The ability to register for playtests is now available in Steam. Players discovered the playtest registration functionality on the Total War: Elysium page.
Now, players can sign up for betas and playtests directly through Steam rather than scrambling to determine where to opt-in. With more and more game developers doing early access, betas, and playtests, it is a logical move from Steam.
Keeping everything in one client makes it a lot less confusing for players that want to participate and help test games. Any game studio with products on Steam can now provide access through the launcher. The only game we’ve seen use this integration is Total War: Elysium. Opting in shows a message saying:
“You’ve requested access! Keep an eye out for an email notification from Steam when the developer is ready to accept more participants.” The developers will be able to communicate and post updates to everyone about their game playtests through Steam directly. An added benefit is eliminating the need for users to provide their email address to different websites for playtesting and beta access.
Valve continues to improve upon its platform for both developers and players with this new feature. Be on the lookout for more games offering playtests through Steam’s launcher.
