For as much as $450, you can buy access to the upcoming Elden Ring Network Test on Ebay, where sellers are putting codes up for sale and people are buying them up like they're 30-series graphics cards.
The limited-time Elden Ring Network Test doesn't run until this weekend and sign ups for it are now closed. But the excitement for it and its scarce availability is worth real money to several people, with listings ranging in price from $20 to $400. The sellers promise (hopefully it's not a scam!) to share the code to download the early version of the game on consoles or give buyers access to their PlayStation and Xbox accounts with it already available to install.
One listing in particular was sold for $450 for a PS5 US region code. "I decided to sell because I was fortunate enough to be selected to participate in the test myself," the seller, who goes by Andrew, told us.
"My sibling also was selected and I had the idea to sell the code (which is currently still available as of my writing this for $355) as I was recently laid off work and am struggling to pay bills. I also had someone reach out to me on Ebay and ask if I would sell their code and we would split the cash (this is the code that sold for $450)."
$450 is more money than it costs to buy one of the Elden Ring Collector's Editions, which are unsurprisingly sold out everywhere. That's a lot to pay for a tiny bit of time with a massive, open world game. But it's not stopping people who need their hands on it as soon as possible before the game is out in February.
"I am blown away that some people are willing to pay so much for this limited network test," Andrew added, "but not completely surprised because I know that this is a very highly anticipated game, and some people have the financial flexibility to be able to spend this kind of money."
The Elden Ring Network test takes place from November 12 to November 14. You can play it for three hours at a time across five different sessions. Wes played it for several hours and broke down what parts he liked and what parts he wasn't so hot on. He especially enjoyed the Spectral Steed, the horse you can ride through the world, calling its ability to double jump "ridiculous," and "easily the best thing about Elden Ring's new open world."
