Namco announced awhile back that they would be launching a beta for Dark Souls 2 on the PlayStation 3 this October and they expect that you will be able to purchase the game in March 2014. Well, now Namco has revealed exactly when fans in North America, Australia and Europe can join in the beta. That would be October 12.
The Dark Souls 2 beta will happen in rounds, with the first round starting on October 12. The second round is October 27. If you want to take part in Dark Souls 2′s beta, you can go to the PlayStation Network website to register.
I guess you could consider it practice for the real game. Get ready to die over and over again.
Source Ubergizmo