The Frostpunk 2 beta will give you an early taste of the survival city builder this month, but you're going to have to pay for it

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We finally know when to expect the beta

Frostpunk 2
(Image credit: 11 bit studios)

Frostpunk 2 is set to bring a frigid blast of survival-based city building in July, but if you want to get chilly in spring, you'll be able to play the game very soon thanks to a seven-day beta starting April 15.

The Frostpunk 2 beta had previously been announced for April, but now we know specifically that it'll kick off on April 15 at 10am PT / 1pm ET / 6pm BST and run until April 22. Over on Steam, developer 11 Bit Studios says this beta "features a part of the sandbox mode called the Utopia Builder Preview," but we don't have any more details on the content than that.

To access this beta, you'll need to pre-order Frostpunk 2's Deluxe Edition, which is currently $67.49 / £56.69 / €67.49, including a 10% discount on Steam. (The standard version of the game is $44.99 / £37.99 / €44.99.) The Deluxe Edition also includes access to three post-launch DLC packs, 72 hours of early access to the game, and a variety of other digital goodies.

While Frostpunk 2 is also coming to PS5 and Xbox Series X and S, this beta is only available on PC. The full game will be a part of PC Game Pass, but again, this beta only comes with the Deluxe Edition, which you'll have to pay extra for.

The original Frostpunk was already arguably the world's most stressful - and darkest - city-building game, and it looks like the sequel is ramping things up with horrifying-sounding additions like democracy.

If you're looking for more of the best city-building games, you know where to click. 

Dustin Bailey
Dustin Bailey
Staff Writer

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.