Dark and Darker: When Is the Next Playtest?

Dark and Darker returned once more for another playtest recently, and quite the playtest it had. The game put up numbers that other released games would love to have, and it's not even going to be fully released until late next year. But now that the game's third alpha playtest is over, when will players who are already hooked on Dark and Darker be able to venture back into the dungeons in search of treasures?

Thankfully, Dark and Darker developer Ironmace hasn't left players hanging, and the creators already have an idea of when the next playtest will be available.

When Is Dark and Darker's Next Playtest?

Ironmace posted an announcement on the Dark and Darker Steam page on Monday to confirm that the third alpha playtest had officially come to an end. In that same announcement, the developers confirmed the plans for the next test period. It'll take place during the upcoming Steam Next Fest event which is scheduled to take place from February 6th to February 13th.

Ironmace did not specify what the start date or time for the next alpha will be, but one would assume that it'd get underway right whenever the Steam Next Fest starts on February 6th in order to give players as much time as possible with the game. In the most recent playtest, Ironmace shared a Steam announcement that confirmed it'd gotten underway alongside a changelog of what all was new in this latest alpha, so we'd expect the same will happen again when the next test starts to present players with something new to test.

What Is Dark and Darker?

If this is your first time hearing about Dark and Darker, you may be more interested in it if you're fond of loot-focused games with a hardcore twist. Players group up in teams of three and head into the dungeons where PvE and PvP threats await. In line with other games like Marauders or Escape from Tarkov, you only get to keep your loot if you escape with your life. Typical fantasy classes allow players to fulfil different roles to take on whatever threat they encounter, or at least that's the goal, anyway.

Dark and Darker does not yet have a release date, but it's expected to be out in Q4 2023, so expect more playtests between now and then to provide a better idea of what the final product will look like.