The Darktide pre-order beta is set to begin, letting those who've bought the game in advance jump into Hive Tertium early to start cracking some heretic skulls. A blog post from Fatshark a couple of days back confirms that anyone who's pre-ordered the game will be able to play the beta, so you won't have to buy an upgraded edition or anything.
It's unclear as of yet which of the game's features will be available when the pre-order beta launches, but Fatshark says "It will be critical to helping us fine-tune the game before launch on November 30th," so many aspects may still be a work-in-progress. Here I'll give you a rundown of Darktide pre-order beta release times, as well as what's currently known about whether progress will carry over from the beta to the full release.
What time does the Darktide pre-order beta begin?
The Darktide pre-order beta begins on November 17, but it's open to everyone who has pre-ordered the game. The beta will be available up until launch on November 30. Here's what time it releases for different regions:
- US East Coast: 1 pm EST
- US West Coast: 10 am PST
- UK: 6 pm GMT
- Europe: 8 pm CEST
- Japan: 3 am JST (November 18)
- Australia: 5 am AEDT (November 18)
- New Zealand: 7 am NZDT (November 18)
According to Fatshark, pre-loading likely won't be an option for this beta, so these times are when you can start installing the game through Steam. Darktide will also be available on Xbox PC Games Pass when it releases.
How much can you play in the Darktide beta?
Fatshark has split up its pre-order beta into several weeks, gradually adding parts of the game as it ramps up to launch day. Here's what the developers have said you can expect during the road to launch day.
November 17 - 20
- Full access to the game hub and mission board.
- 4 changing missions across 4 zones
- We will regularly run in-game events (Conditions), namely Power Supply Interruption and Ventilation Purge. We don’t want to spoil them too much. We encourage you to experience them for yourself
November 21 - 27
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- Up to 8 changing missions across 4 zones
- In-Game Events, other surprise additions we do not want to spoil right now
November 28 - 30
- Up to 10 changing missions across 4 zones
- Downtime to get the game ready for wide release: Tuesday Nov 29, 2022 19:00 UTC
November 30, launch day
- 13 missions across 5 zones
- 1 New Zone (We do not want to share its name yet)
- New Conditions (In-Game Events)
Will Darktide pre-order beta progress carry over to full release?
This is currently a bit of an unknown, but here's what Fatshark says on beta progress wipes as of November 10:
"Being real, I don't think we will ever be able to confirm 100% that progress will stay from POB (pre-order beta) to launch. That said, we want to keep it! And we're pretty sure that any issues that arise that mean we have to wipe will happen pretty quickly. So if you're concerned, take it easy for the first few days. Every day that goes without a wipe reduces the chance of there being one quite significantly."
Even if it is pre-order access, it's still a beta, so it's understandable that some issues could still arise.
Sean Martin
Guides Writer
Sean's first PC games were Full Throttle and Total Annihilation and his taste has stayed much the same since. When not scouring games for secrets or bashing his head against puzzles, you'll find him revisiting old Total War campaigns, agonizing over his Destiny 2 fit, or still trying to finish the Horus Heresy. Sean has also written for EDGE, Eurogamer, PCGamesN, Wireframe, EGMNOW, and Inverse.
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