SOCOM 4: Open Beta Schedule (April 5-13)

The last three weeks have been great for us here at Zipper Interactive! Our private, PlayStation Plus, and Killzone 3 voucher testers have been integral in helping us put the finishing touches on the multiplayer aspects of SOCOM 4: U.S. Navy SEALs. But that’s the past – and now, the special invitation period is over because starting today, anyone and everyone with PSN access can freely download the SOCOM 4 beta from the PlayStation Store during its regularly-scheduled update. The beta’s availability on the PlayStation Store ends April 12th.

Our servers will be open all day, every day until the beta period ends on April 13 at 11:59pm Pacific Time (2:59am Eastern). However, we will limit what modes are available for the first few days to keep our testing focused before opening all queues for the home stretch. Here’s how the schedule looks in its final phase:

• Tuesday (4/5) – Last Defense, Classic Last Defense, Uplink, Classic Uplink
• Wednesday (4/6) – Bomb Squad, Classic Bomb Squad, Last Defense, Classic Last Defense
• Thursday (4/7) – Sniper Alley (Custom), Last Defense Run ‘n Gun (Custom), Bomb Squad, Classic Bomb Squad
• Friday (4/8) – All Gametypes Open
• Saturday (4/9) – All Gametypes Open
• Sunday (4/10) – All Gametypes Open
• Monday (4/11) – All Gametypes Open
• Tuesday (4/12) – All Gametypes Open
• Wednesday (4/13) – All Gametypes Open

Our multiplayer beta includes two maps, Port Authority and Assault & Battery, and offers a variety of built-in game-types and custom game-types. Here they are:

Suppression: SOCOM 4’s version of “team deathmatch.”
Last Defense: Capture controls points, discover the enemy base and destroy it.
Uplink: Steal enemy data and deliver it to your base.
Bomb Squad: Defend your bomb technician while he disarms enemy explosives.
Sniper Alley (Custom): An 8 vs. 8 version of Classic Suppression with higher damage. Weapons are limited to sniper rifles, shotguns, smoke grenades and poison gas.
Last Defense Run ‘n Gun (Custom): Faster movement speed and reduced damage are applied to 16 vs. 16 Last Defense with weapons restricted to only shotguns and SMGs.
Scrum (Custom): Suppression is given rule tweaks of no respawn, faster movement and higher damage, while sniper rifles, frag grenades, concussion grenades and poison gas are disallowed.

All built-in game-types (i.e. non-“Custom” queues) are playable in both the Standard and Classic variations. Standard mode is similar to the single-player experience, while Classic mode is similar to older SOCOM titles with increased movement speeds, round-based play, no player respawns and the lack of health regeneration. Our Custom types mix and match a number of game settings depending on their focus.

After you’ve had a chance to play the beta, we’d need to hear your feedback! To do so, simply head on over to our official “Beta Forum” on SOCOM.com where you can tell us what you think.

On behalf of everyone at Zipper Interactive, I want to thank all of you who have participated in the SOCOM 4 beta regardless of its phase, and look forward to seeing you again when we ship the full and complete version of SOCOM 4: U.S. Navy SEALs when it launches on April 19 across North America.

Oh, and don’t forget to pre-order SOCOM 4 today to gain access to a pair of exclusive slug-powered shotguns (one each for Spec Ops and the Insurgents), while those who specifically pre-order at GameStop get the shotguns in addition to the exclusive Suppression map, “Abandoned,” inspired by the classic map of the same name from SOCOM 1 and II!