After a very long wait and the odd delay, the massive open world shooter Planetside 2 is finally taking its first steps on the PlayStation 4, delivering war on an all new and truly epic scale for console gamers.

For a lucky group of Beta testers, the game has finally went live in a meaningful way, but if you didn’t get a Beta key, there’s no need to fret just yet. The games creative director, Matthec Higby, there are more Beta keys still to be rolled out in the next batch. Speaking by way of twitter, he said “note: keys will be going out in several batches as we ramp up, not everyone can get one in the first batch. Please be patient.”

There was also a widely distributed Press Release from SOE where they express pride in having the game on their platform by saying, “PlanetSide 2 is defined by its massive size and strong camaraderie amongst players, making it an exceptional fit for the PlayStation 4’s powerful hardware and social community. We didn’t just create a port — we created a full console first-person shooter experience.”

The beta may also be arriving in Europe within the next “2-3 weeks”, the delay is only because of submission forms needing to be constructed and isn’t related to the game.

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SOE’s massively online first person shooter Planetside 2 is now accepting sign-ups for its beta on the PlayStation 4. All you have to do is head to the official website, enter your email address and then wait. The beta will begin by 2014 end and it will apparently run in 1080p and 60 FPS (though this is subject to change; the final game will have this standard though).

There isn’t much we know about the PS4 version at this point but given the amount of content available for the PC version, there’s a fair amount that consumers will have to play. It should be noted that the game is free to play which means you won’t PlayStation Plus to enjoy the game.

Those who are making the transition from PC to PS4 should also know that the game doesn’t support cross-platform play with the PC version. We’ll have to wait and see just how close the updates will be released together so stay tuned for more information.

Sony Online Entertainment has promised that PlanetSide 2 will be receiving years of content and apparently, they weren’t kidding. Director Matt Higby revealed on the official Sony forums that the Hossin update will be releasing soon for the PC version. If you don’t know what the Hossin update is, then it’s an update that’s been in development for two years now.

“If we wanted to finish Hossin without sacrificing the quality level we’ve established, it would probably be three months before it was ready to go live – we don’t want to wait that long, and we don’t think you want to either. Right now, about 50% of the bases on Hossin are ‘done’ to the point that we’re completely satisfied with the quality of the level design and visuals.

“About 25% of the bases are first pass – you’ll be able to recognize these bases by their naming scheme, and another 25% are bases which are more or less staging areas, or stamped bases, identical to each other – this is an outpost we know works well, so we’ve put them in as placeholders. We expect these bases to function correctly, provide all the necessary utilities to make the game work – they’re just not 100% up to our standards of level design quality quite yet.

“Over the next few months, the level design and environment art team is going to continue to iterate the bases on Hossin and every couple weeks you’ll see more and more of the continent getting completed and patched to live.”

PlanetSide 2 is also heading to the PS4 but we’ll keep you updated on when the Hossin update drops for PC so stay tuned.

Sony Online Entertainment’s PlanetSide 2 received a new trailer at E3 2014 for the PlayStation 4 version. The free to play shooter was hyped up by Sony as being part of its F2P push (which should last all of one year at this rate) – check out how it looks above.

PlanetSide 2 is essentially a massively multiplayer first person shooter in which players can choose different factions and classes to wage a full-scale war against other players in competitive multiplayer. The biggest appeal of the game is its open scale battles in which up to 2000 players can take part with ground forces, tanks, airships and fighters all scrambling for supremacy. As far as spectacles go, PlanetSide 2 is still legitimately impressive and SOE promises to support the game with content for years to come.

The problem is, PlanetSide 2 still doesn’t have a release date for PS4. It’ll be out this year though so stay tuned for more information.

Sony Online Entertainment’s PlanetSide 2 won’t require PlayStation Plus subscription to access on the PlayStation 4, echoing its free to play nature.

Creative director Matt Higby also spoke on the PS Blog about the sheer amount of content that would be added to both the PS4 and PC versions. “One of the best things about working on a game like PlanetSide 2 is that it’s a living, evolving game that’s constantly being updated and improved upon. In addition to work being done for PS4, the team is working on a lot of content and game systems enhancements to the live game.

