Dark Souls 3 Beta Available to Download, But You'll Need a Code to Play It

The Dark Souls 3 network test beta is now available to download from the North American PlayStation Store, publisher Bandai Namco has confirmed. Before you download it, however, there are some caveats: You'll need a code to access the network test, and to get that you would have had to sign up for access and be selected. Unfortunately, you can't just download it and play.

The test has only been announced for the PlayStation 4 and is scheduled to last until October 18 in both North America and Japan. A European stress test has not been announced yet. Take a look at the official test periods for North America below.

Network Stress Test sessions (America)

• Friday, October 16th, 2015 at 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. CEST
• Saturday, October 17th, 2015 at 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. CEST
• Sunday, October 18th, 2015 at 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. CEST

The Dark Souls 3 release date has been confirmed to be in April for Europe and North America, but Bandai Namco has not specified exactly when. The Japanese release date, however, has been confirmed as March 24.

In an interview with GameSpot, Bloodborne director Hidetaka Miyazaki, who is also directing Dark Souls 3, provided assurances that the quality of Bloodborne's expansion will not be impacted by this project.

Bloodborne's expansion was revealed at Sony's press conference during Tokyo Game Show. Titled "The Old Hunters," the add-on tells the story of the "legendary hunters" alluded to in the main game. Players will be taken to a "nightmare world where hunters from the past are trapped forever," to relive Yarnham's history.