Eager MMORPG fans outside of Japan will want to clear their schedule this weekend. The Phantasy Star Online 2 closed beta will begin today, at 5 pm Pacific/8 pm Eastern on Xbox One. This will be the first time to game will be playable in English.
The closed beta test will only run for the weekend, and only on Xbox One, ending Saturday, Feb 8, at midnight pacific time. The sequel originally released in Japan way back in 2012 on PC, and has since been ported to PS Vita, PlayStation 4, and Switch, but has yet to make it to the west, until now.
“We are thrilled to kick off the first live testing of the game this weekend,” said Fred White, Head of Marketing, Sega Games. “The teams have been working hard getting ready and while there is still work to be done before launch, we are anxious to get some early player response as well as test out the new servers.”
“Many multiplayer constructs came from the original Phantasy Star Online,” said Phil Spencer, Executive VP of Gaming at Microsoft. “Glad to see the sequel landing on Xbox One and PC!”
Beta testers will be able to earn special rewards, including just for logging in, as well as daily consumables rewards, and rewards upon completing 12-person boss battles called Urgent Quests. Find the full breakdown of events and rewards for the closed beta test here.
Phantasy Star Online 2 is due out as a free-to-play MMORPG on Xbox One and Windows PC in early 2020.
