Halo 5 Beta now live, Collector’s Edition announced

As previously promised, the flood gates for the Halo 5 multiplayer Beta have opened today for anyone who bought Halo: The Master Chief Collection. You can also gain access to the Beta if you happen to be a member of the Xbox One Preview Program. Aside from those two options, I’m afraid there’s no other way to play the game just yet. This testing phase will last three weeks up until January 18th and participants are advised to keep in mind that this build is not final, so the final product might end up being a bit different. Rather, the Halo 5: Guardians Beta is meant to give players a general idea of the game and sending in feedback is of course encouraged.

In related news, Microsoft are now taking pre-orders for the game and have even announced Limited and Collector’s editions for it. The $60 Standard edition of Halo 5: Guardians is pretty much what you’d expect and doesn’t offer any in-game bonuses. However, if players want to pre-order this edition they will receive an exclusive poster. Pre-ordering the $100 Limited edition also grants you the poster, as well as “new digital content to enhance Spartan combat and exclusive items wrapped in a uniquely designed steel book.” Finally, we have the Halo 5: Guardians Collector’s edition, which includes everything from the Limited edition and costs no less than $250. As you might imagine, there are some other bonuses in this very pricey edition. These include “additional content such as a commemorative numbered statue designed by 343 Industries.”

Strangely enough, Microsoft didn’t share any specific details on these bonuses, so it seems a bit risky to pre-order now without knowing exactly what you’ll get. But that’s just me. More details as well as images showing the mentioned statue will be revealed in due time according to the company. Halo 5: Guardians will be released sometime in Q4 2015 exclusively to the Xbox One.