WildStar Early Access Begins Today

Carbine Studios' has begun the early access period for their sci-fi MMORPG WildStar. Select players can jump into the game before the official launch next week.

The early access is available to anyone who pre-orders the game. This allows them to reserve their character names and - more importantly - get a headstart on leveling. This progress will be maintained when the game officially goes live for the public on June 3rd.

Carbine is celebrating WildStar's early access by inviting special guests to their Twitch channel. These guests will show off several features of the game including dungeons, housing and PvP. Here's the livestream schedule:

Saturday 10:00am-1:00pm PDT: Hot Pepper Gaming
Saturday 2:00pm-5:00pm PDT: Monika Lee
Sunday 10:00am-1:00pm PDT: Lewis and Sjin from Yogscast
Sunday 2:00pm-5:00pm PDT: Bajheera
Monday 10:00am-1:00pm PDT: MindCrack and PauseUnpause
Monday 2:00pm-5:00pm PDT: Sevadus

WildStar is set on Nexus, a planet littered with alien relics. Players will choose to join either the Exiles or Dominion, the two factions vying for control of the planet. They can also pick from eight races and six classes. A character can have one of four Paths, each with its own unique quests and rewards. For example, a Settler characters will gather materials throughout the world and use them to build structures that can provide stat bonuses.

The game comes with many of the MMORPG staples, including dungeons, PvP battlegrounds and arenas. When players hit level 50, they can team up for 20- or 40-person raids. They can also participate in Warplots, 40v40 battles in which each side must defend a customizable fortress.

Carbine held several beta weekends for WildStar throughout the year. Characters created during the game's beta phase have been wiped. However, players who participated in the test get access to the Highwayman Costume. They'll also receive three Boom-Boxes, chests of randomized loot, for each day they played the recent open beta.

WildStar buyers can choose between two packages: the $59.99 standard edition and the $74.99 digital deluxe edition. Both come with several pre-order bonuses, like the Rocket House and "Chosen of the Progenitors" in-game title. Each edition also has 30 days of gametime and 3 guest passes. The digital deluxe package gives you a hoverboard, Eldan Augmentation Costume, "Sentinel of Nexus" title, and gold/green clothing dye. Standard edition owners can upgrade to digital deluxe at a later date for $14.99.