Gwent open beta begins next week, 'overview' livestream set for later today

The Gwent closed beta wrapped up this weekend in the glorious spectacle of the Gwent Challenger Tournament, which saw Adrian "Lifecoach" Koy take home the lion's share of a $100,000 prize pool. Next week, phase two will get underway with the kickoff of the Gwent open beta, which CD Projekt Red revealed today will begin on May 24.

"Public Beta is the next step in the game’s development process, one that we’d be honored to continue alongside everyone who’s been with us thus far,” Development Director Benjamin Lee said. “It’s also a chance for many new gamers to play Gwent for the first time and we’re looking forward to making the game even better with their help."

The move to public beta will bring about a complete reset of card collections and player progress, to ensure equal footing for everyone when the light goes green. Closed beta participants will be given a leg up, however: Anyone who purchased Card Kegs with real money will be given the same number of Kegs for the open beta, plus bonus Kegs based on level and rank when the closed beta ended. They'll also get all end-season rewards, and all items previously granted as gifts, such as the "gift premium Geralt card."

"All in all, after everything’s done, you should have enough Kegs to make new great decks!" the studio said. "Once again thank you for playing Gwent and making it better. We really appreciate it."

To clear the track for the public beta, the Gwent servers will be taken offline on May 22 for a "short technical transition period." A precise start time for the beta hasn't been set, but server status updates will be available on the studio's Facebook page and Twitter feed. A "public beta overview" livestream is also set to run today at 12 pm PT on Twitch, which you can also take in (when it's available) below.

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Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.