The Diablo 4 open beta will have long queue times at launch too, Blizzard warns.

The open beta starts tomorrow, and Blizzard expects that an awful lot of people are going to want in.

Last weekend's Diablo 4 early access beta got off to Diablo 4 items a rough start. Servers were immediately slammed, which meant long waits for anyone trying to get in, and unstable connections for everyone who did. We were all shocked.

The situation had mostly smoothed out by Saturday, and Blizzard's Rod Fergusson said that in the big picture, the bumps in the road were a good thing because they helped Blizzard hammer out Diablo 4's issues well ahead of launch. "This weekend was to prepare for next weekend, and next weekend prepares for launch," he said.

But with the open beta set to kick off tomorrow, Blizzard is warning that eager players can expect more of the same. The early access beta was limited to people who had preordered Diablo 4, along with some promotional invitations; the open beta is, well, open, and it's fair to assume that a lot more people will be crashing through the door.

"When we open the gates again this Friday to buy Diablo 4 items absolutely everyone, we are expecting a lot of people," Diablo global community development director Adam Fletcher wrote in the Blizzard forums. "There will be lengthy queue times, particularly on Friday when we first launch and during peak regional windows. This past weekend helped us to forecast the capacity we expect this weekend, and we will be using that capacity to intentionally stress our systems in preparation for launch.