While excited fans of Monster Hunter World are eagerly anticipating the release of the new expansion, Iceborne, that releases on September 6, players currently can jump into the beta as an exclusive to the PlayStation 4.

Conveniently, those PS4 players who want to try it out can do so without first needing to own the base game, so now is the perfect time to give the game a try. There will be two sets of beta dates that players can use to try the game out, both only for the PS4.

The first beta begins today and runs until Monday, June 24, but is only for PS Plus subscribers. The second will be open to all owners of a PS4 and begins June 28 until July 1. The client size is a little over 6 GB of data, and to access the beta it needs to be downloaded from the PlayStation Network store.

  • Monster Hunter World Iceborne beta on PSN (for UK players) Monster Hunter World Iceborne beta on PSN (for NA players)

Once inside the game, there are three quests provided that focus on different monsters:

  • Great Jagras, a monster from in the original game Banbaro, a new brute Wyvern Tigrex, a flying Wyvern known to the series

In trying out these quests, players can tackle the content solo or with other players via the matchmaking system, using any of the 14 weapons, many of which have received a revamping of their animations and should now work more smoothly, giving players a more responsive feel and the ability to move in and out of animations more easily to evade attacks.

Participating in the beta will reward players when the game formally launches with a Commendation item pack. This contains some useful consumables, but nothing to lose sleep over if you cannot participate in the beta. Anything more like rare cosmetics would be sure to cause an uproar among the community.

What Does The Iceborne Expansion Bring To Monster Hunter World

For those who are familiar with the Monster Hunter series but have not yet jumped into the most recent game, it may entice them to know that the expansion is considered equivalent in size to previous games such as “G Rank” or “Ultimate, which in turn is going to bring a massive amount of content, events, and collaborations.

The main story that players have worked on will be picked up again as hunters are sent to the newly discovered Hoarfrost Reach. This is a snow-covered land that contrasts areas of the main game and continues to evolve the story. Along with all the new content, Iceborne offers also the largest geographical expansion in the game so far, giving hunters ample space to explore and quest.

For veteran players, Iceborne also brings a new higher difficulty, Master Rank, which makes new and existing monsters more dangerous than before, with greater rewards to compensate for the added risk. This is always a fantastic addition to these types of games, as hunting the same monsters can get rather stale, and the addition of a higher difficulty always makes things nice and fresh.

Even if you do not plan to get the expansion immediately, there are some significant changes coming that will affect the base game as well. As it works now, if a player joins a full party of hunters to take down a monster, the health and damage are scaled upwards to make the challenge appropriate. However, if a player quits, and another disconnects, and one is AFK, that leaves the remaining two characters dealing with a monster that has been scaled for four people, which can be frustrating.

Now, players will have the dynamic scaling applied to their hunts, so if two players are no longer in the hunt in the party that began with four players, the remaining two will see the monster scaled down as if they had always been a two-person team. This is affecting the entire game, old content and Iceborne, so it really will be a great time to jump into the game!

Monster Hunter World Iceborne will be available on the PS4 and Xbox One on September 6th. The PC version is still expected to arrive at some point in the upcoming Winter season.

NEXT: How Harry Potter: Wizards Unite Will Play Without Competitive House Teams