When does the Diablo 4 open beta start and end?

The official edition of Diablo 4 on June 6 is still a few months away, but players can for two open beta weekends in March.

Now we’re into 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 4The beta is now entering its second weekend, where it will be free to 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 am PDT off the west coast of North America
• 12 noon EDT off the east coast of North America
• 5 p.m. MET for Western Europe/Paris
• 16:00 GMT for the UK
• 1 a.m. JST on Saturday, March 25 Japan/Tokyo

Something to note is that developer Blizzard has said players can expect “long wait times”, especially on the first day of the open beta launch.

As frustrating as this may sound, this is the power of beta testing. For the developers, having a huge influx of players allows them to stress test servers to smooth out the full launch. As part of that, Blizzard has said it may “temporarily take the game offline to make infrastructure changes or fixes” as the weekend progresses.

Our advice is to try and give yourself a few chances to play this weekend in case there are long queues, and don’t expect to get fast entry especially on a Friday. With that in mind – how long do you have with this beta?

When does the Diablo 4 open beta end?

If you plan ahead how much time you will have with the open beta, it will have the following end times Monday March 27:

• 12 noon PDT off the west coast of North America
• 3 p.m. EDT off the east coast of North America
• 9:00 PM CET for Western Europe/Paris
• 8pm BST for the UK
• 4 a.m. JST on Saturday, March 25 Japan/Tokyo

Note that the clocks changing in Europe from Sunday means the end time will be one hour ahead of the first weekend beta test end times.

How to access the Diablo 4 open beta

During the second beta weekend of March 24-27, players on all platforms will have free and open access.

The only caveat is that you’ll need to log in with your Battle.net account – as it was during the first beta weekend – so you’ll need one if you don’t already have one.

How did access to the first beta weekend work? If you pre-ordered the game digitally, you automatically got access to the open beta on the 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 other “suitable sandwich”) through the KFC website or KFC app have received a code for early beta access to Diablo 4.

What’s in the Diablo 4 Open Beta?

The early access and open beta give players access to the prologue and the entirety of the first act in a region called Fractured Peaks. A World Boss will also be available to take it on at “selected times” during both weekends. These are very tough bosses that require multiple players to work together to take down.

During the open beta, there are two options for co-op. You can do a two-player couch co-op or a four-player online co-op. Couch co-op during the early access weekend only requires one player to pre-order (but both require Battle.net accounts linked to accounts on the platform you’re playing on). Online co-op during the early access weekend requires all four people to pre-order.

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 during the open beta weekend. Your characters are limited to level 25, but you can create a maximum of 10 characters per Battle.net account.

Will 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 will not carry over to the full game. In fact, the characters will be removed once the open beta is over.

Image: Blizzard Entertainment

However, there are three open beta rewards that will carry over when the full game launches on June 6. These are:

• Original victim title: earned by achieving 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 (February 28): This article has been updated to include information on timing, co-op functionality, and reward carryovers.

Update (March 17): This story has been updated to include information about KFC’s offerings and to note that the Diablo 4 the early access beta weekend is now live.

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