Announced at E3 2015, Ubisoft's latest offering Trackmania Turbo is set to go in to Open Beta tomorrow, running until a single day before official release across all platforms.
Hi-octane action abound, Trackmania Turbo pits players against one another in adrenaline-fueled Wipeout-esq arcade driving action. The Open Beta will allow players to sample a sizeable portion of the full game for free; gaining access to 20 of 200 solo tracks across four environments, multiplayer modes, a random track generator and a limited taste of the track building functionality.
Testers will also be able to try out car customization and any progression gained in Beta will be transferred over to the full game if they decide to go ahead and purchase the full release.
Sadly, the Open Beta is limited to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One players only. Trackmania Turbo will be available for PC on launch though there will be no way to sample the gameplay prior to purchase. The Open Beta will be available in the Xbox and PlayStation stores beginning March 18 at 6 AM PST / 9 AM EST and ending on March 21 at the same time. Check out the announcement trailer or view the Open Beta trailer for further details below.
TrackMania Turbo launches in full across PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC on March 22 in North America and March 24 in the UK. Stay tuned for our upcoming coverage of the title!
Quick Take
I'm not entirely sure what releasing an Open Beta mere days prior to launch is supposed to accomplish. Publicity for an under-hyped release? Though it's probably time for another Wipeout game, it would be mighty embarrassing if some track-breaking bug were unveiled just before full release. Ubisoft has a sour history with regards to optimization and the often disregarded PC version of this Beta is conspicuously omitted. Perhaps Ubisoft feels that the game might appeal more to the console market? Assassin's Creed: Unity - never forget.
