A recent FAQ post made on the official Elder Scrolls Online website has labelled March as the first month for closed beta testing invitations. Having successfully completed a friends and family test, one that I would have happily married a 60yr old grandma of 3 to gain access to, Bethesda have announced that small groups of testers will be invited to the game during March and April.
We?re starting with smaller groups of focused testers during March and April. However, as we approach launch, beta events will get bigger. Our AvA tests will likely require thousands of participants, and stress tests will be even larger!
The post goes on to explain that the first waves of testing will be exclusive to short, weekend events, with the eventual goal of opening for longer periods as the game nears launch. In typical fashion those lucky enough to gain early access will be contacted via the email they used when signing up for the closed beta event, however a rather large client awaits. Players are advised to begin downloading as soon as they receive their invitations as the beta client is expected to sit at around the 20gb mark.
Different invitations will be sent out for each of the beta events, so an invitation to one doesn’t guarantee an invite for following events. For the full contents of the new FAQ, click here