The Hades 2 playtest is starting soon! Sign up now to join the technical test

The Blizzard Watch writing staff lost our collective minds when Supergiant Games announced Hades 2 with an amazing trailer at the 2022 Game Awards. And we aren’t the only ones, as Supergiant’s first sequel title seems highly anticipated title by the entire community. Now, we’re about to get our first chance to play Hades 2 ourselves with the upcoming technical playtest.

If you’re as eager to get your hands on this game as we are, let’s talk about how you get into the Hades 2 playtest and, more importantly, when early access to the finished game might be available.

Fortunately, it’s incredibly easy to sign up for the Hades 2 technical playtest. Search for Hades 2 in Steam (or click this handy dandy link to the Steam Hades 2 page). Under the usual “planned release date” section where you add the game to your wishlist is a new block: Join the Hades 2 playtest. Click Request Access — that’s it! You should see the following message:

You’ve requested access! Keep an eye out for an email notification from Steam when the developer is ready to accept more participants.

According to Supergiant, the Hades 2 technical test should begin “shortly” and will include a subset of the players that request access, starting with a small group of players and growing over time with the test estimated to run “longer than a week, shorter than a month.” No idea if shortly here is a normal shortly or a Blizzard Soon™.

This playtest won’t include the entire game, but will include a significant portion of early game content:

The Technical Test contains the first major area of the game, and other early-game characters, systems, and content. (If you played the original game, imagine a version where you couldn’t get past Tartarus even if you vanquished its guardian.) If you end up clearing the first major area a number of times, the game will gently suggest that you discontinue play, as Early Access shouldn’t be far behind!

But wait, there’s more! (Said in my best Billy Mays voice) Hades 2 Early Access will launch after the technical test. We already knew that the early access launch was due in Q2 2024 — you know, the current quarter of the year? Supergiant wanted to ensure Hades 2 would have “at least as much content from day one in Early Access as the original game did back when it launched in Early Access” prior to launching the early access period. The developers plan on deploying several major updates to add the rest of the game’s core content and implement feedback prior to their v1.0 release. Assuming the playtest starts fairly soon and lasts around a month, that could mean early access in June.

So, Supergiant fans, hustle your buns to Steam right now to request your spot in the Hades 2 technical test. Remember — even if you don’t make it in immediately, you may get added in later and have the Early Access launch to look forward to by the end of June. We’ll see you in the Underworld.