It's time to make plans to call in sick. We knew the Star Wars Battlefront beta would be open to all sometime in October, and now we know exactly when: October 8-12 on the PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4. The Android and iOS companion apps and desktop companion website will be available during that time, too.
During the beta weekend, everyone with an Internet connection will be able to download and play the previously-announced Hoth invasion, Tatooine survival, and Drop Zone modes. Players will be able to reach level 5 in the beta, but the level cap won't stop you from unlocking items. Progress won't carry over to the full game, though.
So that testers aren't spending precious beta-playing time downloading, EA and DICE will allow you to pre-load the game starting October 7. You won't have to register specifically for the beta, but on the PC you'll need an Origin account to do so. That shouldn't surprise anybody, since that's how all of EA's games work nowadays. That Origin download will be around 11GB, compared to 7GB for the console versions. Hopefully that extra space is used to make things extra pretty.