Beta
A beta is any software still under development made available to a few during a software release life cycle to test, examine, and report problems. Beta testing allows developers to find problems they may have missed and fix them before the program is released.
Software in this stage of development may be called betaware.
Closed beta vs. open beta
Often, there are two beta testing phases: OB (Open Beta) and CB (Closed Beta). An open beta, also known as a public beta, is beta testing open to anyone; those testing are called beta testers. Closed beta (private beta) is beta testing only available to a few individuals or company employees.
How to be a beta tester
Many games (especially online games) in the final stages of development have an open beta for several months, allowing anyone interested to play and report problems. Becoming a beta tester for any program or game requires either registration or sometimes only a download of the program from the company's website.
Why is it called beta?
Beta is the second letter of the Greek alphabet (after alpha).
What is a public preview?
A public preview is another name for a beta. With a public preview, the software or product is introduced to members or everyone as a trial before it's officially released. This preview helps the developers see how it performs when several people around the world are using the product at the same time. This trial period also lets those using the product know it's still being developed and tested.
Should you pay for beta access?
Generally, most developers don't charge for beta access. If you find a beta key on a site like eBay or someone on Discord is selling their beta access, be cautious; it's most likely a scam. Scam artists may sell fake copies of a beta program or fake or disabled activation codes to unsuspecting people wanting to play a game before any of their friends.
Games being developed with the community's support may charge for beta access. In these situations, you should only purchase the access from the developer. Never pay for beta access from a third party.
Alpha, CB, Early access, Feature complete, Fuzz testing, GA, Game terms, ProtoType, Release candidate, Software, Test, Trial software, Ware