It won’t be long before players can get their hands on Hades II, the sequel to 2020’s critically-acclaimed roguelite by Supergiant Games. In a new post on X/Twitter, Supergiant Games announced an upcoming Hades II Technical Test along with instructions on how to join.
The goal of the technical test is to ensure that the upcoming Early Access release has a “smooth play experience from the start.” It will have much less content than the Early Access version — including the first major area of the game and early-game characters — and it will only be available to a “relatively small subset” of players who sign up to play.
“If you played the original game, imagine a version where you couldn’t get past Tartarus even if you vanquished its guardian,” Supergiant explains on its website. Players who complete the area a number of times will see a “gentle suggestion” to discontinue play.
How to join the Hades II Technical Test
To sign up for the Hades II Technical Test, you need only go to the Hades II Steam Page and click the button marked “Request Access.” If you’re invited to participate, you will receive an email from Steam with download instructions.
“We expect to start with a small player population, then grow it over time,” Supergiant explains. “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.”
The Hades II Technical Test will be one of the first playable glimpses fans get of the anticipated sequel, which will feature Melinoë, daughter of Hades and sister of Zagreus, as its main character. The original game was acclaimed for its sharp writing, beautiful visuals, and clever take on roguelite storytelling, and Hades II looks to be more of the same.
Supergiant says that it will try to “conduct the Technical Test as expeditiously as possible,” then launch into Early Access. The studio is uncertain how long it will last, but expects that it will be “longer than a week, shorter than a month.” The Early Access launch will be dependent on the length of the Technical Test. It is currently set for Q2 2024.
Kat Bailey is IGN’s News Director as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.