Naughty Dog has confirmed that there are no plans to hold an open multiplayer beta for Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, as the closed beta approaches its Dec. 13 end.

For those PlayStation 4 owners hoping for Naughty Dog to open up Uncharted 4: A Thief's End's closed multiplayer beta, there's bad news. According to a comment made by Naughty Dog Director of Communications Arne Meyer there are no current plans to begin a multiplayer open beta. It's, unfortunately, the closed beta or nothing for those unwilling to wait until Uncharted 4's release on March 18 of 2016.

That doesn't give any prospective Uncharted gunslingers much time left to get their game on, however. Uncharted 4 currently has an ongoing closed beta, but it has about run its course. Starting on December 4 and running for just a week and a half, the closed beta will be ending on December 13. Access to the closed beta was also dependent on owning the Uncharted Nathan Drake Collection, so for those who absolutely must play multiplayer before Uncharted 4's launch, best hurry.

With three months until the launch of Uncharted 4, there's still the potential for another closed multiplayer beta, of course. Stress tests never hurt for online experiences, though they are usually of the open beta variety. However, the smart bet is on no more betas.

All things considered, this isn't necessarily a surprising revelation. Naughty Dog doesn't have a history of providing open betas for their games. Uncharted 3 also had a closed beta, which was unlocked with the purchase of  Infamous 2, or by being a PlayStation Plus subscriber (back when PS+ wasn't required for multiplayer).

Uncharted 2, which was the origin of the franchise's multiplayer, had a closed multiplayer beta too. It was unlocked by owning the original inFamous. Note that there was only a single beta for each, all closed and locked behind owning another game.

Perhaps the problem is that so many are beginning to expect open betas for console multiplayer titles, and Naughty Dog is trying something different by avoiding them. While open betas can serve a purpose by stress testing servers and testing for issues with a large population base, so many betas these days are used solely for marketing purposes. Players go at the game for a short period of time and are more likely to pre-order right away or purchase the game at launch. It seems like major issues found in pre-launch open betas rarely get solved by launch.

To sum everything up, Naughty Dog has confirmed that there will be no open beta for Uncharted 4: A Thief's End. The last chance to play the game's multiplayer will be between now and the closed beta's end date tomorrow, December 13. It's unlikely there will be a second closed beta, either. Early reception makes it sound like it'll be worth waiting for, though.

Uncharted 4: A Thief's End launches March 18 exclusively on the PlayStation 4.

Source: PlayStation Blog