The Xbox One beta for Turtle Rock's Evolve, the asymmetrical multiplayer sci-fi shooter, goes live next Thursday and players can expect some new content along with it.
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The third monster, Wraith, was recently unveiled and while he looks intimidating as all hell, we were unsure if he (it?) would be available in time for the Beta. In a blog post on the official Evolve site, the studio gives a resounding 'yes'. Not only will Wraith be playable, but the third tier of the hunters will also be available: Parnell (Assault), Caira (Medic), Abe (Trapper), and Cabot (Support).
The characters and monster will be unlocked for the beta only for players who pre-purchase Evolve before next Thursday.
Pre-purchasing Evolve for Xbox One at any time also will instantly unlock the Wraith and third tier of Hunters for when the final game launches next month on February 10.
Next week's beta is largely to help test and stabilize multiplayer servers, and as such the game's offline campaign mode will be unavailable for the duration. The beta will last from Thursday, January 15 until Monday, January 19, exclusively on Xbox One.
Additionally, "pre-purchasing Evolve on Xbox One also grants free access to the Monster Expansion Pack, which includes an unannounced 4th playable monster - that's $14.99 when purchased separately - and the Savage Goliath skin."
We have a strong love/hate relationship with bonuses for early adopters, as most content is eventually released within three to six months of a game's debut. However, we can't argue with getting fifteen dollars worth of content for free, especially when other major AAA titles are, in essence, ninety dollar games and counting after DLC is included.
Evolve hopefully represents the great lighthouse of the endless ocean of despair that is the video game release schedule in the early months of 2015. Let's hope it can shoulder the burden.
[Correction- an earier version of this article stated pre-ordering Evolve gave you the extra content- you actually have to pre-purchase the game for the instant access to the characters and Monster Expansion pack/Savage Goliath skin. Apologies for any confusion.]
