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Beta Test History
February 19, 2026 at 03:04 PM
Complete beta test timeline from announcement through Co-Ex Test, with platform details, content additions, and milestone events
Neverness to Everness has undergone an extensive public testing period since its initial announcement in July 2024. The game's development history is marked by progressively larger and more feature-complete test phases, expanding from a PC-only Chinese beta to a global cross-platform test spanning four platforms. Each test phase introduced new characters, expanded the playable area of Hethereau, and added gameplay systems in response to community feedback.
This article provides a complete chronological timeline of all public test phases, demonstrations, and major milestone events in the game's pre-release history.
Neverness to Everness was officially announced on July 16, 2024, with a 13-minute gameplay trailer that provided the first substantial look at the game's world, combat, and tone. The trailer showcased:
The open world of Hethereau with its urban-supernatural aesthetic.
Combat featuring the Esper Cycle attribute system.
Several playable characters including Nanally.
Driving, exploration, and the game's blend of everyday city life with anomalous events.
The announcement generated significant interest in the gaming community, with many observers noting the game's ambitious scope and the quality of its visual presentation for an open-world action RPG.
The Chinese Closed Beta Test (CBT) launched on November 28, 2024, marking the first time players could experience the game hands-on. Key details of this test:
Platform — PC only.
Region — China only. The test was not available internationally.
Content — The initial version of Hethereau with Bridge Crossing and Unheard Shores as the primary explorable districts.
Characters — An initial roster of playable characters including early-revealed characters.
Systems — The Esper Cycle combat system, basic exploration, and early story content.
The Chinese CBT provided the first wave of hands-on impressions and gameplay footage that reached international audiences through content creators and press coverage. Feedback from this test informed the significant expansion and refinement seen in subsequent test phases.
The Containment Test ran from July 3 to July 16, 2025, and represented a major step forward for the game in several ways:
Platform — PC.
Region — First global English test. International players could participate for the first time.
Map expansion — Hethereau was expanded to 1.5 times its original size with the addition of two new districts: Miguel District and New Herland District.
New characters — Three new playable characters were added: Hotori (Chaos), Baicang (team captain of ETD-4 from the Bureau of Anomaly Control), and Hathor (Lakshana, Sterry Express courier).
Systems — Expanded combat mechanics, additional story content, and refined exploration systems.
The Containment Test was widely covered by gaming press and content creators, generating significant community growth. The expansion of Hethereau and the addition of new characters addressed many requests from the Chinese CBT, demonstrating the developers' responsiveness to feedback.
Neverness to Everness was showcased at Gamescom in August 2025 with a playable demo available on both PC and PlayStation 5. The Gamescom presentation was notable for:
PS5 debut — This was the first time the game was publicly playable on PlayStation 5, confirming console platform support.
Path tracing — The demo showcased path tracing on NVIDIA RTX 50-series GPUs with DLSS 4 (Multi Frame Generation). This represented a significant visual upgrade, with realistic lighting, reflections, and shadows throughout Hethereau's urban environments.
Visual fidelity — The combination of path tracing and DLSS 4 demonstrated that Neverness to Everness could achieve high visual fidelity while maintaining playable frame rates on current-generation hardware.
The Gamescom showing positioned Neverness to Everness as a technically ambitious title and confirmed that the developers were investing in cutting-edge graphics technology alongside the gameplay systems already demonstrated in earlier tests.
Neverness to Everness appeared at the Tokyo Game Show (TGS) from September 25 to 28, 2025, with a significant milestone:
First mobile demo — TGS featured the first publicly playable mobile version of the game, confirming that the mobile port was progressing alongside the PC and console versions.
Japan focus — The TGS appearance targeted the Japanese market specifically, an important audience for action RPGs and gacha-based games.
The mobile demo at TGS was closely watched by industry observers, as the quality of mobile ports for open-world games is often a concern. Positive reception of the mobile demo suggested that Neverness to Everness could successfully deliver its open-world experience across all target platforms.
The Co-Ex Test (short for Coexistence Test) ran from February 6 to February 20, 2026, and was the most comprehensive test phase to date:
Platforms — PC, PlayStation 5, iOS, and Android — the first time all four target platforms were available simultaneously.
Cross-platform — Full cross-platform play between all four platforms, allowing PC, console, and mobile players to play together.
Crime system — Introduction of the Crime and Wanted System with police pursuits, wanted levels, and the full detention center experience.
Vehicles — Expanded vehicle system with customizable cars, motorbikes, and driving mechanics.
New characters — Eight new characters were teased in the Co-Ex Test trailer: Chiz, Shinku, Iroi, Nitsa, Elyms, Lingko, Exe, and Chaos.
Twitch Drops — The Co-Ex Test featured Twitch Drops integration, rewarding viewers of NTE streams with in-game items.
The Co-Ex Test was the largest and most feature-complete public test, demonstrating the game's readiness for launch. The name "Co-Ex" (Coexistence) reflected the test's themes of cross-platform coexistence and the in-game theme of humans coexisting with supernatural phenomena.
Neverness to Everness achieved remarkable pre-registration numbers that underscored the community's anticipation:
20 million pre-registrations were surpassed within just 2 days of sign-ups opening. This pace set records for the genre and demonstrated the massive audience the game had cultivated through its test phases and marketing.
The rapid pre-registration growth was driven by positive word-of-mouth from test participants, content creator coverage, and the game's player-friendly design decisions (like the no-50/50 gacha system) that generated goodwill in the action RPG community.
As of February 2026, a listing on the Apple App Store shows a release date of May 15, 2026. However, this date has not been officially confirmed by the developers or publisher through official channels. The App Store listing may represent a placeholder or a soft announcement that has not yet been formally communicated.
Based on all test phases and demonstrations, Neverness to Everness will be available on:
PC — Available since the Chinese CBT. Supports ray tracing and path tracing on compatible hardware.
PlayStation 5 — Confirmed at Gamescom 2025. Playable during the Co-Ex Test.
iOS — Mobile version debuted at TGS 2025. Playable during the Co-Ex Test.
Android — Playable during the Co-Ex Test alongside iOS.
No Xbox or Nintendo Switch versions have been announced as of February 2026.
Tracking the game's evolution across test phases reveals a clear pattern of expansion and refinement:
CBT → Containment Test — Expanded from China-only PC to global PC. Map grew 1.5x. Three new characters added.
Containment Test → Co-Ex Test — Expanded from PC to four platforms with cross-play. Added crime system, vehicles, and eight teased characters.
Each test phase addressed community feedback while introducing substantial new content, building confidence that the full launch will deliver a polished and content-rich experience.
Hethereau — The city that expanded across test phases.
Esper Cycle — The combat system refined through testing.
Gacha System — The Scarborough Fair system tested across phases.
Crime and Wanted System — System introduced in the Co-Ex Test.
Vehicles and Traversal — Vehicle system expanded in the Co-Ex Test.
Multiplayer — Cross-platform multiplayer demonstrated in the Co-Ex Test.
Hathor — Character introduced in the Containment Test.
Hotori — Character introduced in the Containment Test.
Baicang — Character introduced in the Containment Test.
Bureau of Anomaly Control — Organization central to the game's narrative.
