Steam news6 min
Northgard Battlegrounds: launch prices, demo changes and buying checks
BeamNG.drive now has built-in local split-screen on PS5 and PC. Before inviting friends or returning to Career Mode, check more than the launch announcement: the 22 October hotfixes address wheel controls and a problem that could stop further progress from saving.
The important addition is playing together locally, not merely taking turns at one wheel. There are seven structured split-screen modes: Race, Drag Race, Pursuit, Derby, Drift, Rock Crawling and Soccer. Freeroam is the alternative when exploring or experimenting matters more than a score. Choose the activity first: a short competitive round and an open-ended driving session ask different things of your group.
PS5 launched on 19 October, but it did not launch with mod support or VR. BeamNG says it wants platform parity where possible, without confirming its eventual scope or timing. If a particular community vehicle, map or headset setup is your reason to play, do not treat that ambition as a promised console feature. Choose on present capabilities, not an assumed future update.
The US PlayStation Store lists the PS5 game at US$24.99, with offline play and one to four players. That is a US storefront price, not a currency-conversion guide for Europe or Asia. The listing also identifies the game as Early Access and includes screen languages such as French, German, Japanese, Korean, Chinese and Spanish. Check your own regional listing for price and language details before paying; screen-language support should not be read as a promise of dubbed dialogue.
On PC, Steam lists modding and a level editor. It also lists Remote Play Together, which should not be mistaken for PS5-to-PC crossplay. Its requirements specify 16GB RAM minimum, 32GB recommended and 60GB available storage; mods can need additional space. The recommended configuration targets 1080p. Those figures are a starting point for checking a computer, not a certified specification for a large split-screen gathering. Leave time to test your intended map and player count rather than making the first check when guests arrive.
PC’s 64-player ceiling depends on suitable hardware and devices, not just enough friends. The game warns about sustained framerates below 25fps in Freeroam and split-screen. If it struggles, simplify the session instead of treating the maximum as a performance guarantee.
The newest official notes checked here are for 0.40.3, dated 22 October. They describe a fix for Career Mode being unable to save further progress, plus a Vue interface memory-leak fix. For a returning player, the saving issue deserves attention before a long session. Check the update offered on your platform, then confirm that a short test session saves correctly. The notes do not promise recovery of progress that was never saved, and their publication date alone does not establish identical rollout timing on every platform.
If an updated PC installation still misbehaves, the official launcher offers Support Tools, then Safe Mode. This uses a temporary empty User folder, leaving your normal mods, settings and saved configurations out of the test. Changes made during that session are not saved. Use it to investigate, not to make progress you expect to keep. A problem disappearing there points towards the normal user-folder contents; it does not, by itself, identify which mod or setting caused it.
Start with a clear description: which platform, game version, controller, map and action trigger the problem? Change one thing at a time, then repeat the same test. That produces a more useful report than saying multiplayer is broken after several unrelated adjustments. For another example of separating connection features from progress transfer, see the PEAK crossplay and cross-save explainer.
This is an explanation of official release and support information, not a hands-on performance review. It cannot tell you how smoothly your preferred combination of vehicles, controllers and display settings will run. Nor does the console launch turn an Early Access game into a finished product. If you need a predictable group-night setup, test a small session first. If your purchase depends on unannounced console features, wait for confirmation rather than buying on expectation.
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