When Sony Online Entertainment originally announced that “PlanetSide 2” was going to get a closed beta on the PlayStation 4, they didn’t specifically say that there will be any incentive for players to join the program. The implication was that players who want to enter would be rewarded with the ability to check out the new game before everyone else, and that should be enough of a motivation by itself. However, it has recently come to light that this might not be the full picture, and those who’re taking part in the closed beta could possibly get special rewards as a thanks for their effort.
Clint Worley, current Executive Producer on the title, recently gave an interview in which he said that the company is in internal talks about the “possibility” of rewarding players from the beta. However, from what was said by him, it’s pretty clear that the studio still hasn’t decided on what exactly they want to do for their players, and the exact nature of the rewards has not been confirmed.
In addition, those who’re playing in the beta should not hope that their progress will give them an unfair advantage over everyone else when the game is finally released, as SOE are planning to do a complete reset of player stats when the beta is over. That makes sense in more ways than one, as playing in the beta means playing in different balance conditions, so it would be unfair to let players keep their progress from that time.
When the game launches, everyone will be at the exact same level, while beta players will be issued their rewards. And it’s worth noting that this statement alone could shed some light on the nature of those rewards, even though the studio claims that they haven’t decided what they want to do yet. If they want everyone to start out on the same level, then this excludes the possibility of any gameplay-affecting rewards.
So, what’s most likely right now is something cosmetic which will let beta participants stand out from the rest, but won’t actually give them any specific gameplay advantages. That would not be too far from what other companies usually do to reward their beta players.
The beta’s contents will be limited to one of the game’s four continents initially, and it will also be framerate-locked as the developers reportedly want to sort out certain performance issues before the game is finalized. On the other hand, things like weapons and other elements of the game’s balance will likely function identically to their final versions, as it’s important to sort out any issues in that area early on.