SpyParty beta launches today

The open beta for SpyParty, Chris Hecker's "espionage game about subtle behavior, performance, perception, and deception," launched today with sign-ups available through the game's official website.

Accessing the beta costs $15, which will also get beta testers a copy of the game when it ships. The open beta for the Windows PC version follows a closed beta that focused on load testing for the asymmetric multiplayer game. Hecker told Polygon that he'd been working on the beta "until the last possible second" before it launched today.

"This is it, finally!" Hecker wrote on the official website. "The SpyParty Early-Access Beta is now open to everyone. No more signing up with your email and waiting years for your invite. No more watching streams and Let's Play videos but not being able to play yourself. Now anybody can join right now, and be playing in as long as it takes to fill out some web forms, visit PayPal, and check your email."

For more on the game and the graphical transformation it underwent last year, be sure to read Polygon's SpyParty feature. You can also get an idea of the unique gameplay, in which players on both sides need to contend with artificial intelligence, by watching a video from last year.