Airframe Ultra Demo, Playtest, and Open Beta
Steam lists a demo. Closed tests used Discord. 2026 public tests used Demo or Join the Playtest.
Airframe Ultra is coming soon, but Steam lists a demo on the store page for app 2522120. The demo itself is Steam app 3434860. Videocult and Akupara keep flipping that slot: character creator, tutorial circuit, or a full-track playtest, depending on the weekend. The button labeled Demo or Join the Playtest is a pipe, not a frozen product.
This page covers how to join a test, what the February 2026 Next Fest open beta included, and the later 2026 windows — Megacity Open in June and Desperada in September. Older closed weekends live in Beta History. Hardware is on System Requirements. If you are about to install, pair this with Getting Started and the demo guide.
How to join a playtest
There have been two doors.
Steam Join the Playtest / demo download. During public windows you open the Airframe Ultra Steam page, use Demo or Join the Playtest, let Steam install app 3434860, and boot it. The February 2026 open beta used this path: no sign-up form, no Discord role, no key mailer. June and September 2026 reused Join the Playtest the same way.
Discord, historically. Closed betas 1–4 were weekend events for people who signed up on the official Discord. Announcements pointed at a Google form, testers got a build, then a survey after servers closed. If a future closed test returns, that Discord is still where the form appears. Bookmark it from the Links Hub.
Wishlist the full game either way. Playtest posts also go up as Steam news, so a store follow is enough if you do not want another chat app. Demos and playtests can be downloaded when a test is open. When the window closes, the button can linger as a tutorial-only install.
What the February 2026 open beta included
The first open beta ran February 23 through March 2, 2026, ending 9am PST on March 2. It overlapped Steam Next Fest. Servers were public. The download was the same demo listing players already had on their account.
Tracks: all courses from previous betas, plus the Warehouse lobby. Named in the Steam post: Oceandrive, Chasm, Nightride, Stormdrain, Quarry, Estate. Warehouse is the hangout and vote space, not a secret seventh circuit. Course notes live in the tracks guide.
Systems testers had asked for since the first closed weekend landed in one build:
- Rebindable keys. Keyboard players could stop fighting the default map. A gamepad is still recommended for steering; see controls and system requirements.
- Voting. After a race, you walk to pads in Warehouse. Two random tracks appear. A tie is broken at random. Testers later asked for a menu instead of pads.
- Circuits. A circuit is three races. Points carry. Recap rule: you must win at least one race to take the circuit even if you lead on points. Single races were pulled for that test and will return at launch.
Online matchmaking was the public path that week. Split-screen is still part of the game; do not write the title off as online-only because a Next Fest queue was busy. Likewise, do not write it off as local-only because an older demo package hid the online button. Both online PvP / co-op and split-screen exist. Which ones a given download exposes depends on the build in the demo slot.
Tutorial-only vs full-track demo
The store uses one Demo button for several packages, which is why the argument never dies.
- Character creator demo (2024). Sculpt a rider, share screenshots. No Ultra Circuit, no public lobby.
- Tutorial / limited Steam demo (2025). A short on-ramp: four airframes, a pipe, maybe one practice circuit. A mid-2025 developer reply that the demo was tutorial-only was true for that build.
- Open beta demo (February 2026). Same store control, different payload: every prior track, voting, circuits, rebinds, online play. People who skipped the store because a friend said “it is only a tutorial” missed Next Fest.
If you install today and only get a tutorial, you are not blocked. A public race weekend may be over and the slot may have rolled back. Check Steam news before assuming the game shrank.
June Megacity Open and September Desperada
June 26–29, 2026 was Megacity Open / Weekend Megacity West. Join the Playtest on the store page. Akupara streamed Friday and Monday at 10am PST on twitch.tv/akuparagames and asked for clips. Full write-up: Megacity Open.
September 3, 2026 opened Steam’s Beta 5: Desperada Join the Playtest: new progression, shops, bike building, and a new rider. The window ends Monday 9am PST after that post. Community pages had already used “Beta 5” for the February Next Fest open beta. Those are different tests. Desperada details: Desperada Playtest. Josh’s August answers on cosmetics and maps: Josh Q&A.
Create a rider, pick Bluntnose unless you want a specialist, and sketch a kit in the loadout planner before you queue. Report crashes on the official bug tracker from Links. The Mix Fanfest trailer above is tone, not a changelog. Airframe Ultra remains coming soon. The February 2026 open beta is still the fullest public atlas; Desperada is the garage test that followed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers for racers still learning Megacity West.
How do I join an Airframe Ultra playtest?
For public tests, open the Steam store page and use Demo or Join the Playtest. Closed tests historically required a Discord sign-up form. Wishlist the game and watch Steam news so you do not miss the next window.
Is the Steam demo only a tutorial?
Sometimes. The demo slot has held a character creator, a tutorial-only package, the February 2026 open beta, Megacity Open, and Desperada. Check the news post for the current build.
What did the February 2026 open beta include?
All tracks from previous betas (Oceandrive, Chasm, Nightride, Stormdrain, Quarry, Estate) plus Warehouse, rebindable keys, track voting, and circuits of three races with points that carry. It ran February 23 to 9am PST March 2, 2026.
What were Megacity Open and Desperada?
Megacity Open was the June 26–29 2026 Join the Playtest with Twitch bookends. Desperada is the September 2026 Join the Playtest with shops, bike building, and a new rider. Neither is the Next Fest open beta.
Can I play online and split-screen in the demo?
The game includes online PvP, online co-op, and split-screen. A specific demo build may expose one, both, or a tutorial-only menu. Public 2026 tests were the big online weeks.
A playtest ended. Can I still download something?
Steam can still list the demo. What that install contains depends on whether the team left a tutorial, creator, or later playtest build in the slot. Check the store page and Steam news.