Open world shooter, Ghost Recon Wildlands, will be opening up two of its vast provinces to gamers for free this week with the launch of its Open Beta gaming period, ahead of the release date on the 7th March 2017. You’ll be able to play the game for free during the pre-launch preview, giving you a chance to experience it properly for yourself before deciding whether or not it’s one to add to the collection. All signs are looking good, but it’s always good to get a sample taster before you buy the new treats.
The gaming period will run from 12pm CET (that’s Paris time, by the way, so that works out at 11am in the UK, 3am PST and 6am EST) on the 23rd February 2017, giving you four days of action before it closes on the 27th February 2017 at the same time. If you’ve been trapped in a Nuclear bunker and somehow you don’t know much about the game, you can read more with our Ghost Recon Wildlands release and gameplay details. You can also check out the gameplay trailer below to see what to expect.
How to play the Ghost Recon Wildlands Open Beta?
It’s not called an Open Beta for nothing, so it’s pretty easy to get in on the action for the game. A Closed Beta requires you to register and get approved to access the gaming window, but an Open Beta is free to play for anyone with the right tech. It’s available on the Xbox ONE, PlayStation 4 and PC, so to play the preview game you just need to fire up your machine and download it in the store.
You can pre-download the game in all formats, so just head to the Xbox ONE or PS4 store now and get it all set up on your system ahead of the Open Beta curtain call. For PC gaming you’ll need to download the Uplay software to be able to get in on the action, but it’s pretty straightforward in all fairness.
What will you be able to do in the Open Beta?
When the flood gates come down on the 23rd February 2017, you’ll be able to play both the 1 to 8 player online multiplayer game and the online co-op. Both game modes will see you facing off against the savage Santa Blanca Cartel in the heartland of narco country in Bolivia. You won’t be able to play the solo campaign so you’ll need at least one buddy to take on the co-op missions during the Open Beta. If you’ve got a big enough crew of fellow gamers you can take on the co-op action with up to four players.
You’ll have two huge provinces to explore in the Ghost Recon Wildlands Open Beta with Itacua, the landing province for the full game release, returning from the Closed Beta, and Montuyoc adding some high ground vistas into the equation.While Itacua is the perfect introduction to the game where you’ll be able to hone your skills and get a feel for the play dynamics, Montuyoc is a bleak and hostile mountainous region where the locals survive on the meagre gains of breeding llama and growing barley.
You’ll need to Itacua to get the Xp boost needed to unlock new skills, which will come in handy when you decide to tackle the tougher province of Montuyoc. In addition to the cold and high altitude, the craggy second province is also the home to the Santa Blanca Cartel’s training ground, so make sure you learn as much as possible in Itacua and get all the new skills available before taking on fearsome fighting in Montuyoc.
To give you all a sporting chance of hitting the ground running, the Ubisoft dev team will be hosting a livestream on the 22nd of February 2017 at 6pm CET so that’s 5pm in the UK, 9pm Pacific Time and 12pm on the East Coast of the USA. However, if you can’t be bothered with the faff of trying to tune in to the livestream, it’s bound to be uploaded to Ubisoft’s YouTube page, so you should be able to catch up any time on the 23rd.
