Diablo fans are in for a surprise, the long-awaited sequel to everyone’s favourite dungeon crawler will be playable next month, as Blizzard confirms open beta tests for Diablo IV in March.
Blizzard announced the auspicious occasion at the IGN Fan Fest, complete with a brand-new opening in-game cinematic trailer, sure to get even the most sceptic fans excited.
The run time is about four-minutes-long and doesn’t show much to be honest, yet boy does it look gorgeous! The cinematic is set against a cold-and-dreary blizzard, where we get to see a custom-designed character travel on horseback before night falls and things get messy, transitioning straight into gameplay view. Yes, Blizzard says there will be multiple cutscenes like these peppered throughout its 30+ hour campaign that features your very own carefully crafted avatar as the central character. Epic.
Beta players will thankfully get to experience the new cinematics, epic dungeons and in-depth character creator in a prologue episode that takes place in what is known as the ‘Fractured Peaks’ zone. Characters will be able to level all the way up to 25, and will able to complete all the main and side quests, as well as dungeons over the course of the weekend.
Finally, getting down to the nitty gritty, the open beta is split into two weekends, one beginning March 17 through March 19 for those who pre-ordered and a follow-up weekend from March 24 to March 26, open to all players. No worries, all those who jump straight into the early access weekend will have their progress saved and transferred between the two beta weekends. For the sake of fairness, beta progress will not carry over to the final game.
Diablo IV officially releases June 6 and will arrive on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and PC. The beta will be available on all platforms, so be sure to keep an eye out if you want to get a feel for the game.
Already have a beta early access code? Head on over to diablo.com/beta for redemption instructions.
