game to participate in the beta until it ends on Aug. 13, with another round of testing to come later this month on Aug. 30.

Not all of the content in Insurgency: Sandstorm's final version will be available in the preorder beta that starts this week. Instead, it'll feature three different maps that are found in the base game, but New World Interactive promises that each one is intricate enough to keep players entertained throughout the beta.

"Each is a complex maze of brutal interiors, deadly sniping lanes, and wide-open battlefields, each uniquely designed to make every moment of every game feel fresh," reads Focus Home Interactive's announcement. "Whether your playstyle is run and gun, slow-paced, or more specialized, you'll find plenty to study and learn across the maps. The four game modes — Firefight, Push, Checkpoint, and Skirmish — each change the accessible part of the map, drastically altering the available strategies."

A trailer was also released alongside the announcement to give a better look at the PvP gameplay that makes up Insurgency: Sandstorm. The "Raw PvP" trailer above was tweeted out days ago to remind players of the game's upcoming September release, as well as the exclusivity of the beta that can only be accessed by preordering the game.

Dive into raw PVP gameplay footage from our alpha tests and prepare for the first Pre-order Beta on August 9!

Insurgency: Sandstorm comes to PC in Sept 2018, next year on consoles. Pre-order to get access to the exclusive Beta: https://t.co/WnwTAumyuVhttps://t.co/cty10Nv9ci

— Insurgency (@insurgencygame) August 2, 2018

When the second beta is released on Aug. 30, the amount of content in it will be expanded to include even more maps. Three more will be available, with those six maps being the full range of content that's launching with the game when it comes to PC next month and releases for consoles coming some time in 2019.

There's no streaming restrictions on the first beta, so even if you don't have access yourself, you'll still have plenty of chances to see how the game looks through other players' perspectives.