72 hours from 17:00 UTC on September 4: Time Takers opens a global Steam playtest, and access has to be requested first

Time Takers is a third-person shooter that puts twelve players into four squads of three and runs the match until one squad is left. The Steam store page describes Time Energy, collected during the match, as health, progression currency and team resource at the same time, and each character, called a Traveler, carries its own abilities. Mistil Games develops it, NC publishes it. As of September 3, 2026 the release field on the store page reads “Coming soon” and the game is listed free to play [4]. NCSOFT’s own press release calls the genre a time survival shooter [1].

A game with no launch date is opening its doors for one weekend. In the press release dated August 24, NC put the playtest on Steam for 72 hours, from 02:00 on September 5 to 02:00 on September 8 Korea time. Anyone who completes the sign-up on the Time Takers Steam store page can take part, and the client pre-download begins on September 3 [1]. That date is today. Steam patch notes posted the same day, at 07:00 UTC, confirm that the pre-download is available [3].

Seventy-two hours with no nightly close

The Steam announcement lists the same window in four time zones. UTC: Friday, September 4, 17:00 to Monday, September 7, 17:00. PDT: September 4, 10:00 to September 7, 10:00. CEST: September 4, 19:00 to September 7, 19:00. KST: Saturday, September 5, 02:00 to Tuesday, September 8, 02:00. A separate line states the test is available 24 hours a day throughout [2].

Servers cover three regions: North America, Europe and Asia [2]. Choosing among them is new. Region matchmaking arrived in the September 3 patch notes, which set the two lowest-ping regions as the default on first install and, when several are selected, search North America (Virginia) first, then Asia (Korea), then Europe (Frankfurt). In a party, matchmaking follows the leader’s region settings [3].

March CBT players are already through the door

The announcement splits access two ways. Anyone who played the March CBT carries their access over automatically; everyone else has to request Steam Playtest access and join the official Discord for updates [2]. The store page still shows the Request Access button [4]. Neither the press release nor the Steam announcement asks for a payment to apply or to play [1][2].

One line is worth correcting before it spreads. This is not the first test since March. A smaller Exclusive Test #2 ran on June 26 and 27 [5]. The press release is accurate when it says the changes are based on results from the first CBT in March, but the months in between were not empty.

All nine Pod buffs were built from scratch

The press release lists seven changes made on the back of the March CBT: an overhauled upgrade system, revised character appearances, colorblind mode support, a training ground, tutorial work, Pod system fixes, and matchmaking and balance improvements [1]. The September 3 patch notes turn those seven lines into numbers [3].

The Pod rework is the largest of them. Every existing Pod buff was removed and nine new ones added: jump height +300%, movement speed +50%, weapon damage +30%, weapon range +100%, time energy collection range +30m, weapon heat buildup -100%, 600 bonus shield, +1 level, and skill cooldown -50% [3].

The new Training Ground lets players try Traveler, weapon and upgrade combinations before entering a match. Finishing the tutorial now raises a popup recommending Time Race, character select was set to 60 seconds plus 15 seconds of confirmation, and the starting tier for new players dropped from Silver 3 at 0 points to Bronze 1 at 80 points [3].

The lobby changed too. Traveler and Weapon menus merged into a single Loadout screen, which removed the Weapon Research menu from the Lab, and voice chat is available in the lobby once a party is formed. A Voucher Shop is new: buying items earns Voucher XP, and passing a threshold unlocks the next page. All ten weapons were renamed, so the PM-1 Assault Rifle is now the V-41 Carbine and the A-6 Rocket Crossbow is the Chaser [3]. Of the seven items in the press release, colorblind mode is the one the patch notes do not spell out.

As of September 3, 2026 the remaining work is two steps: request access on the Steam store page, and start the pre-download. The servers open at 17:00 UTC on September 4. After that the calendar is blank. The store page still read “Coming soon” on September 3 [4], and nothing published says when the next test follows the 72 hours.

Sources

[1] NCSOFT. NC to hold a Time Takers global Steam playtest. NCSOFT newsroom, August 24, 2026.

[2] Mistil Games. Time Takers Steam Playtest Starts September 4!. Steam announcement, August 24, 2026.

[3] Mistil Games. Steam Playtest Patch Notes. Steam announcement, September 3, 2026.

[4] Valve. Time Takers. Steam store, checked September 3, 2026.

[5] Mistil Games. Exclusive Test #2 is Live!. Steam announcement, June 26, 2026.