The first part of Diablo 4’s pre-release beta is about to get started. First up is the Diablo 4 Early Access beta, which is available on PlayStation 5 and PS4, Xbox Series X/S and Windows PC. The Early Access beta has a March 17 release date and a 4pm GMT UK launch time. It ends just a few days later on March 19 at 7pm GMT. Unfortunately, however, the Early Access beta is only available to pre-order customers. If you haven’t pre-ordered the game, you can play during the Open Beta a week later.
Available on consoles and PC, the Open Beta has a March 24 release date and a 4pm GMT UK launch time.
With the clocks going forward next weekend, the Open Beta will finish at 8pm BST on March 27.
To ensure you don’t miss a second of the action, pe-order customers can download the Beta now.
Pre-loading for the Open Beta will be available from 4m GMT on the afternoon of March 22.
To pre-load the Beta on PC, simply launch the Battle.net client and search for the Diablo 4 Game Page. From then, users are encouraged to click the dropdown menu under Game Version and select the Diablo 4 – Beta option. You can then click the blue button to install the beta.
It’s even more straightforward on Xbox and PlayStation, where users simply search for the Beta in the Store and select download.
In terms of content, the Diablo 4 Beta includes the Prologue and entirety of Act 1 from the campaign.
This includes the brand new Fractured Peaks location, which can be explored with three different character classes up to level 25.
According to Blizzard, players can “clear hellish hordes from dungeons”, complete quests provided by locals, and amass “powerful loot from fallen foes”.
The perfect opportunity to figure out your starting class when the game launches in June, the beta kicks off with the Barbarian, Rogue and Sorcerer characters.
Two addition character classes will be added to the Open Beta, as the earthen Druid and undead-wielding Necromancer join the party.
Finally, the Early Access and Open Betas will both support two-player couch co-op, and four-person online multiplayer.
