Valve’s revamped, digital card game based on Dota 2, Artifact, will officially enter its beta 2.0 period this month.
In March, Valve announced plans to overhaul Artifact, resurrecting it as Artifact 2.0. At the time, Valve said it was in the “test boring stuff” phase of the reboot. In a short blog post on Monday, the studio announced it’s ready to move forward with wider testing.
According to Valve, players of the original game should receive an email next week, asking them to opt-in for testing. Valve’s system will then select players randomly, and allow them to test the new systems in Artifact 2.0.
Valve says the original Artifact didn’t have enough time to gestate in beta. For its second go, Valve plans on letting players in a bit slower and earlier while the game is still “under construction.”
According to the Artifact 2.0 beta FAQ, the studio plans on testing gameplay, balance, hero identity, color identity, social features, card unlocks, ranked play, replay, spectating, and the game’s campaign during this test period. Some features, like the tournament and draft modes, aren’t available during beta. The tutorial is also locked, since Valve is currently only inviting veterans to the beta.
Valve reminds players that they can’t get into the beta by purchasing the current version of Artifact. Instead, invites will prioritize players who owned and played the game before March 30, 2020.
As soon as the beta goes up, players can stream and talk about the new features — although press and influencers won’t get guaranteed access. So those interested in Artifact should be able to check out the game’s Twitch channel for all the details on Artifact 2.0’s new gameplay.
