Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2's planned public beta has been canceled - 'it would take the development teams away from preparing for the full launch'

A Space Marine stands atop a pile of monster corpses
(Image credit: Focus Entertainment)

The planned public beta session for Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 has been canceled by developer Saber Interactive.

Announced in an official Steam post, the studio revealed that the move was in order to concentrate resources on getting the game polished for launch in September this year. "Space Marine 2 is almost ready. We are now entirely focused on optimization, polish and fixing remaining issues ahead of launch on September 9," the announcement read. "This means we will not run a public online beta, as it would take the development teams away from preparing for the full launch, and our priority is to ensure the best possible experience at release."

To soften the blow a little for those who had already signed up, players who registered before June 28, 2024 will receive a limited Bolt Pistol skin.

Not long ago, Saber Interactive published an official gameplay reveal video, in which we saw a whole host of weapons, a brilliant presentation of the Warhammer 40K aesthetic, and were given a closer look at the game's modes. This really whetted our appetite for the game, and we are as excited as ever.

However, the reaction to the public beta has been mixed. Some fans speculate that the developers are just prioritizing keeping the (Thunder) hammer down to make the game launch in its best state, while others think this might be a red flag and an indication that the game is in bad shape right now. 

Regardless, for now, with the public beta now removed from the game's path to launch, all we can do is directly look forward to its release on September 9, 2024, on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.

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Rob Dwiar
Managing Editor, TechRadar Gaming

Rob is the Managing Editor of TechRadar Gaming, a video games journalist, critic, editor, and writer, and has years of experience gained from multiple publications. Prior to being TechRadar Gaming's Managing Editor, he was TRG's Deputy Editor, and a longstanding member of GamesRadar+, being the Commissioning Editor for Hardware there for years, while also squeezing in a short stint as Gaming Editor at WePC just before joining TechRadar Gaming. He is also a writer on tech, gaming hardware, and video games but also gardens and landscapes, combining the two areas in an upcoming book on video game landscapes that you can back and pre-order now.

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