Update, April 26: Thank you very much for your patience as we conducted the Hades II Technical Test. The Test helped us identify and address a number of key technical issues we weren't able to find before, in preparation to launch Hades II in Early Access. We plan to start winding down the Technical Test on Monday, April 29, after which point it will no longer be available in participants' Steam libraries. However, we plan to launch Hades II in Early Access relatively soon after that, so please stay tuned! We hope you share our excitement for Early Access, and really appreciate your support and encouragement during the Technical Test!
We're getting close to launching Hades II in Early Access! As noted in our latest Development Update, a key step prior to that is our Hades II Technical Test, which we plan to begin shortly.
About the Hades II Technical Test
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.
How to Sign Up
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 heading to the Hades II Steam page, and clicking the button marked 'Request Access'.
If you're a content creator, you may also request a key using Keymailer, though please note that due to the nature of the Technical Test, we may not be able to honor all such requests.
Who Gets to Participate
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'll wind down the Technical Test, then launch in Early Access on Steam and the Epic Games Store 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.
Technical Test Duration
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 having to run the Technical Test for.
Technical Test System Requirements
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: 8GB RAM Graphics: GeForce GTX 950, Radeon R7 360, or Intel HD Graphics 630
Technical Test Contents
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.
How Technical Test Participants Can Help
Just play! If you encounter crashes or other technical issues, the game will provide instruction on how to report those to us.
Closing Remarks
Thank you for your interest in Hades II and this Technical Test! It's important to us to start our forthcoming Early Access with as few technical issues as possible, so that the focus can be on getting your feedback on the game itself. We're very excited to share that game with you soon, and appreciate your patience and support as we prepare!
