Get a sneak peek at the cross-platform MMO that runs alongside the upcoming SyFy television series by throwing your name in for Defiance’s Advanced Mission Beta 1.

Players brave the many dangers of Defiance’s near-future San Francisco as genetically modified “ark hunters.” Mutated beasts roam the transformed landscape, alien sentinels stand watch over mysterious artifacts, and hostile humans open fire on anyone they don’t recognize. The unbelievable prices that pieces of recovered alien technology command make it all worthwhile for the ark hunters who make it back alive, though.

This first beta – available unsurprisingly only on PC, though the final game is set for PS3 and Xbox 360 as well – encompasses the tutorial, the Mt. Tam setting, one competitive multiplayer map, the Shadow War open-world PvP, and Arkfall cooperative boss fight. Sign up at the in-fiction Von Bach Industries website to punch your ticket to alien shootin’, 2013 style. See the trailer for the TV series below for a look at the world the MMO co-habitates, or maybe even read my hands-on impressions from last year's E3 if you're feeling particularly saucy.