When is the Hades 2 release date? After the award-scooping success of Hades, it is no surprise to anyone that a sequel is on the way. Fans of the first game are itching to play it on PS5 and Xbox (and to see if it’ll dominate awards shows like its older sibling).
Hades 2 will look to join the ranks of the best roguelike games when it launches – something that should be a fairly simple task given the overwhelming success of its predecessor. However, when it comes to its release date, things are less straightforward. The game will be going through early access first, but that will be restricted to just PC. So when can console players on PS5 and Xbox get their hands on Hades 2? Find out all the latest news below.
Hades 2 release date estimate
The early access Hades 2 release date is set for Q2 2024, but this is for PC players only. The console release is expected to coincide with the full launch of the game, which is currently unconfirmed by Supergiant. However, we anticipate it will arrive in Q2 2025, allowing a full year for it to marinade in early access after it was originally postponed.
The early access window was confirmed in an official development update blog by Supergiant Games, pushing back the initial release date it had set from 2023 into early 2024. This is due to the studio simply wanting more time to polish and add to the game before it launches into early access. As the blog notes, Supergiant believes the new timeframe “will be the ‘sweet spot’ where the game is far enough along that player feedback won’t mostly consist of stuff [it] already knows isn’t there yet, but isn’t so far along that it’s too late in development for [it] to act on the feedback” given by players.
The good news is that the revised road to early access appears to be proceeding smoothly. On April 16, 2024, Supergiant announced the Hades 2 Technical Test – a Steam-only bug-catching exercise that is estimated to last “longer than a week, shorter than a month.” Once finished, early access will arrive “relatively soon after.”
With that being said, if major flaws are found in the game (hello, XDefiant), then the devs will have to go back to the drawing board, pushing back the early access launch even further. As the Technical Test “contains much less content than what’s in store for the Early Access launch,” it hopefully shouldn’t come to that… hopefully.
But what content does the Technical Test involve? Well, according to Supergiant, “the Technical Test contains the first major area of the game, and other early-game characters, systems, and content. (If you played the original game, imagine a version where you couldn’t get past Tartarus even if you vanquished its guardian.)”
So what happens when we actually get to early access? Pushing the first game out on one platform before a full release date worked wonders, and Supergiant says that “early access will be no less important” with Hades 2. As such, we can expect a similar timeframe and approach overall to the first game’s early access period.
Supergiant says that there will be “several Major Updates adding the rest of the game’s core content and refining what’s there based on player feedback.” Moreover, the story is also set to expand with each update, adding more characters and deepening the relationships forged with the existing characters right up until the launch of version 1.0 for launch.
In the 1.0 update, Supergiant states that it will feature the conclusion to the story, alongside the usual finishing touches. Most importantly, this means early access players won’t be able to finish everything the game has to offer before it’s even released.
The Hades 2 PS5 and Xbox versions will also likely launch shortly after the final 1.0 update – we don’t expect there to be any kind of early access for console players.
Hades 2 story
Hades 2 casts you as the immortal Princess of the Underworld where you will explore a bigger, deeper mythic world vanquishing the forces of the Titan of Time, Chronos. With the aid of Olympus, Melinoë seeks to defeat Chronos to save her father, Hades.
The game retains the beloved character focus and mythology that everyone fell in love with from the first game, as you meet gods from Apollo to Zeus. Over the early access period, each update is set to expand on the story and the relationships between the characters right up until the full release of the game, at which point players will be able to experience the full story.
Hades 2 gameplay
We got our first brief glimpse at Hades 2 gameplay in the reveal trailer for the game at The Game Awards 2022. But, additional information reveals that you will infuse your weapons of Night with magick as you fight in a roguelike top-down experience and take on new challenges and enhance your power with fresh upgrade systems.
Check out the trailer below:
We also know that there will be new Hades 2 characters that weren’t seen in the first game, including Hecate, Moros, and Nemesis. Therefore, there will also be plenty of new Boons to play around with, refreshing and diversifying combat even further.
Other than these new features, it’s safe to assume the gameplay of the beloved Hades will remain intact, with roguelike staples and its clever Boons system that progresses with the story.
If you want a trip down memory lane, here’s the official gameplay reveal trailer for the first game, which aired in December 2018:
We don’t doubt that Supergiant will find inventive ways to not just recapture the magic of the first game, but build upon it. At the very least, new characters and boons mean tantalizing new builds to play around with – we can’t wait.
Unfortunately, we have to wait, though. But while you do so, be sure to check back on this page regularly as we approach the Hades 2 release date. Hopefully, the sequel to one of the best games of all time can live up to its predecessor.