Public Test Universe

The Public Test Universe (PTU) is an environment which is nearly identical to the current "live" version of the game. It exists to allow public testing of new and unstable patches, bug fixes, and content additions that are not yet ready to be released. PTU testing happens after internal QA testing. It is introduced on December 19th, 2014 with the release of Star Citizen Patch V1.0.0 (Arena Commander 1.0).

Invite waves
Once a PTU build is stabilized and features are completed, that build will be rolled out to a wider audience (aka a new wave). Each newer wave includes the participants of the older waves. The current PTU release format is as follows:


 * Evocati (Wave 0): The smallest group of testers who help to get early bugs reported in the most unstable build. Picked from Issue Council posters with multiple submissions or contributions and from the most active PTU testers. These players are bound to a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) and therefore cannot stream gameplay, spread pictures or openly speak about their participation.
 * Subs and Concierge Wave (Wave 1): All RSI accounts that are active subscribers and Concierge members are invited to join the PTU testing in this wave. The previous wave's NDA is lifted.
 * Active Participation Wave (Wave 2): Any players that have been very active and involved on the Issue Council, plus players with the highest amount of playtime across all game modes.
 * Open PTU (Wave 3): The PTU servers and access will be opened to all backers with a game package.