The Division 2 is getting a public test server

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Public test servers are exactly what they sound like: Game servers, open to the public, that developers use to test new stuff before it goes into full release. Players like them too, because it's a way to get eyes and hands on new content before everyone else, and they've become relatively common for big online games. Soon The Division 2 will be one of those games, as live content manager Yannick Banchereau revealed during today's "State of the Game" livestream that public test servers will be opened later this month, ahead of the release of title update 3.

"We're not necessarily looking at testing everything. Obviously with title update 3, the big piece that's coming with it is the raid—and no, the raid is not going to be available on the PTS, we're not going to spoil it on the PTS, that one will remain secret—but what's very important for us is to test the overall stability and the overall quality of the patch, and all the balancing and all the potential new items we're adding," Banchereau said during the stream.

"We want people to experiment with them and to tell us if these are comfortable, if these are balanced in a proper way, or if they're already figuring out ways to make broken builds and things like that."

The Division 2 PTS will be exclusive to PC, which Banchereau said enables faster and more flexible testing than is possible on consoles. All PC players will be able to access the PTS—it will be available as a separate, standalone game on Uplay, but existing Division 2 characters will be imported to the PTS, so you can start playing from where you are rather than having to start over. A feedback forum will be available, and there's no NDA so you can stream or otherwise share or PTS play however you want.

A start date for The Division 2's PTS wasn't provided, but the eight-player raid Operation Dark Hours is set to go live on April 25.

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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.