The official release of Diablo 4 on June 6 is still a few months away, but players will be able to preview the battle against Lilith’s minions during two open beta weekends in March. Let’s talk about what you need to do to access the beta periods and when they’ll happen.
Diablo 4 early access and open beta dates
Diablo 4 will run two open beta periods in March on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X:
- The first is for anyone who pre-ordered the game. That early access weekend runs from March 17 at 12 p.m. EDT and runs to March 20 at 3 p.m. EDT.
- The following weekend, from March 24 at 12 p.m. EDT to March 27 at 3 p.m. EDT, the open beta will be available to everyone.
How to access Diablo 4’s open beta
For everyone, both betas will require you to sign in with your Battle.net account, so you’ll need one of those if you don’t have one already.
If you pre-ordered the game digitally, you should (per Blizzard) get access to the open beta automatically on whatever platform you bought the game for.
If you pre-ordered the game elsewhere, you should have an early access code. For that, you’ll need to do a few extra steps. Log into Battle.net with your account, enter your early access code, and choose your platform. On PC, that’s all you’ll need do — you’ll be able to access the open beta on March 17. On PlayStation or Xbox, you’ll get an email shortly before the open beta with another code to redeem on the PlayStation Store or Xbox Games Store that will let you download the beta.
Alternatively, Diablo fans who are hesitant to pre-order the full game can get a beta code through KFC. Yes, the chicken people. Through March 18, customers in the U.S. who order the fast-food chain’s Double Down sandwich (or any “eligible sandwich”) through KFC’s website or the KFC app will receive a code for early beta access to Diablo 4.
What’s in the Diablo 4 open beta
The early access and open beta will give players access to the prologue and the entirety of the first act in a region called Fractured Peaks. There will also be a World Boss available to take on at “select times” during both weekends. These are very tough bosses that will require multiple players working together to take down.
There will be two options for co-op during the open beta. You can do a two-player couch co-op or a four-player online co-op. For couch co-op during the early access weekend, only one player needs to have pre-ordered (but both need Battle.net accounts linked to accounts on whatever platform you’re playing on). For online co-op during the early access weekend, all four people will need the have pre-ordered.
During the early access weekend, your character will be limited to three of the full game’s five classes — Barbarian, Rogue, and Sorcerer. The final two classes — Druid and Necromancer — will open up during the open beta weekend. Your characters are capped at Level 25, but you’ll be able to create up to 10 characters per Battle.net account.
Does Diablo 4 progress carry over to the full game?
Progress will carry over from the early access weekend to the open beta weekend, but overall beta progress won’t carry over to the full game — in fact, the characters will be deleted once the open beta is over.
There are, however, three open beta rewards that will carry over when the full game launches on June 6. They are:
- Initial Casualty Title: earned by reaching Kyovashad with one character.
- Early Voyager Title: earned by reaching Level 20 on one character.
- Beta Wolf Pack Cosmetic Item: earned by reaching Level 20 on one character.
Update (Feb. 28): This article has been updated to include information about timing, co-op functionality, and carry-over rewards.
Update (March 17): This story has been updated with information about the KFC offer and to note that the Diablo 4 early access beta weekend is now live.
