'Tom Clancy's the Division' beta starts - what you should know

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Players waiting to see the newest first-person shooter from Ubisoft are just hours away from experiencing "Tom Clancy's The Division," as the beta will start to go live later today.

Xbox One owners will get the first crack at the upcoming first-person role-playing title, as Ubisoft announced that the beta stage of "The Division" will go live on Microsoft's current-gen console on Jan 28, which starts at 9 a.m. GMT. Meanwhile, PlayStation 4 and PC players will get the chance to join the beta tests tomorrow, Jan. 29, starting at 12 p.m. GMT.

The beta stages for all platforms will end on Sunday, Jan. 31.

Since the version will only be a test phase, access to "The Division" will be limited as Ubisoft plans to only test online infrastructure for the multiplayer feature of the game. The beta will also serve as a test bed for player feedback on in-game content such as weapons, enemy AI, and performance specs.

To test the features, the beta will involve players from the beginning of the game in Manhattan's Chelsea Pier and some of the earliest missions in the single-player story campaign. For the multiplayer content, the closed beta will also allow access to the PvP-enabled Dark Zone map.

Meanwhile, to prepare players for the upcoming tests, Ubisoft uploaded a "How to Play the Beta" video on their YouTube account. The video covers some of the expected player actions in the beta, such as character creation and how to complete story-driven missions. The footage also highlights how a player's status can go up to "Rogue" when killing other agents in the PvP map, Dark Zone.

After the beta ends, Ubisoft is expected to integrate improvements and feedback to the final version of the game to prepare "The Division" for its targeted release date on March 8.