Essentially the topic. I mean when Green Ronin puts out their playtests they do so for free. I'm very interested in this game but not sure I want to pay for a bunch of fluffless crunch that I'll have to re-purchase in a few months anyway.

I´m not sure about this one too. 20$ for a beta-pdf? At least now we can have a closer look at the contents of Only War. You just have to look at the preview-pdf on drivethru, wich shows us the whole table of conent! :) 

 No it's not worth it. It's not even sane, unless they're going to provide the final product for free after it's release. I would assume that a company would appreciate the value of having a larger set of eyes look for rules inconsistencies, without having to pay them. But charging them money, for the honour of helping to polish their final, for-profit, retail product? $20 may not actually be much money, but it's a huge slap in the face.

Just my immediate gut reaction. I won't be paying $20 to test an unfinished product, and after this, I probably won't be paying for the final book.

There is a similar thread in General Discussion, so I'll just paste what I put there.

I share this gentleman's concerns. I was extremely fired up when I saw the open beta advert! But with a $20 tag?

That's no open beta I recognize!

Unless there is some benefit to dropping $20, for a beta no less, then I shall stay clear. Which is a great shame as I'm extremely keen on 40k, have all the other 40k RPG's and have been an active(ish) member of the DW community and provided player and gm aids free of charge and in my own time.

An open beta is a great notion, regardless. Mayhap the spelling shall improve at release

-Durandal
 

Outrageous. Absolutely outrageous.

Charing people to playtest your game is beyond inexcusable. After this I shall certainly be reconsidering my decision to buy this in final form. I think this decision needs to be reconsidered at the earliest opportunity, FFG are showing themselves to be either very greedy (and with commensurate disrespect for their fans) or they are short of cash, in which case I would prefer honesty.

I have spent a lot of money on 40k books and I am more than happy that I have done so,e ven with the issues that I have with their approach to these games. However this is disgraceful.

 Even Wizards isn't stupid enough to try to charge for their playtest. Pathfinder, Dungeon Crawl Classics, and many others have had free public playtests. I'd love to help FFG out, but I'm not going to pay $20 to do work for them.

 The only Beta rules for any game that I have seen charged for were the Battletech RPG (A time of War) from Catalyst games, but at least they only charged $10 and game a free upgrade to the final product once it was out.

 Major lurker here, having to speak up about this. I own roughly every 40k rpg product out thus far. When I saw this update I was so excited, as frankly though I liked the rules changes in Black Crusade I have no interest in playing as a heretic, and would much rather get a chance to be the Imperium's human shield. There is no chance I will pay 20 bucks to be part of a beta test though without some kind of benefit. Something like a 20 dollar discount on the full product when it releases on RPGnow or drivethrurpg would be acceptable. Too bad as I would have loved to test the hell out of this thing. 

 I think $20,- is a bit much…$10,- would have been better…

Just chiming in to agree, was very excited to get the chance to help ensure the new rules were the very best and most fun they could be but paying to beta test it is insane. If it was $20 off the final version I could maybe see it, effectively pre-order and help make the game great, $25 off or something then fantastic, they get pre-orders, they get a ton of beta testers and the testers get a small thank you for investing so much effort.

This really shakes my faith in both FFGs common sense and their care for their customers.

Edit: Just saw this, could have sworn it wasn't there initially.

As an added benefit, anyone who downloads the Only War beta from drivethrurpg.com or rpgnow.com will receive a $20 discount on the pdf version of the Only War Core Rulebook when it becomes available in the fall. Simply download the beta, and when the full rulebook goes live in a few months, you’ll receive the necessary coupon code for use on drivethrurpg.com or rpgnow.com.

 Just received info about the beta on my mail. When I clicked the link and saw a price tag, I thought it's a scam. Sadly, it seems it's legit. Absolutely insane if you ask me.

Suthainn said:

I don't think it was. Or at least I completely glossed over it somehow. That makes it much more acceptable. Turns it into a preorder with beta access instead of paying to playtest.

Hello all,

We understand your concerns regarding the cost of the Only War beta, and would like to clarify a few important points:

• The Only War beta is a complete, 256-page playable version of Only War; the only difference is that it omits certain art pieces and background “flavor” that will be present in the final version. This product has already undergone extensive development, playtesting, and refinement, and we have no doubt that it’s ready to provide hours of enjoyment.
• Of course, you should also bear in mind that Only War beta test participants have an opportunity to experience the game months before they otherwise would.
• Finally, as an added benefit, anyone who downloads the Only War beta from drivethrurpg.com or rpgnow.com will receive a $20 discount on the pdf version of the Only War Core Rulebook when it becomes available in the fall. Simply download the beta, and when the electronic version of the full rulebook goes live in a few months, you’ll receive the necessary coupon code for use on drivethrurpg.com or rpgnow.com.

As always, thanks for your support!

 I have to say, charging for a beta is pretty misleading. If this exists to allow people to help refine the final product, it shouldn't be charged for. If the purpose is instead an early, barebones release, then this cost is fine.

If it is actually a beta, then the idea of charging for it (and limiting the amount of people who can include input) is pretty nonsensical.

ffgMark said:

If i was a bricks and mortar retailer i'd be very cheesed off at this. The only way you benefit from this (and you don't really benefit since you are paying no less than you would if you just rbought th epdf anyway) is if you buy digitally, bypassing the traditional retail sector of our hobby. The sort of people that we presumably want to keep in business where we can. What a kick in the nuts. Was this even considered when you conceived this daft plan ffg?