Sci-fi MMO Cinder City is opening sign-ups for a pre-alpha playtest, giving players their first chance to try the game and, notably, to see how demanding it really is on their computer's memory. The title had drawn attention after its developers initially listed a steep 64GB of RAM as the recommended requirement, a figure later halved to 32GB, which remains high for an unreleased game. The playtest offers an early opportunity to judge whether the game's performance justifies such requirements.

The playtest runs from 14 to 16 August, but is restricted to participants aged 16 or over who are based in the US, meaning many prospective players elsewhere will be unable to take part. Cinder City is a PvE open-world multiplayer shooter set in a near-future Seoul, in which players take on the role of "Cinderknights" battling monstrous threats following a mysterious incident, with dungeons and raids among its planned content. No release date has yet been announced.