How to play Diablo 4’s Open Beta

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 Open Beta(s) and when they’ll happen.

Diablo 4 Early Access and Open Beta dates

Diablo 4 will run two Open Beta periods in March 2023 on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S and 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 Open 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 or Xbox store that will let you download the beta.

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.

Progress will carry over from the Early Access weekend to the Open Beta weekend, but progress won’t carry over to the full game — in fact, the characters will be deleted once the Open Beta is over.

A preview image of the Diablo 4 Beta Wolf Pack cosmetic item that is a backpack on a frame made out of golden antlers and holding a black wolf pup who is covered up by a little blankie and is clearly a very good boy.
If you are reading this, you are legally required to go earn this good boy.
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.