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How to Join a Steam Playtest and Check Whether You Got Access

Request access from the game’s Steam store page, then check that page or your email for admission. A granted place does not mean the Playtest build is currently playable.
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To join a Steam Playtest, open the game’s main Steam store page and choose its Playtest signup option. If signups are limited, that requests access—it does not mean you have been admitted. Check your status on the same store page, and remember that access does not guarantee the build is currently playable.

How to request access to a Steam Playtest

  1. Open the Steam store page for the game you want to test. The signup appears on the base game’s page; the Playtest does not have a separate store page. Steamworks Playtest documentation

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  2. Choose the Playtest signup option, labeled “Join the Playtest” in Steam’s documentation, and request access.

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  3. Check the signup type. With limited signup—the default—you are placed in the request pool and must wait for the developer to admit players in batches. With open signup, requesting access automatically adds you. If the developer changes limited signup to open, pending requests are accepted, generally beginning within a few minutes. Steamworks Playtest documentation

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How to check whether you got access

Return to the base game’s Steam store page and look for your Playtest status. Steam also emails you when you are added to a Playtest you requested. For limited signup, admission is selected randomly from the request pool; developers may also restrict admission by country for server capacity or latency reasons. Steamworks Playtest documentation

Why access may not let you launch the Playtest

Admission and build availability are separate. A developer can accept signups while the build is not playable, or keep a build playable while closing signup to new players. Steam does not email you when playability changes, so check the game’s Steam announcements for timing and availability updates. Steamworks Playtest documentation

If there is no signup option

The developer may have hidden or disabled signups, or may be distributing access through Steam Playtest keys instead. A key supplied by the developer is an alternative way to access the Playtest; it is not automatically revoked just because the app is marked not playable, though the build still must be playable to launch. Steamworks Playtest documentation

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Steam says Playtests are free and that access or keys must not be sold. Do not pay a third party for a signup or key. Testing On Steam documentation

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What a Steam Playtest does not change

Steam Playtest is separate from the base game for records such as playtime and wishlist. The signup is for the test app, not a purchase of the full game. Steamworks Playtest documentation

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