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Rumour: Diablo 4 Beta To Be Announced At BlizzCon 2021

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A possible Diablo 4 beta might be incoming, with BlizzConline 2021 happening this weekend.​

Diablo-4-Beta-Alpha-Testing-Program-Page-01-640x418.jpg


Rumour: Diablo IV Beta To Be Announced At BlizzCon 2021


Speculation is rife as we draw closer to BlizzCon 2021 this weekend, and the rumours are many, especially around the "What's Next" panel for Diablo. One particular possible hint that a beta might be incoming, as recent sightings of changes on the Alpha/Beta access help screens have been noticed.​

Reported by BlizzPlanet, they shared screenshots of the beta access page, which have recently updated. This comes as quite a coincidence as BlizzCon is kicking off this weekend. Could Blizzard be ready to announce details of a beta for Diablo 4? The pages updated include Diablo IV, Diablo: Immortal and World of Warcraft.​

While we already know Diablo 4 won't be launching anytime soon, not this year at least according to the recent Activision Blizzard earning's call earlier this month, which confirmed a launch would not be this year. An announcement of a beta, which doesn't even happen soon, a release window perhaps could be on the horizon.
The pages unfortunately don't give any more clues about how close we might be to a beta testing program, but it does show us it's on their mind. By checking the Google cache is shows the pages have been updated as recently as February 15th.

Rumour: Diablo 4 Beta to be Announced at BlizzCon 2021 | Fextralife
 
Dest

Dest

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They should honestly have this be an open beta. Test the servers, but also take feedback from everyone to really make it the game that people want.
 
UnluckyKate

UnluckyKate

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Oct 25, 2017
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a real beta ? to test heavy loads of player and large scale systems ?

not a promo tool a few weeks before release ? What year is this ?
 
Cugel

Cugel

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Nov 7, 2017
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It's like Diablo 3 all over again. It's gonna be hard getting one. Dark times ahead.
 
Tbm24

Tbm24

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AaronMT said:
I don't believe it. It's too soon.
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If the game is set to release next year, I don't think it's too soon. Blizzard games sit in Alpha/Beta for quite a long time. 100% expecting an OW2 beta announcement too. I'd argue the likelihood is much higher for an OW2 Beta than a D4 one.
 

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Betas are usualy invite only so it's not really good news. I've never been invited to one of them regardless of how many hours I had put in WoW and previous games.
 
HarryDemeanor

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Oct 25, 2017
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I don't think updating a page like this signifies anything. The game is so far out I'd be shocked if there was a beta this year.
 
secretanchitman

secretanchitman

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I was surprised I got into the Diablo 3 beta many years ago (maybe that was an open beta?), but I'm guessing this is a closed beta for Blizzard F&F and influencers. Regardless, will be excited to see Rhykker's impressions on this if he gets in!
 
Quample

Quample

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Very skeptical. In the 2019 reveal it seemed like they were very early on and had created the playable demo due to backlash from 2018 Diablo Immortal Blizzcon reveal. The most recent quarterly update showed good progress on their systems, but the game still feels like its 2023 at the earliest. I still think its a 2024 game, tbh.
 
Damaniel

Damaniel

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Oct 27, 2017
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No chance. This game isn't coming out before 2023-2024 at the earliest, and probably isn't in shape for even a closed beta right now.
 
Joe Shlabotnik

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Oct 27, 2017
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Pretty sure Blizzard has done long public betas for Diablo games. And I was in D3's beta *and* D2's beta(!) and I'm no one.

D3 was like eight or nine months before release, I have no idea when I got the D2 beta, haha.

Might be weird if it's starting imminently, but if it's an announcement for a public one later in the year, that tracks.

Edit: Oh, if it's likely for 2023 or 2024 yeah that's way too early. I was thinking mid-2022.
 
Mercador

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Maple

Maple

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This is kind of odd. Playable betas usually indicate a game is 12 months away or less.

Most people thought Diablo IV was 2023 at the earliest.

Maybe this is just for early gameplay feedback.
 
Adulfzen

Adulfzen

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Oct 29, 2017
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would people be mad if Blizzard decided to have Diablo IV as an early access game if it was clearly advertised as such ?

Clearly not what's going on with a beta but that really seems early for what most people assumed to be a 2022 release at the earliest (unless the beta is announced for november - december)
 
SirNinja

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...yeah, this isn't likely happening. Diablo IV is still way too far away to have a beta that's meaningful in most ways. They could offer a small slice of gameplay, but again: the game is going to change so much between now and release that it likely won't be very representative anyway.

More to the point, it's not really necessary either, what with all the Diablo stuff they DO have to announce (Resurrected, Immortal, new Diablo IV class/area, etc). There will be plenty of stuff to tide Diablo fans over while IV is cooking.
 
FrostweaveBandage

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I can't imagine this to be true, unless they're treating it like Early Access. A year-long beta to clean up issues would make sense but it would have to be short to not make people think it's not worth getting the full product after that.
 
Athrum

Athrum

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Oct 18, 2019
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This game as an internal target release date of 2023. Don't expect a beta this soon.
 
Fall Damage

Fall Damage

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Oct 31, 2017
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This doesn't seem likely. I would think Resurrected would be out at least a year before D4 and it hasn't even been announced yet. Too early.
 
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