Along with a typical 12 character code to redeem on the PlayStation Store, players are given access to PlayStation All-Stars' beta message boards to leave feedback about the game for the developer, SuperBot Entertainment.
As for what the beta is aiming to learn, “The focus of this private beta will be to stress-test the sever’s load capability and in-game features.” As such, “Please note that the PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale close beta is a testing program for a work in progress. The game you play today is not indicative of the quality of the final product or its ultimate performance, frame rate, effects, or feature set.”
As seen in the image taken from the e-mail below, the beta has two sets of dates and times right now in which it will be active: tomorrow, Friday, July 27th at noon until Saturday, July 28th at 11:59pm PT, and Friday, August 3rd at noon until Saturday, August 4th at 11:59pm PT. (Word on Twitter is that the beta is live early. Whether the beta stays live before it's supposed to be up remains to be seen.)
There's nothing in the e-mail to indicate who can expect to get a beta code, or why. But it's safe to assume you have to be a PlayStation Plus member and be active in the online PlayStation community (as has been the case with previous betas). Colin Moriarty is an IGN PlayStation editor. You can follow him on Twitter and IGN and learn just how sad the life of a New York Islanders and New York Jets fan can be.