Guilty Gear Strive second open beta test date announced, coming in May

ArcSystemWorks revealed some exciting news: Guilty Gear Strive’s second open beta test is coming to both PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 in May, with crossplay possible between the two systems. The second beta client will be available to download starting May 7 at 10 am on each region’s PS Store. However, the beta itself will not be playable until May 13 at 8 pm PT and will end on May 16 at 7:59 am PT. Unlike the previous test, all 15 characters from the initial lineup will be available to play, including Anji and I-NO, for the first time.

Modes available to play during the test are Versus Mode, Tutorial Mode, Training Mode, and Online Match. Player Matches, which are player-created rooms, will not be available during the beta period. These modes have received some extensive changes, most of which you can read up on the official website. But some highlights include a complete reworking of how online matchmaking works.

Players will now set up Duel Stations to queue for battle, in which they enter into standby mode and wait for an opponent. There are two types of online matching: Rank Tower, in which you can rematch up to three times, and Open Park, which has no limits. As those who played the first beta can attest to, these are some pretty major (and welcome!) changes from the previously clunky system.

New on-screen values, such as an “ms” number, are now present on the screen during online matches. This value indicates the ping, or round response time between players, with lower numbers representing better connections. There’s also plenty of other battle balance adjustments such as to combos, aerial attacks, commands, recovery time to mid-air blocks, and tons more fixes ranging from game mechanics to individual characters.

Guilty Gear Strive will launch on June 11 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC via Steam. An arcade version is also planned for release in Spring 2021.