On Monday, Bungie fired up the long-awaited multiplayer beta for what will likely be its last Halo game, Halo: Reach. Within hours, the newly Activision-allied studio reported a record turnout had overwhelmed some of its servers.

　　Over 1 million players have been tickled by shrapnel in the Halo Reach MP beta.

　　Less than 24 hours later, Bungie revealed exactly how big the beta's first-day turnout was. "We had over 1 million unique players login to the Reach beta," the studio announced via Twitter. It also promised that it had rectified many of its server issues and the beta experience should be "smoother" as the week progressed. The developer expects over 3 million people to play the beta before it ends on May 19.

　　The Halo: Reach beta can be accessed through the menu of last year's hit shooter Halo 3: ODST. It will initially include three different playlists that players can experiment with. While a variety of new and old match types will be covered, the playlists will feature the game's new four-on-four Team Deathmatch Arena mode. Bungie will add in a fourth playlist, which focuses on large-scale Spartan vs. Elite matches and introduces the "Generator Defense" match type on May 14.

　　For most of the beta, access will be limited to Xbox Live Gold subscribers, as is typical for multiplayer gameplay on the Xbox 360. However, Xbox Live Silver members will get a chance to play the Reach beta (as well as Halo 3 and Halo 3: ODST) online for free from 9 a.m. PDT on May 14 through 9 a.m. PDT on May 17.

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