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There will be[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/diablo-on-skills-party-help-and-beta-confirmation/] a Diablo III Beta Test, which Mike Morhaime stated is to occur in the third quarter of 2011[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/diablo-3-beta-details-announced/P20/], with the earliest possible start date at August 3rd, 2011.
This article covers every common question about Diablo 3 and Blizzard beta tests, with numerous quotes from Blizzard employees inserted where relevant.
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==Beta to Begin Summer Third Quarter 2011==
[[Mike Morhaime]], during the May 9, 2011 Activision-Blizzard conference call, stated that the Diablo III beta shall commence in the third quarter of that year, and that internal testing had already been underway for a week[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/diablo-3-beta-details-announced/P20/]. [[Bashiok]] further clarified the timeframe[http://forums.battle.net/thread.html?topicId=27808130648&pageNo=1&sid=3000#9]:
<blue>The 3rd quarter reference in the earning's call today was a calendar quarter, meaning that we're aiming to launch the Diablo III beta between July 1st and September 30th. Keep in mind that it's our current goal, and of course that can change as development continues.</blue>
<blue><b>Thomas Tippl:</b>D3 development continues to go well, and we’re very excited about the game... I’m looking forward to sharing more news about the game, and our upcoming beta, during the next conference call.”</blue>
==All Game Systems To Be Revealed Before the Beta Begins==
In April 2011 [[Bashiok]] replied to a question about upcoming game systems reveals with an enlightening piece of information. [http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/the-diablo-iii-beta-only-be-a-small-part-of-the-whole-game/]
<blue>We will be announcing all of the game systems though before beta, so there are a few things left as far as reveals go.</blue>
This seems logical; after all, if the game systems are going to be present in the Beta, the developers surely want to reveal them officially and properly before the test starts, and incomplete and possibly erroneous reports start to leak from the testers.
===Battle.net Feature Reveal set for August 2011===
In mid-June 2011, word was leaked that Blizzard was going to host a "fansite summit" at Blizzard Irvine from July 26-27th. At that summit the invited fansites were going to be given play test time, interviews with the developers, and a presentation of a new B.net feature. (Widely assumed to be Diablo III's version of the [[Auction House]].)
This is valuable information for the beta timeline, since it was previously said that all the game systems would be revealed pre-beta. Thus the Beta can not start until after August 2nd, when this system is revealed. This doesn't mean the Beta will begin on August 3rd, but fans can always hope.