Blizzard Entertainment has warned that the next Diablo 4 beta will feature deliberately “lengthy” queue times so that the developer can stress test its servers.
Though the Diablo 4 open beta will kick off today (4pm GMT, March 24), it could prove difficult for some players to jump in straight away.
As detailed on Blizzard’s forum (via The Loadout), community manager PezRadar revealed that players should expect lengthy queue times and occasional server downtime.
“When we open the gates again this Friday to absolutely everyone, we are expecting a lot of people,” they wrote. “There will be lengthy queue times, particularly on Friday when we first launch and during peak regional windows.”
The post added that Diablo 4‘s previous beta, which took place last weekend (March 17), has helped Blizzard forecast how many players to expect during the open beta; and shared that it will be using that to “intentionally stress our systems in preparation for launch”.
Additionally, PezRadar said that Blizzard may have to take the server down to “deploy infrastructure adjustments or fixes” after the beta has launched.
While last weekend’s beta struggled with queue times and regional downtime on Friday and Saturday, most of the issues were ironed out by Sunday. However, only those who pre-ordered Diablo 4 or had a promotional code were able to play, while today’s beta will be open to anyone — meaning the servers will be under much more pressure.
Earlier in the week, Diablo general manager Rod Fergusson told NME that Diablo 4‘s beta issues will ultimately lead to a smoother launch in June.
“Our beta is actually us testing our technology – especially on the server side,” he explained. “We had a little bit of a rocky start on Friday.”
“We put out six hotfixes over the weekend, we solved dozens of issues and all of that work is going to pay off next weekend and then pave it for launch,” added Fergusson. “Sometimes as a player it can be a little frustrating, but they have to recognise that they’re helping us make the actual launch of the game that much better.”
Elsewhere, Fergusson stated the game’s classes shouldn’t always feel equally balanced.
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