On the heels of EA and Respawn Entertainment cementing details for their soon-launching Titanfall beta on Xbox One and PC, PlayStation 4 players will soon have their own multiplayer beta to look forward to, or more specifically two of them!
Square Enix has just detailed two separate open betas for Final Fantasy XIV Online: A Realm Reborn that any PlayStation 4 players can participate in at their leisure. Given that the game is an MMORPG with subscription fees, it’s also been confirmed by Sony and Square Enix that a PlayStation Plus membership will not be necessary to participate in the open betas, nor play the final product, unlike online-enabled PlayStation 4 games with an offline component.
The first open beta will commence on February 22nd, and go until March 3rd. Established players will not be able to import characters they may have made in the PC or PlayStation 3 editions of the game for this first beta, and at its conclusion, any characters created for the beta will be completely deleted. Don’t get too attached to your first adventurer in the next-gen rendition of Eorzea, folks!
Fortunately, the second beta, which begins on April 4th, will allow players to import characters from the PC or PlayStation 3 edition of Final Fantasy XIV Online: A Realm Reborn, and will presumably span until the game’s final release. Since this second beta leads into the final build, imported characters likely won’t be deleted after the beta period either.
Final Fantasy XIV Online: A Realm Reborn launches in its final form for PlayStation 4 on April 14th of this year. If you pre-ordered the Collector’s Edition however, you’ll get early access to the game on April 11th, as well as a Fat Chocobo Mount and wind-up Moogle Minion for use in your online adventures.
The standard price for Final Fantasy XIV Online: A Realm Reborn on PlayStation 4 will be set at a discounted $39.99 base sum, on top of monthly $12.99 subscription fees to maintain access to the game. If you’ve already purchased Final Fantasy XIV Online: A Realm Reborn for PlayStation 3 however, you can upgrade to the PlayStation 4 version completely free of charge.
Final Fantasy XIV Online: A Realm Reborn will not only feature updated graphics on PlayStation 4, but will also come with completely unrestricted Remote Play on a PlayStation Vita, as well as the ability to use the Share Button to post screenshots and videos of your adventures in Eorzea. You can also plug in a USB keyboard and mouse in the PlayStation 4 edition of the game if you wish, or just use the regular Dual Shock 4 controller.
Eggplante will continue to summon your updates on the Final Fantasy series, as they’re enchanted.