Sea of Remnants Dawnbreaker closed beta starts December 3: PC, PS5, Xbox and mobile, pre-download December 1, first come first served

NetEase Games and Joker Studio, the team behind Identity V, announced on November 9, 2026 the date of the next test of Sea of Remnants, their free-to-play, turn-based pirate roguelike RPG. The "Dawnbreaker" closed beta (CBT) opens on December 3 at 16:00 Pacific Time, which is December 4 at 00:00 UTC and 1:00 a.m. in Paris. For the first time, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S players can join, alongside PC (dedicated launcher), iOS (TestFlight) and Android. Pre-download starts on December 1, and places are limited and handed out on a first-come, first-served basis. The announcement came with a new story video, "Embers". Here is what is confirmed, what to do before the test and what has not been announced.

Dates and times of the Dawnbreaker closed beta

Start: December 3, 2026 at 16:00 PT, according to NetEase's press release. That is December 4 at 00:00 UTC, 1:00 a.m. in Paris and 9:00 a.m. in Tokyo. • Pre-download: December 1, 2026 at 12:00 UTC (1:00 p.m. in Paris). • End: the global press release gives no end date. NetEase's Japanese press release lists a test period from December 4 to December 18 (Japan time), subject to change without notice.

Platforms

PC through a dedicated launcher, according to the press release. • PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, which join a Sea of Remnants test for the first time. • iOS through Apple's TestFlight, and Android. • The full game is listed for 2027 on Steam, where it is free to play with in-app purchases. The PlayStation Store page still read “Release date to be determined” on November 9.

How to get in

Access is limited and granted on a first-come, first-served basis: NetEase advises downloading the game in advance and logging in promptly when the test opens. • The official trailer description says no code is needed: registration is open, first come, first served, and points to pre-registration on the official site. • In Japan, NetEase also describes a draw among people who apply on the official site with a NetEase account, before first-come access; the global press release does not mention such a draw. • Progress will not carry over: the Japanese press release states that test data is deleted at the end and is not transferred to the full release.

What is new in this test

21 playable characters: two limited-time Black Spot characters, six permanent Black Spot characters, twelve permanent Purple Spot characters, plus the Traveler, the protagonist. •Two new sea regions, the White Sea and the Bridge Sea, with new Journey and Roaming Quests. • Two starting ships: you receive the Fireworks Wanderer and can choose between it and the Drift Bottle before your first voyage, each with its own naval combat style. • Peril Theatre, a new high-difficulty challenge built to test team compositions. • The casual multiplayer minigames Lucky Duel and Goose Chess stay in, with matchmaking limited to players on the same server. A fully shared multiplayer world is planned to arrive progressively after launch.

The “Embers” story video

The new video looks back on the fall of the Mad King and the end of the alliance of the Five Great Houses, sworn on the Oathblade. • It introduces a young baron trying to restore his family’s lost order, and Ravenscar, the “Empress”, who becomes the strongest blade of House Hegney. You play the new captain of the Drift Bottle.

PC requirements and languages (Steam page of the full game)

Minimum: Windows 10/11 64-bit, Intel Core i7-9700 or AMD Ryzen 5 3600X, 16 GB RAM, GTX 1060 6 GB or RX 480 8 GB, DirectX 11, 60 GB storage. • Recommended: Intel Core i7-12700 or AMD Ryzen 7 7700X, 32 GB RAM, RTX 3070 Ti or RX 6800 XT, DirectX 12, 80 GB storage. • These figures are for the Steam game; NetEase has not published separate beta launcher requirements. • Steam lists English, Japanese and Simplified Chinese full audio, plus Traditional Chinese, Latin American Spanish, Korean, French and German. Japan lists English, Japanese, Korean and Chinese text for the test, so French may not be available during the beta.

What we still do not know

The exact end date outside Japan; the number of places and whether pre-registration guarantees access outside Japan; whether consoles and mobile can play together during the test; and the full game release date beyond “2027” on Steam.

Sources (checked November 9, 2026)

NetEase Games press release: https://www.gamespress.com/Sea-of-Remnants-Announces-Dawnbreaker-CBT-Featuring-21-Playable-Charac • Japanese press release: https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000691.000071247.html • Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3633680/Sea_of_Remnants/ • Image: official Sea of Remnants screenshot, © NetEase Games / Joker Studio, via Steam.