Blizzard Insider: Is there going to be a Diablo II beta?

Bill Roper: Yes, we are certainly going to hold a Battle.net Beta for Diablo II. We find our betas to be incredibly useful for play balancing, gathering direct feedback from core gamers as well as compatibility testing. Beta testing is an important and vital part of our process.

Blizzard Insider: Who can sign up for the beta?

Blizzard Insider: What if I am not one of the lucky 1,000?

Bill Roper: We will be doing something new with Diablo II by having a second phase beta program. This part of the beta will be an open beta where people can go to our website and download a specific beta build and jump up on Battle.net to help us stress test our new servers. As we get closer to this date we will give out more details on how this part of the beta will be run.

Blizzard Insider: Will the beta be open to people outside of the United States?

Bill Roper: The first phase of the beta will consist of testers from the United States and Canada only, but the open beta will be available to people from all around the world.

Blizzard Insider: How long will the beta last?

Bill Roper: We do not have a set amount of time, as we cannot predict what issues will arise during the beta. While we do not intend for the beta to drag on, we do want to get the best results and feedback possible. Basically, we will run the program for as long as we are getting qualitative input.

Blizzard Insider: What do I get for being a beta tester?

Bill Roper: The fame of being one of the first people to actually play Diablo II, the right to brag to all your friends that you are an official beta tester and your name in the credits of the game!