Blizzard has announced that before the release of Diablo 2: Resurrected there will be an Early Access Beta. This starts in August 2021 – over a month before the actual release.
When and where is the Early Access? The pre-beta for Diablo 2: Resurrected begins on Friday, August 13, 2021. The kickoff is at 7:00 PM German time. The beta test runs until Tuesday, August 17.
The Early Access Beta can be played on almost all supported platforms: PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5. For Early Access, you need Xbox Live Gold if you are playing on Xbox. For the release, you will also need Xbox Live Gold or PlayStation Plus to play multiplayer. PS Plus is not a requirement for Early Access.
All tests will support both multiplayer and cross-progression. Up to 8 players can play together. A beta on the Nintendo Switch is currently not planned.
How can I play Diablo 2: Resurrected earlier? To participate in the Early Access Beta, you must pre-order either Diablo 2: Resurrected or the Prime Evil Collection. Then you will receive guaranteed access.
Alternatively, you can wait for the later Open Beta without Early Access. This starts on Friday, August 20, also at 7:00 PM German time and does not require a pre-order. The Open Beta ends on August 23. Progress made during Early Access will carry over to the Open Beta. However, progress will be reset before the release.
When will Diablo 2: Resurrected be released? The official release of the Diablo 2 remaster is September 23, 2021, exactly one month after the end of the Open Beta.
5 Classes, 2 Acts
What content does the beta offer? In the beta, you can play and test the first two acts of Diablo 2. The class selection is also limited, of the 7 playable classes at launch, only 5 will be available in the beta test:
- Amazone
- Barbarian
- Sorceress
- Druid
- Paladin
The Assassin and the Necromancer will be available at launch, as well as the remaining acts of the game. You can find out more about the content here on MeinMMO: Diablo 2: Resurrected as a Remaster – Everything you need to know about the release
The tests are also not under any NDA, everything can be recorded and streamed. Controller support for the console versions should also be available, but it is still in the testing phase. So you may encounter bugs.
By the way, the remake of Diablo 2 is not just a title to watch for nostalgia:
Playing Diablo 2 for the first time after 21 years – Why is it so fascinating?
