In the midst of the describing graphical details during the Nvidia GeForce keynote, DICE had an announcement for those who didn’t care as much about advanced lighting techniques. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang revealed that there will be a Battlefield 5 open beta coming on September 6 for all three platforms. Players can pre-load the beta on September 3 at 8:00 UTC.
While everyone will get access to the Battlefield 5 open beta on September 6, players with early access will be able to start playing in September 4, as announced on the livestream and detailed on EA’s website. “Early access” is available for those who pre-order the game or are subscribed to EA Access, Origin Access, or Origin Access Premier, which are EA’s three slightly different gaming subscriptions.
The Battlefield 5 open beta will have the 64-player Conquest mode on the Rotterdam map or the Arctic Fjord map located in Narvik, Norway. The Grand Operations mode will also be in the beta and represent two in-game days “inspired by historical events” that play out in two matches. This mode will only be available on the Arctic Fjord map.
Players will also get a five-part preview of the Tides of War, the game’s new live service. DICE was cagey on the details but stated that those who complete it will receive an exclusive in-game dogtag along with “unique gameplay experiences to drive players forward.” Hopefully, the beta will include some of the DICE’s promised changes from the recent alpha.
EA is most likely hoping this Battlefield 5 open beta will drive up pre-orders, which analysts revealed to be soft as of last week. Since the game is releasing on October 19 (or October 11 for EA Access/Origin Access members and October 16 for the deluxe edition), it will be sandwiched between Call of Duty Black Ops 4 and Red Dead Redemption 2. This, in addition to some possible leftover reservations from Star Wars Battlefront 2, has caused analysts to guess that the game might have an issue selling pre-orders and copies post-launch. However, the game still has a few months to gain some ground and this beta might do the trick.
