Avengers beta release dates and Fortnite crossover revealed by Square Enix

Crystal Dynamics held a second War Table stream for Marvel's Avengers on July 29, revealing Hawkeye as a post-launch character and sharing more details about the upcoming multiplatform beta set for early August. If you missed the livestream or just want a reminder of the beta details, here's all the latest developments on Marvel's Avengers.

What is the Marvel's Avengers beta start date?

Depending on your platform and if you pre-ordered, the start dates for the Marvel's Avengers beta will change. PlayStation 4 players who pre-ordered get access first, from August 7 until August 9. On August 14, an open beta will be released for PS4 while those who pre-ordered on Xbox One and PC will gain exclusive access to their platform's beta. This set of betas will run until August 16.

Finally, from August 21 until August 23, an open beta across all platforms will be held. All of these dates can be confusing, but if you aren't pre-ordering the game, just know that you can play for free across all platforms starting August 21. Marvel's Avengers comes out on September 4, so the wait after the beta isn't that long either.

What modes does the Avengers beta include?

The Avengers beta will include five playable modes:

A-Day: The Marvel's Avengers beta includes a surprising amount of missions for interested players. When you first boot it up, you'll have to play the frequently shown A-Day demo that gives you a taste for how Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, Black Widow, and Hulk play. The developers estimate that this mission will take players about 25 minutes to complete.

Single-player Hero Missions: After beating the A-Day mission, you'll then have to go through a couple of single-player Hero Missions that star Ms. Marvel and Hulk. The first follows the pair as they search for Jarvis and the Olympia Archive in the Pacific Northwest. Another follows them as they investigate a SHIELD base in the Russian tundra, and is capped off with a boss fight against Abomination.

Harm Rooms: Once all of the single-player missions are complete, players can access the multiplayer-focused content. One of these types of missions is Harm Rooms, which are wave-based challenges in an AR room built to train the Avengers. These can be played alone, with AI, or online with others, and are supposed to be the best way to get a good feeling for every hero.

War Zones: The most marketed multiplayer mode of Marvel's Avengers, War Zone's are large multiplayer missions where players must fight tons of enemies and complete puzzles in more open-ended areas. 4 of these are included within the beta, and we got a taste for some of them during July 29's War Table stream.

Drop Zones: The final kind of multiplayer mission included in the beta are Drop Zones. These function the same as War Zones, with the main difference being that they focus on just one objective and can be completed in or under 10 minutes.

Which heroes are playable in the Avengers beta?

Unfortunately, you can't play as all six of Marvel's Avengers main characters outside of A-Day in the beta. Instead, only Ms. Marvel, Hulk, Black Widow, and Iron Man are available in the multiplayer modes. Iron Man's Hulkbuster armor can even be unlocked and used once you play the beta enough.

These characters can be customized with unique costumes and skills, and those playing alone can progress or test certain builds out by playing with an AI-controlled party. Square Enix has not confirmed whether or not a progression from the beta will carry over in the full game once it comes out.

Marvel's Avengers beta Fortnite rewards explained

If you complete all three Harm Challenges in the Marvel's Avengers beta on PS4 or Xbox One, you'll actually get some Fortnite rewards, thanks to a partnership between Square Enix and Epic Games. You'll get the "Hulk Smasher" pickaxe, which is styled after Hulk's hands in addition to a skin for that pickaxe based on the Hulkbuster armor.

To do this, you will have to connect your Square Enix and Epic Games accounts. A post on Fortnite's website also confirms that the items will be released for all Fortnite players to buy at a later date.

Marvel's Avengers will be released on September 4. 2020.