PlanetSide 2 PS4 beta coming ‘in next few months,’ says SOE president

PlanetSide 2's beta for PlayStation 4 is coming sometime "in the next few months," Sony Online Entertainment president John Smedley said last week. Though he didn't specifically mention PlanetSide 2 in the tweet, it can be assumed — given the status of the game — that he was referring to the eagerly anticipated MMO shooter.

Unfortunately, his tweet does little to clarify when we can actually expect PlanetSide 2 on PS4. For months now, SOE has said PlanetSide 2 would arrive on PS4 in beta form in 2014. Even as recent as last month, PlanetSide 2's lead designer said the game is still on track for a 2014 beta release. SOE community manager Tony "RadarX" Jones even added that the company has more to share "really soon."

So what do we make of Smedley's "next few months" statement? Well, it's possible he could be referring to December, which is when PlayStation Experience is set to take place. As I've said for a while now, SOE could be waiting to make the big announcement at the PlayStation event, perhaps even announcing the start of the beta on that date (Dec. 6 – 7). We already know PlanetSide 2 will be playable on PS4 at the PlayStation Experience, as it was listed by Sony as games you can play "before they're released."

Since playing it at SOE Live in August, much of SOE's focus has been on the PS4's User Interface. While much of the gameplay experience seems polished, there's still some work to do on the UI. Last week, PlanetSide 2 creative director Matt Higby actually showed off a batch of new screenshots of the UI during his livestream, and though it looked nearly complete, there were still a few features missing like the ability to purchase items. He also showed off the improved map, but added that they are still "iterating and finalizing" elements of it.

So while it appears that progress is being made on the PS4 version of PlanetSide 2, it's still not quite up to par with where SOE wants it.

Adding to his original tweet, Smedley said SOE will likely do "several stages" of testing. "Technical first followed by a big beta," he said. Unfortunately, he didn't have any specific dates other than the vague window. After tweeting a picture of the game running on PS4, Smedley added that it "takes how long it takes," referring to PS2's PS4 release.

Well, there you have it. PlanetSide 2 will arrive on PS4 when its ready. Hopefully that's before 2015, as the game is clearly going to be playable at PlayStation Experience next month.