Konami plans to launch Metal Gear Online, the competitive multiplayer component for Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain, for the Windows PC version of the game on Jan. 12 in open beta.

Metal Gear Online community manager Robert Allen Peeler announced the beta launch for Metal Gear Online, which has been live for the console versions of the game since October, during a Twitch stream.

Peeler said Konami is releasing MGO for The Phantom Pain in a "small beta" in order to "test out the game via Steam." Konami expects the online mode to go live around 10 p.m. PT on Tuesday, though Peeler warned that the launch may slip by a few hours. Players will need to opt in to the beta through Metal Gear Solid 5 in order to participate.

Metal Gear Online brings three competitive multiplayer modes to The Phantom Pain: Bounty Hunter, Comms Control and Cloak and Dagger. You can read our impressions of MGO in Polygon's review update for The Phantom Pain.