Diablo 4 beta dates and preloading times for the 'server slam' weekend

Diablo 4 beta - Lilith
(Image credit: Blizzard)

After many, many years of waiting, the public had its first chance to play Diablo 4 during the open beta in March, and there was much rejoicing. If you weren't lucky enough to have playtime to spare that weekend, don't worry: Blizzard's running another playtest to stress-test their server setup. The Diablo 4 "Server Slam" playtest begins on Friday, May 12.

Diablo 4 beta start times

The Diablo 4 server slam playtest will be available to everyone. The playtest will start on Friday, May 12 at 12 pm PT and end on Sunday, May 14 at 12 pm PT.

When does the Diablo 4 server slam beta start? 

  • PDT: 12 pm, May 12 - 12 pm May 14
  • EDT: 3 pm, May 12 - 3 pm, May 14
  • BST: 8 pm, May 12 - 8pm, May 14
  • CET: 9 pm, May 12 - 9 pm, May 14

Like the open beta, the Server Slam will be limited to the Fractured Peaks, one of five regions that make up Diablo 4's open world. All five classes will be playable. The prologue and first act of the game takes place in the snowy, mountainous zone and eventually leads you to Kyovashad, the capital city. The level cap will be set at 20 this time instead of the 25 from past beta weekends, with some earnable cosmetic Diablo 4 beta rewards on offer for reaching level 20 and for killing the Ashava world boss.

After playing the first beta period, we've got a lot of feelings. Some of us feel Blizzard is back in their old form, others are convinced that skill trees are great, actually, and one was prepared not to like this new Diablo but was brought around by an ass-kicking from The Butcher.

Diablo 4 beta preloading times

Server slam preloading begins on the Wednesday, May 10 at 12 pm PT.

Diablo 4 beta preloading times

  • PDT: 12 pm, May 10
  • EDT: 3 pm, May 10
  • BST: 8 pm, May 10
  • CET: 9 pm, May 10

What are the Diablo 4 system requirements? 

Minimum (1080p, 720p render resolution, low graphics settings, 30 fps)

  • CPU: Intel Core i5 2500K or AMD FX 8100
  • RAM: 8 GB RAM
  • GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 660 or AMD RAdeon R9 280
  • Storage: 45 GB available space

Recommended (1080p, medium graphics settings, 60 fps)

  • CPU: Intel Core i5 4670K or AMD R3 1300X 
  • RAM: 16 GB
  • GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 or AMD Radeon RX 370
  • Storage: 45 GB available space

Previous Diablo 4 open beta periods

Previous Diablo 4 open beta periods

Diablo 4's first beta playtests ran in March 2023.  Players who had pre-purchased Diablo 4 had early access to the beta playtest from March 17-19. The open beta was playable for everyone during the following weekend, from March 24-26.

Tyler has covered videogames and PC hardware for 15 years. He regularly spends time playing and reporting on games like Diablo 4, Elden Ring, Overwatch 2, and Final Fantasy 14. While his specialty is in action RPGs and MMOs, he's driven to cover all sorts of games whether they're broken, beautiful, or bizarre.

Read more
Diablo 4 spiritborn character with glowing eyes and holding a glaive
Diablo 4 is free until January and lets you play as its most busted class, so go on a rampage before Blizzard nerfs it
In Monster Hunter Wilds, a hunter triumphantly holds aloft a slab of perfectly-grilled steak.
Monster Hunter Wilds beta release time and rewards
monster hunter wilds pc release date
The Monster Hunter Wilds beta is now live
In Monster Hunter Wilds, a hunter triumphantly holds aloft a slab of perfectly-grilled steak.
Monster Hunter Wilds is getting more open beta tests before launch—but they'll be missing Capcom's latest performance improvements
Diablo 4 screenshot
Diablo 4's second expansion won't be out until 2026
Baldur's Gate 3
Larian is looking for Baldur's Gate 3 fans who 'like trying to break things' to help it do some crossplay testing
Latest in RPG
Henry from KCD2 wearing nice outfits
'Diversify your fashion endgame' with this Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 mod that gives Henry fly new gambesons, pourpoints, and caftans
Mark Darrah
BioWare veteran says a big delay is better than lots of little ones, because sometimes you just gotta 'burn it down and take the other fork in the road'
Honey B Lovely
The state of Final Fantasy 14 in 2025: It's in a weird spot, huh?
Alma, the handler from Monster Hunter Wilds, closes her eyes and looks a little disappointed.
This impractical method of getting a 1-second capture time in Monster Hunter Wilds can make you the fastest hunter alive—on paper
Monster Hunter Wilds Artian weapon crafting - Gemma holding hot metal
Gemma's English VA is right with us on Monster Hunter Wild's confusing menus, which makes me feel a little better for having to Google symbols all the time
No Rest for the Wicked Steam early access screenshots
No Rest for the Wicked developer Moon Studios is now 'fully independent' after acquiring the rights to the game from Take-Two
Latest in Features
Honey B Lovely
The state of Final Fantasy 14 in 2025: It's in a weird spot, huh?
Monster Hunter Wilds palico
One of the biggest victories of Monster Hunter Wilds' streamlining is I don't have to deal with those awful gimmick fights anymore
A vampire with a dark castle and swarms of bats in the background.
We need to decide on a genre name for Vampire Survivors-like games before a really terrible one sticks
Olivia, Alma and a palico
I wish Monster Hunter Wilds wasn't so afraid of letting me play Monster Hunter
SteelSeries QcK Performance mouse pads overlapping on a desk
The SteelSeries QcK Performance series has reignited my excitement over the simple pleasure of a quality mouse pad… and trying to click skulls with pinpoint accuracy
OneXPlayer 2 pro on a table
I never thought a handheld PC bloated with Windows could replace my Steam Deck, but after gaming on an old OneXPlayer 2 Pro I can see now I judged it too harshly