Thirdverse and inXile Entertainment announced last week that Frostpoint VR: Proving Grounds, the upcoming team-based multiplayer shooter, is going into open beta starting today. You could also get it for free when it launches.

Update (September 28th, 2020): The open beta for Frostpoint kicks off today, and goes on for three weeks. Users who sign up by linking their Oculus or Steam accounts will be able to compete to win a free code for the retail version. Signs-up are here.

We’ll be bringing you gameplay impressions in the coming days once we get a few matches under our belts, so check back soon.

Original article (September 23rd, 2020): The game’s open beta runs from September 28th until October 19th, available for download through Steam and the Oculus Store for PC VR headsets.

Each week of the beta, the studios will also be handing out 3,000 (total 9,000) free copies of the retail version of the game to first players who met a few requirements.

Players will need play at least 10 games within a week and also connect their Steam or Oculus accounts to qualify for a code for the retail game when it releases later this year on PC VR headsets.

Frostpoint VR: Proving Grounds pits players in 10v10-player matches. As you’d imagine there are a few familiar game modes, like control and capture, however players on both sides will have to simultaneously fight off ‘Reclaimers’, the game’s biomechanical baddies.

If you were already a part of the closed beta on Steam, the open beta is said to include more weapons, tools, enemies, two new maps, and an ‘Attack and Defend’ game mode now too.

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This is one of the first ‘Play to Own’ promotion types we’ve seen for a VR shooter, and it may just help generate the hardcore player base the studios are looking for. There’s no word on what the game will cost, but—to state the obvious to veteran PC VR gamers—one of the biggest hurdles to overcome for these sort of multiplayer games is undoubtedly garnering enough concurrent users to not only make sure people come back on a regular basis to find bustling servers, but also to justify continued development on the game.

Thankfully, both Japan-based Thirdverse (Swords of Gargantua) and inXile (The Mage’s Tale) have proven expertise in VR game creation, so we’re hoping to see fully rounded gameplay to justify what might otherwise be considered a dicey move by less experienced studios. We’ll be going hands-on here soon, so stay tuned for impressions.

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Well before the first modern XR products hit the market, Scott recognized the potential of the technology and set out to understand and document its growth. He has been professionally reporting on the space for nearly a decade as Editor at Road to VR, authoring more than 3,500 articles on the topic. Scott brings that seasoned insight to his reporting from major industry events across the globe.
  • gothicvillas

    I participated in closed beta. Logged in several times and never saw anyone online.. in the end I never had a match!

    • antonio mora

      After several tries I finally got into one match, it was me and one other person in this big map. I wasn’t impressed by the game really.

      • Hussain X

        I’d like to see how much you get impressed with Onward and/or Pavlov in a similar scenario: logged in a few times and got one match with one other person. Frostpoint is a mutiplayer and needs players to be impressed. Echo Arena and Combat will be super boring 1v1. So far Frostpoint looks a lot more interesting than Onward / Pavlov, etc. 10v10 with aliens, fantasy and sci fi world and amazing graphics.

        • antonio mora

          Hey maybe it was you! You know somehow I got the feeling that you let me win

    • DanDei

      Sounds like good chances to get one of the 3000 free copies then… IF you can manage to find 10 games in the publich beta

    • Baldrickk

      You should have checked the Discord for when people were going to be playing then… There were aranged “peak times” when people made the effort to be online to play together, including some of the devs.

      Surprisingly enough, a limited private beta had few players.

  • Alextended
  • PerpetuallySkeptical

    I feel bad for these guys, they developed this whole game, which looks pretty fun, and nobodys going to play it. Meanwhile there hasn’t been a new aim controller supported game released for PSVR in how long? We are dying for new games and we get nothing.

    • AGENT WOLF

      because psvr is trash you guys will get better stuff next gen. “at least that what they say”

      • Andrew Jakobs

        PSVR is not trash, it’s a great VR headset..

        • kakek

          It’s not trash, but it’s clearly not great either. It has many limitations compared to the current PC offer.

          • Andrew Jakobs

            Yeah, ofcourse it has, as it’s much older now but still much cheaper (and the lenses IMHO are superior to anything we have on the PC right now).. It’s a great introduction to VR. But even Quest has its limitations compared to current PC offers (even with Link).

          • LoneWuff326

            The Oculus Quest 2 is a better Buy its cheaper while better

          • Andrew Jakobs

            Yeah the Quest 2 is much better, but if you already own a Playstation and you just want to have VR now and then, the PSVR sure is a great way to enjoy VR.

      • kool

        Pc dudes always want a next gen headset but hey MASTER RACE!!

  • I love the idea of play to own-for-free! It helps in having a stable bases of players for the multiplayer matches!

  • kakek

    The game seems nice. I kinda like the idea of PVPVE. But I think they messed up by making it a 5v5. Multiplayer game in VR often suffer from a lack of playerbase. I mean, EVERY multiplayer game face the same challenge, but it’s much more apparent in VR, where the total player base is already reduced.

    They should have taken a page from Hunt:Shodown’s book, and made the team 1-3 players, and reinforced the “vE” part of “PvPvE”.

    Make the game a coop game vs environment for 1 to 3 players, where the mission and environment are enough to make a game interesting just with your buddy.
    And then as a bonus the possibility that a rival team come dispute the same objective.

    But this seems to be the opposite. A PvP shooter with a secondary element of AI monsters.

    • kool

      Vr would do well with co op trying to build a multiplayer community is suicide in vr for most games.

    • Gerald Terveen

      I do like that they go for free games to populate it and fight that problem though.
      Still I can’t get bothered to play that many games just to maybe get a copy.

  • DanDei

    So… uh… where is it?
    The Beta is nowhere to be found on Steam. Only the main game with a main post announcing a beta to start yesterday. If they delayed it, this is very poor communication from a seasoned developer.