Dark Souls II beta begins October 12

Namco Bandai has announced that the Dark Souls II PlayStation 3 beta will kick off on October 12.

PlayStation 3 owners in North America, Europe, and Australasia can sign up for a chance to participate by downloading the Dark Souls II Closed Beta Registration Ticket from the PlayStation Store.

"Out of the players who have downloaded this registration ticket, players will be chosen and those who qualify will receive notice of how to take part in the Closed Beta testing," reads the description for the ticket.

A second wave of beta invites will be sent out on October 27. Namco Bandai has not said if the beta will head to the Xbox 360 or PC.

Developer From Software says Dark Souls II will feature more open-world elements than the original game, but has yet to say what area the beta will be set in.

Dark Souls II will be released for the PlayStation 3, PC, and Xbox 360 in March 2014.