Dust 514 PS3 beta begins Thursday for Mercenary Pack purchasers

Dust 514 doesn't officially launch until later this year, but eager PlayStation 3 gamers can already shell out money to try the free-to-play first-person shooter ahead of schedule. CCP Games is now offering the Dust 514 Mercenary Pack on the PlayStation Network, a bundle that will give players an array of perks for the EVE Online spin-off shooter.

For $20, the Mercenary Pack includes access to all of the game's beta events, including the first one scheduled to kick off this Thursday. Additional beta events are set for every other weekend going forward, and Mercenary Pack owners will also have exclusive access to the game on weekends in between. The Mercenary Pack also includes $20 worth of Aurum, Dust 514's in-game currency, as well as a 30-day boost that increases earned skill points by 50 percent, and an assortment of armor, weapons, and other in-game items.

Dust 514 was announced in 2009 and had been in development for three years at that point. The game is integrated with EVE Online such that Dust 514 players will operate as mercenaries within the PC massively multiplayer online role-playing game universe. Player-controlled corporations in the EVE Online world will be able to enlist Dust 514 players to fight territorial disputes on their behalf, and even conduct orbital bombardments to even the playing field.

For more on Dust 514, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.