Phantasy Star Online 2 Xbox open beta test announced

Sega will hold an open beta test for Phantasy Star Online 2 on Xbox One starting Tuesday, March 17.

The test will only be available to Xbox owners in the US and Canada, however it’s likely players in different areas will be able to access it by changing their console region.

It’s also likely participants will be able to carry their progress over to the main game, similar to the previous closed beta test.

Phantasy Star Online 2 was revealed during the Xbox 2019 E3 conference, with a trailer stating that “Japan’s greatest online RPG launches in the west via Xbox One”.

However, shortly after the conference ended the official Sega Twitter account clarified that the announcement was only relevant to North America, and that a European release was not yet confirmed.

“#PSO2 is finally making its western debut in North America on Xbox One in Spring 2020,” it said. “Regarding an EMEA release, there’s nothing to confirm right now. We understand it’s frustrating, but when we have more news to share, we will.”

Originally released on PC in Japan in 2012, Phantasy Star Online 2 has also seen Japanese releases on PlayStation Vita, PS4 and Nintendo Switch.

The Xbox One release, planned for spring 2020, will include all the existing content and will be free-to-play.

Sega had previously announced that the PC version was coming to North America and Europe back in 2013, but it was never released.