Dass der geschlosse Betatest von Diablo III noch im laufenden Quartal angegangen werden soll, hatte Blizzard schon vor einigen Wochen verkündet. Wie das Studio jetzt vermelden lässt, wurde heute der offizielle Startschuss für den Test gegeben.

Die ersten Einladungen seien verschickt worden, heißt es da in der Mitteilung. Der Kreis der Teilnehmer soll natürlich im Laufe der Zeit vergrößert werden.

In the Diablo III closed beta test, participants will be able to fight their way through part of Act I as any of the five hero classes -- barbarian, witch doctor, wizard, monk, and demon hunter -- and go head-to-skull against the Skeleton King, taking him on alone or playing cooperatively with other adventurers. They'll also get to meet up with some of the artisans, followers, and other key characters from Sanctuary, and try out the game's skill and crafting systems.

"This closed beta test is an important milestone for us as we enter the final stages of development on Diablo III," said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. "Our goal is to create the best action role-playing game experience to date, building on everything we've learned since the release of Diablo II and incorporating the powerful features of the new Battle.net® platform. We hope players enjoy participating in the beta test and we look forward to hearing their feedback."

Auf dem Battle.net-Blog erinnert Blizzard noch daran, dass es keinerlei NDA gibt: Es stehe allen Teilnehmern frei, offen über das zu plaudern, was sie während des Tests so erleben.