Diablo 4 open beta start time, end date and access explained

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.

Now we’re onto the second weekend, here’s what you need to do to access the Diablo 4 beta, including start and end times.

When does the Diablo 4 open beta start?

Diablo 4’s beta is now onto its second weekend, where it will be free to access for all players on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.

The Diablo 4 open beta start times on Friday, March 24 are as follows:

• 9 a.m. PDT for the west coast of North America
• 12 p.m. EDT for the east coast of North America
• 5 p.m. CET for western Europe/Paris
• 4 p.m. GMT for the U.K.
• 1 a.m. JST on Saturday, March 25 Japan/Tokyo

Something to note is developer Blizzard has said players can expect “lengthy queue times”, particularly on the first day of the open beta launching.

As frustrating as this might sound, this is the cut and thrust of beta tests. For the developers, having a huge influx of players allows them to stress test servers, in all aid of seeing the full launch go a little more smoothly. As part of that, Blizzard has said it may “take the game offline temporarily to deploy infrastructure adjustments or fixes” as the weekend goes on.

Our advice is to try and give yourself a few opportunities to play this weekend in the event there are long queues, and not to expect to get speedy access on the Friday in particular. With that in mind — how long do you have with this beta?

When does the Diablo 4 open beta end?

If you’re planning ahead with how much time you’ll have with the open beta, it has the following end times on Monday, March 27:

• 12 a.m. PDT for the west coast of North America
• 3 p.m. EDT for the east coast of North America
• 9 p.m. CEST for western Europe/Paris
• 8 p.m. BST for the U.K.
• 4 a.m. JST on Saturday, March 25 Japan/Tokyo

Note the clocks changing in Europe from Sunday will mean the end time will be forward by one hour compared to the first weekend’s beta test end times.

How to access Diablo 4’s open beta

For the second beta weekend running March 24-27, players across all platforms have free and open access.

The only caveat is you need to sign in with your Battle.net account — as per the first beta weekend — so you’ll need one of those if you don’t have one already.

How did access to the first beta weekend work? If you pre-ordered the game digitally, access to the open beta was granted automatically on whatever platform you bought the game for. If you pre-ordered the game elsewhere, you received an early access code.

Alternatively, Diablo fans who were hesitant to pre-order the full game could 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 received 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.

Image: Blizzard Entertainment

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.

Update (March 24): Added details of the expected queue times for the second beta weekend, as well as reformatting to show specific start and end times across regions.