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In-depth

Destiny 2 beta details: Start, end times, pre-loading, available modes and more

The Destiny 2 beta is fast approaching, so we thought it prudent to gather up all we know about the affair.

Consider us your own personal Ghost as we detail the beta below.

Starting times

  • Xbox One, PS4: The beta is now finished
  • Windows PC: 28 August for pre-orders, 29 August for all

End time [UPDATE]

Loading of the beta client [UPDATE]

How big is the beta client?

What’s included?

  • Homecoming, the game’s opening campaign mission
  • The Inverted Spire, a co-op Strike
  • Crucible mode Countdown (Midtown map): A new competitive mode where players spawn on either offense or defense, and when the round ends you swap sides and roles. The goal is to plant a bomb at the enemy base, and then defend it until it explodes. Each round is worth one point. First team to six wins. To revive a teammate, you must use a revive token. Power weapon ammo is only granted to the one player who pulls it. Working as a team is the key to victory.
  • Crucible mode Control (Endless Vale map): A newly refined take on the competitive mode Control, where players must capture and defend zones to earn points while defeating their opponents to gain additional points. If all zones are captured, players will receive a power play to gain additional points per kill.
  • Access to new Subclasses: Dawnblade Warlock, Arcstrider Hunter and Sentinel Titan
  • Access to existing, levelled-up Subsclasses: Voidwalker Warlock, Gunslinger Hunter and Striker Titan
  • More than twenty weapons to equip, including three Exotics: Sweet Business, Sunshot, and Risk Runner
  • Forty-five individual pieces of armour
  • The Farma new social space. NOTE: Access is only available between 3.00 – 4.00 am AEST on 24 July (click here to see this time in your own timezone)

What isn’t included?

  • Access to Clans or Clan support
  • Character progression
  • Character continuity

What problems does Bungie expect?

Normal beta stuff, including:

  • Players may experience a variety of networking error codes when attempting to play the beta
  • Bungie will be testing server stability throughout the beta, which may cause error codes to appear periodically
  • Location names sometimes do not appear during Crucible gameplay
  • Players sometimes are kicked to orbit after witnessing a black screen when entering a Countdown match
  • Players may sometimes be placed at the beginning of the Inverted Spire Strike activity when joining in progress
  • Sandbox balancing is still taking place: Some weapons or abilities may have higher or lower damage than intended
  • Not all content has been localised in all languages

What other requirements are there?

You’ll need a PlayStation Plus or Xbox Live Gold subscription to play through Crucible modes.

Do I get anything for participating?

You sure do — a special emblem thanking you for beta testing. It’s below:

Destiny 2 heads to Xbox One and PS4 on 6 September, followed by a release on Windows PC on 24 October. As we’ve mentioned, a beta is also planned for PC.


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About the author

Steve Wright

Steve's the owner of this very site and an active games journalist nearing twenty (TWENTY!?!) years. He's a Canadian-Australian gay gaming geek, ice hockey player and fan. Husband to Matt and cat dad to Wally and Quinn.