PS5 owners can register to participate in the PS5 System Software Beta Program.

Sony has run similar public beta programs for PlayStation consoles in the past, but this one is particularly significant. This time is especially important because many people have reported serious problems with the PS5, including problems transferring data to external hard drives and crashes or serious errors when the console is in rest mode.

Some of these issues have been addressed by system updates that Sony has been releasing with a steady frequency over the past few months, but there is still much room for improvement.

To participate in the PS5 system software beta program, you must be a PlayStation Network account holder over the age of 18 residing in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, or Japan. Of course, they must also own a PS5, a console that has been notoriously difficult to obtain since its debut in December 2020.

Restocking of the PS5 is a regular occurrence at major retailers, but even then inventory seems to sell out quickly. However, with Amazon Prime Day coming up next week, we are likely to see a new influx of PS5 hardware. We won't know for sure until the deals start flying in, but it's possible that these retailers will have PS5 in stock for Prime Day.

If you get a PS5 and sign up to participate in the system software beta, you still may not be invited: according to Sony, those who wish to participate in the beta will be selected from those who register and download a specific beta version of the system software in advance They will be emailed directly with instructions on how to do so.

While one should always be cautious about installing unfinished software on hardware one owns, these "beta versions" are probably a safe bet. Given that Sony has graciously agreed to release the software to public consoles and is offering testers the option to roll the PS5 into the latest official system software release, it will probably be fairly close to the final version of the software. Still, there is no harm in backing up the PS5 to external storage!