[Update #2]: Valve is ceasing all development on Artifact and Artifact 2.0.

[Update]: The Artifact 2.0 beta has now begun, though only for a small number of players so far.

The original version of Artifact was flawed in pretty much every way, from the in-game economy being extremely exploitative to the balance being heavily reliant on random chance. After seeing that no mere patch could fix things, Valve quickly set out to work on redesigning Artifact from the ground up.

Quite a long time has past since then, but I'm very happy to say that we'll soon be able to see the results of all their effort. According to the newest blog post, Artifact 2.0 will be launching into Closed Beta next week!

This initial version will only be available to those that have purchased Artifact before March 30, 2020. So if you fit the requirements, and want to check out the new and improved Artifact as soon as possible, you should sign up for the beta over at the official website.

Before you do so, it is worth mentioning that this will be a proper beta, not just a marketing stunt. Expect to see placeholder art, bugs, and potentially even complete data resets at multiple points throughout the testing phase. Balance is also likely to be out of whack given the newly added mechanics, so if you're looking for a fully fleshed out experience, you might want to simply wait until Artifact 2.0 launches for real.

If that doesn't scare you and you're still eager to help, you should hop on over to the FAQ to learn a little bit more about the whole process. Enjoy!