Evolve open beta arrives in January

If you missed the Evolve alpha on Xbox One last month, good news: Starting Jan. 15, Xbox One owners with Gold subscriptions will be able to participate in a new open beta, courtesy of Turtle Rock and 2K. The first two days will be familiar, with already-introduced monsters Goliath and Kraken available for play, as well as the first eight hunters: Markov, Maggie, Val, Hank, Hyde, Griffin, Lazarus and Bucket.

At first, players will only be able to play "Hunt" mode on two maps. However, on Jan. 17, Turtle Rock is expanding the beta to include "Evacuation," Evolve's campaign-style mode taking place across five stages that are transformed depending on which side wins each match. The developers state that "any Hunter and Monster characters you unlock while playing the Xbox One Open Beta will carry over when the game launches." The Xbox One beta will conclude on Jan. 19.

PC and PS4 players won't be completely left out. On Jan. 16, PC players will have access to a limited "technical test" on PC, which will be available to players who participated in the Evolve "Closed Alpha" in August, and to owners of BioShock Infinite or Left 4 Dead (Turtle Rock's previous title). PS4 players who participated in that platform's "Big Alpha" will be able to play on Jan. 17, though neither PC nor PS4 players will be granted access to Evacuation mode or unlock progress.

The newly announced Wraith monster class will not be available in the January beta on any platform.