About a couple of weeks ago, the video game development team at Bungie piped up to announce its decision to add a PvP Public Test Region of sorts for its science fiction shooter Destiny 2, naming it Crucible Labs. Now, the feature is officially live, and it gives Guardians the chance to try out its first featured game mode that's currently in the works for the PvP arena, which is being dubbed "Showdown".

As seen in the tweet below from Bungie's official Twitter account, Destiny 2 players ought to be able to find the playlist that includes Showdown at the top right of the Director after selecting the Crucible node. After that, they should be eligible to try out the new 4v4 mode that tasks players with defeating the most opponents before time expires to win the round, with the most won rounds being the key to victory. Showdown's description goes on to state that each opponent defeated will increase one's round score by 1 point, with the highest round score at time's expiration being the round's winner.

While many Guardians will surely jump at the chance to give Destiny 2's first Crucible Labs test a go with Showdown, many were understandably disappointed to learn that the new PvP test realm of sorts will not feature any sandbox changes. With this being the case, fans shouldn't expect to see Crucible Labs used as a means to balance various weapons, bring changes to time to kill, or offer alterations to class abilities.

Taking all of this into account, although Destiny 2's Crucible Labs won't be as sumptuous as similar features found in other games such as Blizzard's Public Test Region for Overwatch, it's still good to see Bungie offering Guardians a peek behind the curtain with the option to try out never-before-seen modes and tweaks to existing modes. After all, the first test with Showdown might not be well received by the community at first, but the studio will at least be able to work with direct feedback in order to make it better, or decide to exclude it as a mode for the main game altogether.

Destiny 2 is available now for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

Source: Bungie – Twitter