The stage is being set for September 11 and 12! A crew of NDA'd playtesters will once again step into the arena before the rest of the world gets a look.
To celebrate closed playtest number 2, we're releasing a new batch of Heptic Arena screenshots. Check back to see new screenshots up until the playtest begins.
September 11 and 12, 2026
9 - 11 PM Central Europe / 3 - 5 PM Eastern / 12 - 2 PM Pacific both days
Pre-alpha, closed doors, rough edges everywhere. Expect them.
Here's what's live on the show floor:
The core gameplay loop
Four playable species
A starter set of weapons, abilities, and throwables
We're pressure-testing the show and pulling survey data from every contestant who steps in. That feedback becomes the next build. Every patch after this weekend traces back to what these testers report.
Invites go out soon, so watch your inbox!
Once your invite lands, open your FirstLook dashboard, redeem your key, and check the pinned playtest thread in Discord for session times and the launch guide.
We may have slots left. The Board has more closed playtests planned on the road to Open Alpha, so here's how to get in line:
Think of this round as tryouts, not the finished show. The next invite wave lands with more polish and most of this round's bugs stomped out. Stay tuned.
An early build of the game, playing rounds of whatever mode is currently live. You'll spawn in, finish a quest to unlock the Relic, then race to capture it, haul it to the arena's center, and hold it. We want your read on all of it: UI, sound, abilities, gameplay, the whole experience.
The show isn't broadcast-ready. The NDA keeps footage and details from leaking while we're still shaping the game, so we can test freely and work with the community without spoilers hitting the wider internet.
Confirmed closed alpha testers get the Alpha Player role in Discord, unlocking Behind the Curtain, our playtester-only section of Discord. That's where NDA-only updates and exclusive surveys live, and where your feedback has the most direct line to the development team.
These builds are unoptimized and actively changing, so treat this as a floor, not a target:
Windows 10 64-bit or above
Intel Core i5-4690 | AMD Ryzen 5 3600 or equivalent
8 GB RAM or more
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti | AMD Radeon RX 5600XT or equivalent
10GB hard drive space (SSD or NVMe recommended)
Our Creator Program just launched and is still being stress-tested, same as the game. Run into trouble signing up? Email [email protected] and our community team will sort you out.
Don't just watch from the sidelines. Audition for our closed playtests right now and get your first taste of the Birmesh before the rest of the universe. Sign up through FirstLook, our exclusive VIP program for Contestants who want to be stars before the cameras even start rolling.