“Some of the biggest features we’re excited to deliver in the next few months are: Hossin, our fourth full 64sqkm continent, an advanced achievement system called Directives, player-driven continent conquest/locking, and expansions to our game’s Outfits systems.”

You can look forward to more content on PlanetSide 2 for “years to come” according to Higby. How will the game look on PS4? Find out next week during E3.

Update: Added PS4 Gameplay footage.

Sony Online Entertainment’s H1Z1 will see the Star Wars Galaxies dev enter into the open world, persistent online zombie sandbox genre – one dominated by Bohemia Interactive’s DayZ. President John Smedley offered his take on the monetization processes the game would have and it boiled down to listening to fan feedback before taking any decisions

Speaking on Reddit, Smedley said, “You will be surprised to hear we have intentionally left the decisions about what to monetize until we can hear from you. This isn’t some contrived thing.. I’m being serious. It is a nearly blank slate. So the floor is open for ideas.”

He outlined a couple of points based on what SOE had discussed and essentially, weapons could not be purchased with real money, wearables are on the table, offering early access for $19.99 but the full game as free to play and a general desire to avoid having everything for free. The team also wants to avoid selling anything that could interfere with the core mission of survival.

Smedley also addressed comparisons to DayZ on Twitter, stating that, “I happen to think Day Z is an incredible game. H1Z1 wouldn’t exist if not for Day Z. I don’t want to run from that.”

Thoughts on the same? Let us know what you think in the comments.

We’ve seen action and adventure titles for Sony’s VR headset Project Morpheus so why not an MMO? Sony Online Entertainment development director David Georgeson, who is working on EverQuest Next for PC and PS4, is apparently very interested in the device.

Speaking to IGN, Georgeson stated that, “Morpheus is only for PlayStation 4. So if we’re making a PC product, obviously we’re not embracing Morpheus, unless Sony does some really cool stuff with it.

“But I mean, VR and AR are things that I personally am extremely excited about. I honestly think that’s the future of gaming. But we have a lot of miles to go before we sleep. So we need to build the game, and then we can talk about virtual reality and stuff beyond that.

“I will tell you this though: I’m hugely interested in Project Morpheus. So…we’ll see what happens.”

EverQuest Next currently has no release date. Stay tuned for more details.

EverQuest Next, the long awaited next MMORPG from the original grand daddy of the genre, has already been confirmed to be coming to the PS4- and now we know a little more about it.

Polygon reports that the PS4 version will come with a full range of social media integration that will make it easier for players to share content, working not only with Twitch, but Facebook and Twitter as well- trying to make it easier for players to connect (which, given that this is an MMORPG, is, I guess, an admirable end goal?).

“Reaching out to other people through social media…it’s a given, it’ll be in Next,” EverQuest franchise director of development Dave Georgeson said.

EverQuest Next will be releasing soon- we are learning more and more about it as it nears its eventual release. The title will be out on PC and the PlayStation 4. Stay tuned for more coverage.

Sony Online Entertainment may have its hands full managing Planetside 2 – including porting the game to the PlayStation 4 – and Everquest Next but the company still has plans for a new MMO down the line.

After teasing as much in a recent Reddit AMA, SOE president John Smedley took to Twitter to clarify just why their next game wouldn’t be a sci-fi title.

“So the SWG [Star Wars Galaxies] fans seem to hate the ideas I’ve mentioned if they aren’t in a sci-fi game. Ok. My bad I guess. thought they might like it.” He then added the reason why it wouldn’t be a sci-fi MMO. “The reason why? Sci-fi is not popular worldwide. Go to China and you’ll find it’s not real big there. not sure why exactly.”

As of now, it seems this unannounced MMO could be a free to play game. When told that most good MMOs required subscription fees, Smedley replied, “No, they don’t.” Stay tuned for more.

That’s a rather lofty claim, even if PlanetSide 2 really is just aiming to be Halo but just as an MMO. Will this attract players from the Xbox fanbase to check out the PS4? We wonder.

Regardless, Smedley revealed that PC players of PlanetSide 2 will likely stick to their own platform. For those who want to switch, Sony still hasn’t confirmed whether you’ll be able to transfer your character from PC to PS4. We’ll see how the situation develops when PlanetSide 2 launches next year. Meanwhile, the PS4 is set to launch this Friday in North America.