Though Halo 5: Guardians won't be released until late next year, members of the Xbox One preview program are getting an awesome stocking stuffer several days before Christmas arrives.

As The Verge reports, people who are currently members of the Xbox One preview program should get automated messages at some point tomorrow that contain a pair of codes. The codes will allow them to download and play the Halo 5 multiplayer beta. Access to the beta is only available via an invite, and the messages will contain this invite. In other words, there won't be any way to manually obtain access ot the Halo 5: Guardians beta without receiving an invite to download and play the game. 

Unfortunately, access to the beta will only be granted for a limited time. The Halo 5 beta will reportedly be playable starting December 19 at 4 p.m. ET. This window will close on December 22 at 3 a.m. ET. 

After that, Halo fans will have to wait until December 29th to enjoy more Halo 5 goodness. That's when a multiplayer beta will be launched to the public. 

Halo 5: Guardians was initially announced at E3 2013. Bonnie Ross, who is developing Halo 5: Guardians at 343 Industries, announced that the game would be launched sometime towards the end of 2015 in this blog post back in May of this year.

"It's a game that will hopefully demonstrate the talent, learnings and abilities of the 343 Industries team," Ross said of Halo 5: Guardians. "A game that will incorporate the things we learned from "Halo 4" about technology, aesthetics, performance and scale - and perhaps more importantly, understanding and embracing a community of gamers who love what lies at the heart of this game, and the limitless potential of the "Halo" universe."

Until then, if you're an Xbox One preview member, you've got a lot to look forward to tomorrow.