From April 8 through April 11, Capcom will host an open beta for Resident Evil RE:Verse on consoles and PC. Akin to the RE: Resistance multiplayer pack-in that released alongside Resident Evil 3 Remake, RE:Verse will come bundled with RE: Village as a free online offering at launch.
Capcom held a closed beta for RE:Verse back in January, shortly after the mode's official announcement at Resident Evil Showcase. The publisher's latest online venture represents one way in which fans can celebrate the long-running horror franchise's 25th anniversary. As such, RE:Verse boasts Resident Evil's most iconic heroes and villains as playable characters, including the likes of Leon Kennedy, Claire Redfield, Jill Valentine, and Nemesis. The PvP mode allows players to participate in five-minute, six-player deathmatches in which collecting virus samples are key. Each sample unlocks gameplay bonuses such as damage buffers, as well as switches up the usual death mechanic. For example, the player-character transforms into one of Resident Evil's monsters upon death; supposedly, the ghoulish transformation itself is dependent upon the number of viruses a player manages to obtain.
According to the Biohazard Official Twitter page, an RE:Verse open beta is scheduled for PC via Steam, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S. Preloading begins April 5 at 8:00pm EST; meanwhile, the beta kicks off on April 8 at 2:00am EST, then ends a few days later on April 11 at 2:00am EST. Only those who connect an active Capcom ID to their PC or console will be able to join. As noted on Capcom's website, this open beta is a means to test server load. Participants can expect "emergency maintenance" to take place during the beta should technical issues occur. In short, fans should prepare themselves for the possibility that a massive influx of players will strain servers early on.
An open beta is undoubtedly the best way to ensure fans get hands-on time with RE:Verse ahead of launch. Given the poor reception of last year's RE: Resistance, it'll be interesting to see how players respond to Capcom's latest attempt at exploring the horror franchise in the online space.
More players will have the option to experience Resident Evil Village before its launch, too. Sometime this spring, Capcom aims to deploy a new demo that features actual in-game content, unlike the Maiden demo on PlayStation 5. At the time of writing, though, the publisher has yet to share specifics on the matter.
Resident Evil RE: Verse will come packaged with Resident Evil Village, which launches on May 7 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.
Source: Biohazard Official, Capcom