Sorry, Warhammer 40,000 lovers, Space Marine 2's public beta isn't happening any more - but not without good reason

Sorry to those of you looking forward to the public beta test for Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, but it's been cancelled - for an understandable reason.

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 was due to receive a beta sometime before its launch in a few months time, but developer Saber Interactive shared an update this week sharing the news that there won't be one after all. Obviously this will be disappointing news for some of you, but I wouldn't worry too much, as it's all in the name of making sure the game is ready for its launch. "Over the past few weeks, we have seen incredible excitement around the game, both online and at the shows during the North American tour," reads an update post on Steam. "Our teams at Focus and Saber have been truly blown away by your passion, and we’ve loved seeing the fan art, reactions and memes that you have shared so far."

"Space Marine 2 is almost ready. We are now entirely focused on optimization, polish and fixing remaining issues ahead of launch on September 9. This means we will not run a public online beta, as it would take the development teams away from preparing for the full launch, and our priority is to ensure the best possible experience at release." The post goes into note how the team understands that this might be disappointing news for some, so as a thank you to those who were interested in participating, anyone that had "registered via the online signup before June 28, 2024, midnight Paris Time" will receive a limited Bolt Pistol skin below.

Saber finally showed off more of the upcoming shooter last month, confirming that the game does in fact have online co-op, providing a first look at its three-player co-op mode Operations. If you were hoping to get your hands on the beta, it's not too big a deal, as the game is out in just a few months, September 9, on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.