Publisher Bandai Namco needs your help before it kills you.
The company has opened the signup process for the Dark Souls III “network stress test” that it plans to run in mid-October. If you register, you’ll have the chance to download a version of the difficult role-playing sequel to try out on your PlayStation 4. Bandai Namco and developer From Software are doing this to see how its servers hold up under extreme load. This should increase the odds that Dark Souls III has a smooth launch without connectivity problems. It also means that the publisher will want a lot of people playing, so Bandai Namco likely has a ton of codes to give out.
“We will run a large-scale network load test to check up on all the technologies running the online system,” reads the signup page for the test. “This network stress, meant to help improve the quality of the product, is free of charge to testers. We look forward to your help as we try to make Dark Souls III the best game we can.”
Specifically, From and Bandai Namco want to test obvious things like the load on the server, but it goes beyond that as well. The companies note that they will also check to see how players respond to multiplayer gameplay and how balanced the action is.
If Bandai Namco and From select you for the beta test, they will notify you on October 12 and October 13 via email. If they pick you, you’ll get a link to the a selection-results page that will give you a product code you can enter on PlayStation Network.