Dust 514 Paid Beta is a Thing that Looks Good

During E3 this year, I got to watch the fun from my computer screen here in Minneapolis while the rest of the Machinima crew did their thing out in LA. My interest was piqued, however, during Kovic’s interview with the CCP guys in charge of Dust 514, the new free-to-play first-person-shooter for the PlayStation 3 that supplements the events in the EVE Online PC game. It seems really interesting, and I was planning on downloading it when it was made available later this year.

But apparently I don’t have to wait that long: CCP has announced via press release that gamers can drop a mere $20 for the “Mercenary Pack,” which grants access to the first closed beta that starts on June 28. That also gets them guaranteed access to every beta event CCP holds until the game’s launch, not to mention exclusive access to the game on off-weekends.

But that’s not all! The pack also includes alllll this:

• 4,000 Aurum ($20 USD value) – the in-game currency for DUST 514 that you can buy in the PS Store
• 30-dat Active Skill Booster – increases earned Skill Points (SP) by 50%
• ‘Dragonfly’ Scout Dropuit – a uniquely designed armor with unlimited use
• ‘Toxin” ICD-9 Submachine Gun with unlimited use and a custom skin
• HK4M Shotgun X 50
• Hacked Drop Uplink x 50 – allows players to create on-the-spot spawn points for their teammates
• Fused Locus Grenade x 50
• 1.5dn Myofibril Stimulant x 50 – offers players a temporary melee damage boost against opponents

That’s all pretty good, man. Pretty REALLY good. I know it’s free-to-play and all, but twenty bucks for what that game offers seems pretty solid. I like this paid beta business. It seems smart. And kinda sexy. And it’s available on the PlayStation Store RIGHT NOW.