Hades 2 beta will "begin shortly," sign-ups are already live, and the roguelike's "Early Access shouldn't be far behind"

If you're looking to get access to the Hades 2 technical test, developer Supergiant Games has just opened sign-ups for the game's playtest.

"We're conducting the Hades II Technical Test prior to our Early Access launch to help us find and solve any technical issues we might have missed thus far, to ensure anyone who tries Hades II in Early Access can have a smooth play experience from the start," the devs explain in a Steam blog. "The Technical Test contains much less content than what's in store for the Early Access launch, and may be available only to a relatively small subset of players who express interest in participating."

If you want to sign up, you can head to the game's Steam page and hit the 'request access' button. You'll get an email with further details if you're selected. The devs say the test will "begin shortly," and estimate that it'll be "longer than a week, shorter than a month," with waves of invites going out for the test's duration. Save data will not transfer to Early Access.

"The Technical Test contains the first major area of the game, and other early-game characters, systems, and content," the devs say. "(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!"

Director Greg Kasavin previously teased that Hades 2 would likely hit Early Access on PC between April and June 2024, and it looks like the game's right on schedule. The original Hades certainly benefited from its stay in Early Access, so here's hoping the sequel can measure up to the first game's success.

You can play Hades 2 without touching the roguelike's legendary predecessor: "It's important to us that it's a standalone thing."

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Dustin Bailey joined the GamesRadar team as a Staff Writer in May 2022, and is currently based in Missouri. He's been covering games (with occasional dalliances in the worlds of anime and pro wrestling) since 2015, first as a freelancer, then as a news writer at PCGamesN for nearly five years. His love for games was sparked somewhere between Metal Gear Solid 2 and Knights of the Old Republic, and these days you can usually find him splitting his entertainment time between retro gaming, the latest big action-adventure title, or a long haul in American Truck Simulator.