SEGA has announced that an open beta for
Phantasy Star Online 2 will launch in North America next week for Xbox One, giving those who didn't get to participate in last month's closed beta a chance to experience the popular online action RPG. The open beta will launch on Xbox One on Tuesday, March 17 starting at 5:00 p.m. PDT; however, players can get a head start in preparing by downloading the client starting on March 16 at 10:00 a.m. PDT. SEGA didn't get too specific with the details, so it's unclear if those who played in the closed beta will have to download a new client.
Phantasy Star Online 2's arrival in North America has been a long time coming. For years, SEGA has been promising that the game would be coming to the U.S. Well, it's finally happening — for real this time.
"The team has been working incredibly hard towards this day, and we couldn't be more excited to open the servers and welcome our amazing community into the world of Phantasy Star Online 2," said Fred White, PSO2 TEAM North America's Head of Marketing.
When it arrives,
Phantasy Star Online 2 will offer North American players Episodes 1-3, which includes over three years' worth of expanded content updates as well as up-to-date balancing and quality of life improvements from the Japanese service . The Open Beta will offer fully localized text and character voices in English. Players can choose from four races and nine classes as they embark on various missions spanning 14 different locations. In addition to quests, there are also alternative gameplay features such as Casino Mini-Games, Live Stage Events, and more.
If you're interested, you can sign up for the Open Beta over on the Microsoft Store. SEGA didn't announce for how long the Open Beta will run for.
Phantasy Star Online 2 is set to launch for Xbox One in Spring 2020. It's also coming to PC and possibly PS4 and Nintendo Switch, eventually down the line.