Developer Spiral House announced the sequel to the original PC Building Simulator software in March. So if you enjoyed the original simulator or were intrigued by it, now is your chance to give the new version a test run. PC Building Simulator 2 (opens in new tab) hit open beta on Friday, and the free testing period runs until June 20.
In case you haven't heard about PC Building Simulator before, the game is very much true to its name. Originally it was touted as a way of trying out different components in different cases in a 3D environment, so you could check out and optimize PC builds before purchasing the hardware. It grew to include many DLCs packed with components and peripherals models from different brands as a simulator game. The game consists of a PC build and repair shop career mode and could even show you projected 3DMark benchmark results of the DIY builds you conjured up.
PC Building Simulator first hit the pre-alpha release on Steam in early 2017, but it wouldn't be until early 2019 for it to be a finished release, with a continuous stream of DLC content packs to follow. The sequel poses to "push the limits on virtual PC creation to new heights (and, of course, add better RGB)." In other words, there are more building and customization options than ever, with improved visuals for eyeballing your finished builds.
As well as greater component choice and improved visuals, the game designers say there are innovative changes to the repair shop experience for a more satisfying "career." A playthrough of the career mode offers at least 30 hours of gaming and access to 1,200 components, with licensed parts from all the most prominent names. Many of the changes in this sequel utilize years of gamer feedback, so they should be widely welcomed.
It is easy to join the PC Building Simulator 2 Open Beta. If you head over to the Epic Games Store (EGS) page (opens in new tab) for the game, scroll down until you see a section that shows 'Editions' and adds the Open Beta demo to your cart. When you subsequently navigate to your cart, you can check out for $0.00. The beta provides one hour of career mode and an accessible build mode with a limited selection of parts. Epic is the publisher for this sequel, so it will be exclusive for the EGS, at least initially.
Lastly, anyone who downloads and fires up PC Building Simulator 2 open beta will get 15% off the game purchase at release. We don't have a firm date for the release of this sequel on the EGS, but it will reportedly launch later this year.
