Play Broomstick League for free in the open beta this weekend

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Give it a try ahead of its Early Access release in March.

(Image credit: Virtual Basement)

Broomstick League is a 3v3 esports competition that's basically Rocket League by way of Harry Potter. Also, Chris is bad at it. Are you be better than Chris? You can find out for free in the weekend-long open beta that kicks off on Friday.

Maybe more importantly than bragging rights (although maybe not, too), the beta will also give you a full-on look at the game itself in its current state. It sounds like a potentially interesting team esport, but Chris lamented its lack of "identity" in his preview, saying that it's not really magical enough to draw in Harry Potter fans, while the Rocket League crowd already has Rocket League. "I'm not quite sure what Broomstick League is missing, but there's a hook that just isn't there," he wrote.

Developer Virtual Basement aims to address at least some of those concerns during Broomstick League's Early Access period, which it expects to run for up to a year. "We’ll be using the Early Access period to rapidly update the game with new content, bug fixes and stability improvements so that we are fully prepared for our full launch in the future," it said in the Early Access FAQ. "We already have a significant list of planned content, but our number one source of new ideas will be the community."

The Broomstick League open beta will begin at 10 am PT/1 pm ET on February 21—that's Friday—and run until the same time on February 24. The Early Access release on Steam is scheduled for March 5.

Andy Chalk
Andy Chalk
US News Lead

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.