Today marks the start of the open beta for ArcheAge Chronicles as part of a demo on Steam. MeinMMO is live on site and will tell you when you can play.
Monday, 19.10.2026
19:30
According to steamdb.info, there are currently over 16,000 players in the demo. Furthermore, it seems there are no major issues. I will now log off and focus on playing and recording. We will get back to you later this week with a report on our experience. Have fun with ArcheAge Chronicles and have a great evening!
18:53
The tutorial is completed and so far no issues. How is it going for you?
18:28
WARNING: We were able to select a server and start character creation!
18:25
The download is complete. Shader compilation is currently running. But theoretically, there are still 35 minutes until the demo starts.
18:02
On Steam you can now download the demo for ArcheAge Chronicles. Our client is 38.1 GB in size.
17:45
At 19:00 CEST, the Steam Next Fest starts, along with the demo for ArcheAge Chronicles.
Currently, it seems there will be no preload, and the demo will only be unlocked upon start.
You should free up about 50 GB of space on your hard drive.
16:06
Just under 3 hours until the demo goes live. So far, you cannot download it yet.
We are keeping an eye out for you to see if you can download it some time before or if we have to wait until 19:00 CEST. Since the Steam Next Fest also starts at 19:00, it is likely that the demo will only appear then.
14:56
Unfortunately, there is still no way to download the test version of ArcheAge Chronicles. However, the developers have already revealed on Steam which changes they have made compared to the last test – we have translated the section for you:
- Classes with gender lock: In my last letter, I mentioned that we would continue to review this topic. Since then, we have received even more feedback on this and I am pleased to announce that development is now underway. We plan to gradually introduce additional gender options for selected classes, instead of all classes at once. These changes will not be ready for the demo at the Steam Next Fest, but we will report more about the process as soon as possible.
- Synchronization and facial animations: Both were missing in the version of the network test and are now fully integrated. This gives the characters and dialogues of the game a more cohesive presentation.
- Audio: The network loading version still needed refinement in sound, leading to issues such as repeating combat sound effects and a lack of depth in overall sound. We have since made significant improvements.
- Group play: We have added the sharing of quest progress for group members, improved the logic with which group members can join the same channel, and fixed several bugs that could occur when exploring points of interest (POIs) together.
- Navigation in POIs and dungeons: Finding your way is an important part of exploration, and we want players to have the freedom to figure things out for themselves. However, some paths and cues were harder to recognize than intended. We have made them clearer and added a guide that explains how hints are displayed. This way, you can better understand the available information without losing the sense of discovery.
- PvP channel: We wanted more players to experience PvP during the demo. Therefore, we have lowered the access requirements so you can access a PvP channel much earlier than usual.
- Further corrections and improvements: We have fixed collision issues when climbing ladders, improved hit detection on attacks, added missing translations, corrected flickering visual effects, and made a number of other improvements.
14:00
Hello everyone! Today is the day: All interested parties can dive into ArcheAge Chronicles for an entire week.
The start is at 19:00 CEST on Steam.
You can simply download the demo there as soon as it is available.
So you don’t need any additional access, but can just get started. Provided the servers and launch go smoothly.
We will also be live for you and report how it goes, when you can play, and if there are delays.
Arche Age Chronicles: The most important information about the open beta at a glance
When can you play the demo? You can play the demo from October 19, 19:00 CEST to October 26, 2026, 19:00 CEST as part of the Steam Next Fest.
How to participate? You can simply download the demo during the open beta phase via the Steam page. You don’t have to register anywhere and can just jump in.
What content is playable? You can explore a part of the Diamond Shores, one of the earlier areas of the game. While housing and trading are not included in the demo, you can try out PvP content for the first time.
In total, however, you should expect a very limited scope and be prepared for some features to be missing or bugs to occur.
In the demo, you will also be able to try out the classes. They may not seem special at first, but they have some tricks up their sleeve. Especially the specializations are particularly exciting: ArcheAge Chronicles presents new classes, look 0815, but the specializations make the difference
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