Diablo 4 Early Access Times, File Size, and Preloads Explained
Diablo 4 releases on June 6th for everyone, but if you've gotten a special version of the game, you're going to have a chance to get a head start on everyone else via the brief early access period. Regardless of the version you've bought, however, you'll be able to preload the game ahead of time to make sure you're ready to go whenever you're allowed in. Of course, games like Diablo 4 can put a significant dent in your console's or PC's storage space, so you'll need to make sure you've got the room for the game first.
Below you'll find everything you need to know about getting your copy of Diablo 4 ready for launch, whenever that launch might be for you depending on where you're located and which version of the game you bought. While you're waiting on all this to happen, be sure to check out our review of the game to see how it stacks up against past Diablo games.
When Can You Preload Diablo 4 ?
Most people should be able to download their copy of Diablo 4 at some point during the night of Tuesday, May 30th. The process begins on the United States West Coast beginning at 4:00 p.m. Pacific time. In the Eastern part of the country, that means preload will begin at 7:00 p.m. Eastern.
Internationally, preload for the United Kingdom begins at 12:00 a.m. local time on Wednesday, May 31st, 1:00 a.m. local time in Europe, 7:00 a.m. local time in Asia, and 9:00 a.m. local time in Australia.
By this point, that means that everyone and anyone who's bought Diablo 4 digitally can go ahead and preload the game. We'd certainly recommend doing that ahead of time so that you can start playing ASAP.
How Do You Preload Diablo 4?
Preloading Diablo 4 is a virtually painless process. If you're playing the game on PC, you'll simply open the Battle.net app and download Diablo 4 as if it were any other game available through the service.
If you'll be playing the game on PlayStation or Xbox, the process is similar. Search for "Diablo 4" in the respective game store and you'll be able to download it once the preload time has come to your region.
When Does Diablo 4 Early Access Start?
While the game isn't set for release until June 6th, those who pre-ordered certain packages of Diablo 4 will be able to access the game up to four days early. Those who ordered the Diablo 4 Deluxe and Ultimate levels will be able to begin playing the full version of the game beginning Thursday, June 1st.
Servers will be turned on at the following times in each respective region
- Pacific Daylight Time: 4 p.m. on June 1st
- Eastern Daylight Time: 7 p.m. on June 1st
- British Summer Time: 12 a.m. on June 2nd
- Central European Summer Time: 1 a.m on June 2nd
- China Standard Time: 7 a.m. on June 2nd
- Korea Standard Time: 8 a.m. on June 2nd
- Australian Eastern Standard Time: 9 a.m. on June 2nd
- New Zealand Standard Time: 11 a.m. on June 2nd
How Big is Diablo 4?
Of course, none of this info does you much good if you don't have any space for Diablo 4 on your preferred system. If you've downloaded AAA game from Activision Blizzard or a comparable publisher in recent years, Diablo 4's file size shouldn't be much of a shock.
According to the Battle.net site, Diablo 4 requires around 90GB of free storage space regardless of the edition you're downloading. The file size should be comparable on the PlayStation and Xbox consoles, too, so plan accordingly and hope that it'll end up taking less storage than expected once everything's finished downloading.
Diablo 4 is available on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC platforms with early access beginning the evening of Thursday, June 1st for those who pre-ordered the Deluxe and Ultimate packages of the game. Those who haven't pre-ordered, or pre-ordered the basic package will be able to begin playing the game on June 6th.