Today marks the start of the early access beta available to those who pre-ordered the full game or got a code by eating Kentucky Fried Chicken, while next weekend will host anyone who wants to start their adventure early in the open beta.
However, many players were met with long wait times to log into the server, error codes and other issues.
Taking to Twitter while facing wait times of up to an hour, players took the opportunity to warn their fellow demon slayers and make light of the situation.
For anyone waiting for the Diablo 4 Beta servers/queue to stabilize:
The queue is soon cleared when everyone who got beta from eating KFC goes to the bathroom for hours pic.twitter.com/5CVbm4QL3Z— Ted Bacinschi (@Slootbag) March 17, 2023
The overloaded servers and long waiting times have continued into the afternoon. The official one Diablo Twitter account recently commented on the issues, saying: “We are aware of the issues affecting Open Beta Early Access, leading to long queue times and server outages. The team is managing the number of players coming into the game until we have a full fix for connection problems.”
Players can monitor the known issues and fixes on Blizzard’s website.
We are aware of the issues affecting Open Beta Early Access, leading to long queue times and server outages.
The team is managing the number of players coming into the game until we have a full resolution to the connectivity issues.
Visit: https://t.co/FmJb8FaIjC for more updates
— Devil (@Diablo) March 17, 2023
Previously, Blizzard had warned players to anticipate wait times, warning that players should not leave the queue even if they remain stuck on a wait screen after the queue timer expires:
“Users may experience a queue while logging into Diablo IV during the Early Access Beta Weekend. Please note that the countdown may finish and go beyond the duration indicated on the queue timer. DO NOT exit the queue as this will restart the queue. We will have more accurate timers in place for Open Beta Weekend.”
Meanwhile, the Blizzard forums have been flooded with users posting their issues and frustrations, including a thread of console players who have repeatedly been booted after waiting the length of the queue’s wait time.
Wait times and server issues aren’t new to betas, which are mainly intended as stress tests before a full launch, especially for games as long-awaited as the next entry in Blizzard’s long-running ARPG franchise.
Still, waiting times never feel good. I hope the issues are resolved soon so I can start recruiting my undead necromancer army. For more, check out the first 17 minutes of Diablo IV’s beta.
Travis Northup is a writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @TieGuyTravis and read his game coverage here.