You can start downloading The Division beta 48 hours early

The Division's beta will go up for pre-loading 48 hours ahead of time, according to the game's French Facebook page. Early reports pegged the file size for the PC client at just over 26 GB, so that should be very welcome news to anyone with potential bandwidth concerns (assuming the console versions are similarly massive).

The beta will begin on January 28 exclusively for Xbox One players, then PC and PS4 players will be invited to join on January 29, and it will close on January 31. In other words, The Division beta is only a weekend long if you're not playing on Xbox One, so it's an extra-good thing that you won't have to waste a chunk of that time downloading it.

Based on the file size, I'm guessing the beta will give players a pretty comprehensive look at the game ahead of its release date on March 8. Or maybe half those gigabytes are just for the detailed dog pooping animation. Either way, you'll need to pre-order the game for guaranteed access (or you can sign up for the beta waiting list here).

Seen something newsworthy? Tell us!

Connor Sheridan

I got a BA in journalism from Central Michigan University - though the best education I received there was from CM Life, its student-run newspaper. Long before that, I started pursuing my degree in video games by bugging my older brother to let me play Zelda on the Super Nintendo. I've previously been a news intern for GameSpot, a news writer for CVG, and now I'm a staff writer here at GamesRadar.

Latest in Tom Clancy's
The Division Heartland
Ubisoft has canceled The Division Heartland and "redeployed resources to bigger opportunities" like its Call of Duty-style FPS XDefiant
The Division's confused morality is easily its darkest secret
Ubisoft says The Division update 1.2 will be more "generous" with endgame loot
Rainbow Six Siege
Rainbow Six Siege hackers thwarted after flooding lobbies with giant chickens and NSFW nightmares
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon
The original Ghost Recon is free on PC until next week
A new Tom Clancy logo features a pink neon crown on the soldier's helmet
The Division, Splinter Cell, and Ghost Recon crossover called BattleCat may be announced tomorrow
Latest in News
Final Fantasy 14 Dawntrail Futures Unwritten Ultimate raid
As Final Fantasy 14 raiders tear through the MMO's hardest duty with no healers and then no tanks, the community can only see this going one way: "Now it's time to clear without DPS"
Saitama in One-Punch Man season 3
A One-Punch Man controversy has erupted after it was revealed the divisive new season 3 trailer was the work of only one animator: "Morale isn't great right now"
Diego Luna as Cassian Andor in Andor season 2
Andor season 2 showrunner Tony Gilroy breaks silence on the weird release schedule: "It's a Disney decision"
Lenovo Legion Go S with Xbox logo on screen next to white Series X controller on woodgrain surface
The rumored Xbox handheld isn't what you think, and I'm hoping it'll solve my Windows 11 problems
Jordan A. Mun looks at herself in a mirror in just a vest in Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet screenshot
5 years after starting development, Neil Druckmann says Naughty Dog's new game Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet is "still evolving and changing as we're making it"
Silent Hill f
After 2 years of silence, the next mainline Silent Hill game is getting a dedicated stream this week with "the latest news"