How to get in the Overwatch, Battleborn, Doom, and Gears of War 4 open betas

It’s spring, which means you should clean out your garage, mow your lawn, and make sure your online multiplayer video game is going to work when it ships.

Four major video games are getting live multiplayer tests between April and May across Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC, and this is a great opportunity for you to try them out. Publishers run these trials, which developers refer to as “beta tests,” to see how their games perform in real-world circumstances. The studios can then use the data they get to make tweaks to their gameplay and to their network infrastructure to ensure the most ideal scenario for a smooth launch. Of course, most games still end up crashing due to players overloading the servers when they debut, but at least they’re trying. But betas aren’t only information-gathering exercises, publishers have started using them as marketing tools to generate awareness about upcoming releases in an attempt to capture as much money in the $99.3 billion gaming industry as possible.

Here’s a full list of the upcoming betas, their start dates, and how you can get into them:

Battleborn

A shooter that combines elements from standard action games and multiplayer online arena battlers like League of Legends.

Date: Open beta starts today and runs through Monday.
Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
How to get in: Download from the PlayStation Store, Xbox Store, and Steam

Doom

A reboot of the classic hell-shooter franchise.

Date: Starts Friday and runs through Sunday, but you can preload the game now.
Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
How to get in: Download from the PlayStation Store, Xbox Store, and Steam

Gears of War 4

The sequel to the long-running Xbox cover-based shooter franchise. This is the first one that Epic Games is not developing.

Date: Starts Monday and runs through May 1, for anyone who purchased Gears of War: Ultimate Edition. Everyone else can get in starting April 25.
Platform: Xbox One
How to get in: Check the Gears of War 4 beta site for details.

Overwatch

The new team-deathmatch shooter from World of Warcraft publisher Blizzard.

Date: Starts May 3 for anyone who prepurchases the game, and it will run through May 9. Everyone else can download without prepurchasing beginning May 5.
Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
How to get in: Keep an eye on Battle.net for details.