Wed, Apr 21, 2010 | 12:17 BST
Bungie: 3 million people expected to play Reach beta
Bungie community manager Brian Jarrard has said the studio expects at least 3 million people to play the Halo: Reach beta when it kicks off in a week-and-a-half from now.
“My expectation is it could be upwards of 3 million people,” Jarrard told The Seattle Times in an interview. “I think that’s a fairly conservative estimate. Certainly there will never be a console beta of this magnitude.”
Multiplayer design lead Chris Carney added in the interview that the game’s near enough done.
“It’s pretty close to done,” he said. “We still absolutely will tweak things after the beta, based on all [stat] information.”
Halo: Reach is due for release in fall, with the multiplayer beta set to launch on May 3 on Xbox Live.
Expect a hands-on report of the beta from an event in London this week to go live at 2pm today.
15 
Posted in: Hot, Microsoft, Shooter, Xbox 360
Tags: Brian Jarrard, bungie, Chris Carney, Halo: Reach
15 comments
#1
Blerk
21/04/10, 12:31 pm
That’s a hell of a beta!
#2
pleasant_cabbage
21/04/10, 12:32 pm
How long is it open for?
#3
Gheritt White
21/04/10, 12:34 pm
Not me – I’ve no interest in the MP mode apart from for local co-op and couch versus.
#4
Blerk
21/04/10, 12:39 pm
Who usually wins, you or the couch?
#5
mington
21/04/10, 12:39 pm
I bet you play strip oddball
#6
Gheritt White
21/04/10, 12:51 pm
Depends – it’s like that old saying: sometimes you frag the couch, and sometimes the couch frags you.
#7
DJ Deathstar
21/04/10, 1:08 pm
@2 I think in the GTTV special they said around the same time as the Halo 3 Beta which lasted like 3 weeks i think, i wouldn’t be suprised if it maybe ran 4 weeks at most
#8
mington
21/04/10, 1:14 pm
Ah the halo 3 beta, sitting staring at my crackdown menu screen for hours
bad times
you guys just hope the reach beta comes online when they say it will
are they doing pre-downloads for this, or would that be too sensible?
#9
pleasant_cabbage
21/04/10, 1:18 pm
@7
Cheers.
/ponders re-acquiring ODST
/thinks the better of it
#10
DJ Deathstar
21/04/10, 1:33 pm
@mington
Nah i don’t think they are gonna be sensible and do pre downloads or at least they haven’t mentioned it. Instead there will be like a million people trying to download as soon as its open on the 3rd, can’t see it being a small file size either lol
#11
Erthazus
21/04/10, 1:42 pm
I think more people will experience Reach beta. There are more then 4 million ODST copies sold.
#12
mojo
21/04/10, 1:44 pm
anyone else thinks the Reach Logo looks almost like Lost Plaent 2 logo?!
#13
DJ Deathstar
21/04/10, 1:53 pm
Yeah they are pretty similar actually lol, for some reason the Reach pic always makes me think of The Dig! Dunno why though!
#14
mington
21/04/10, 1:54 pm
Reach, a poor mans Lost planet 2 /runs for cover
#15
mojo
21/04/10, 2:38 pm
14: let alone the Logo.
normaly in these pictures u see the planet from above – thats conservative
if ur cool, u show the planet above the spectator – Reach
if ur THE_FKING_MAN ur show it from down and the side! LP2
its just like with basecaps..
normal kids have the brim at the front.
cool kids have it at the back.
and the real cool ones (read: douchbags) have it at the back and at the side!!