Keen Hades fans have a chance to play the hugely-anticipated sequel ahead of its PC early access launch thanks to a “Technical Test” kicking off soon.
Developer Supergiant Games says it’s “close” to launching Hades 2 in early access, and that this upcoming Technical Test is a key step prior to doing so. The studio admits it doesn’t actually have a set release date for Hades 2 yet but that it’ll largely depend on how long the Technical Test runs for, a period it expects to be anywhere between a week and a month.
In terms of content, the Hades 2 Technical Test will feature the first major area of the game and some other early-game characters, systems, and content. It’ll be structurally different to the eventual early access version, so progress won’t carry over.
If you’re keen to get involved, you can apply for a chance at entry to the Hades 2 Technical Test on the game’s Steam page right here.
We're getting close to launching HADES II in Early Access!? A key step prior to that is our Hades II Technical Test, which we plan to begin shortly.
If you'd like to be considered for participation, you can sign up right now simply by clicking 'Request Access' on the Hades II… pic.twitter.com/BfAqWxjixP
— Supergiant Games (@SupergiantGames) April 16, 2024
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 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.
We are using Steam Playtest to run the Hades II Technical Test. If you’d like to be considered for participation, you can sign up right now simply by clicking ‘Request Access’ on our Steam page:
A subset of players who request access will be invited to participate via an email from Steam with download instructions. We expect to start with a small player population, then grow it over time. So, even if you aren’t invited to the Technical Test right away, you may still be invited later. Our process boils down to: invite some players, fix any problems they run into, invite more players, and so on.
Once we’re sufficiently confident that things are stable, we will wind down the Technical Test, then launch the game in Early Access relatively soon after.
As the purpose of the Technical Test is to test the game with a relatively small audience, we may not be able to honor individual requests to participate. We will do our best to conduct the Technical Test as expeditiously as possible, then launch in Early Access, at which point the game will be available for anyone to purchase and play.
The nature of the Test is such that we don’t know exactly how long it will last, though our estimate is ‘longer than a week, shorter than a month’. We likewise don’t know exactly when we will launch Hades II in Early Access, since that will depend on how long we end up running the Technical Test.
Here are the minimum system requirements for the Technical Test:
- OS: Windows 10 64-bit (or Steam Deck)
- Processor: Dual Core 2.4 Ghz
- Memory: 4GB RAM
- Graphics: 2GB VRAM / DirectX 12+ support
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!
Note that due to structural differences with the Early Access version of the game, save data from the Technical Test will not transfer.
