Starhawk private beta begins in November

By Wesley Yin-Poole Published 21 October, 2011

Warhawk players only.

The Starhawk private beta begins in November, developer Lightbox Interactive has announced.

Early access keys for the public beta, set to launch in early 2012, are included in Uncharted 3, out on 2nd November.

But for dedicated fans there is a way to play the PlayStation 3 exclusive next month.

Lightbox will send those who played Starhawk predecessor Warhawk (Europeans included) email invitations with private beta keys. Players will be allowed in in waves so the developer can manage the server load.

"The order in which players are granted access is a dark art known only to Sith-IT-Managers and Gywn, Lord of Cinder," wrote Dylan Jobe, president of Lightbox Interactive, on the EU PlayStation Blog.

"But, suffice it to say it's a mix of your rank/level in Warhawk, your involvement in the Warhawk community, and a few other magical parameters. So keep checking your email like a Hawk!

"We're really looking for lots of feedback to help make sure Starhawk is as solid and tuned as possible. So we'll be actively requesting comments on tuning changes and other game updates that we'll be making to Starhawk throughout the Private Beta."

Lightbox will use the private beta to validate its SkillScore player ranking system, as well as weapon and Build & Battle game balance.

A special gift is planned for Warhawk players who take part in the Starhawk private beta. You'll get this when Starhawk is released.

Picture of Wesley.

About Wesley Yin-Poole

Wesley is Eurogamer's news editor. He likes news, interviews, and more news. He also likes Street Fighter more than anyone can get him to shut up about it.

Read more articles from Wesley by visiting the Wesley Yin-Poole archive page.

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Comments (6) Latest comment 7 months ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • captain_Carl #1 7 months ago

    That's the way to do it, Lightbox

  • Snufkin #2 7 months ago

    Nice one. Good to see a developer rewarding the loyal fans, even if it is only a beta. Plus the dedicated players are the ones most likely to spot errors and flaws in the beta.

    I really enjoyed Warhawk and I still have it (it's one of few games in my collection to have survived the Great Cull of Summer 2011) but I came to it quite late and was utterly destroyed by the pros, so I never got very far up the ranks. Hope I get a beta key regardless!

  • Architect_z #3 7 months ago

    I play Warhawk!!! I can't wait for Starhawk, looks like so much fun. ^_^
    I love the look of the space combat.
    The only gripes I had with Warhawk appear to have been sorted just by the looks of the trailers.
    Build and battle will be pretty fun, I think it'll add a really tactical aspect to the game for the pro matches. But it'll be alot of fun in public games to, just to play about with. Can't wait. ^_^

  • Tiberius_Gracchus #4 7 months ago

    I was one of the first to obtain the "kill all opposing team members in a round" trophy - 6th in the world I think. Can I haz a beta Keys plz!

  • themanfromdelmonte #5 7 months ago

    I wonder what they new ranking system is like. I never did much aerial combat so only got so far in the ranking.

    If they're having homing missile turrets again, they need to fix the boost and barrel roll trick which rendered them useless.

  • super_monty #6 7 months ago

    I am still put off online ps3 games because the voice chat is shocking, slightly tempted by this though.