NCSOFT’s Time Takers Beta begins March 13: How to join

By Daniel Burrows "Windfell_" Gaming News
24 February 2026 no comments

Most shooters ask you to watch your ammo, but Time Takers asks you to watch your life expectancy. NCSOFT and Mistil Games are ditching the traditional health bar for a ticking clock. If you’ve been waiting for a tactical shooter that punishes hesitation and rewards momentum, your countdown starts on March 13 with a Closed Beta Test.

The survival shooter genre is currently crowded with titles trying to out-extraction one another, but Time Takers aims to disrupt the loop by making time the ultimate resource.

Developed by Mistil Games and published by industry giant NCSOFT, this team-based “time survival” experience challenges players to balance their literal lifespan against the need for power.

With the first Closed Beta Test officially locked in for March 13 to March 21, 2026, the gaming world is about to find out if this era-mashup lightning-fast shooter has the mechanical depth to back up its high-concept premise.

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Time as Currency: A Survival Shooter Revolution?

In Time Takers, your HUD isn’t just a display, but a countdown to your demise. Unlike typical shooters, where health regenerates or requires a medkit, every player here starts with a fixed lifespan of 5 minutes and 30 seconds. This “Time Energy” acts as a multi-purpose engine for everything you do on the battlefield.

The genius and the stress of the game lies in its high-speed tactical economy. You aren’t just managing health, but you are managing a budget.

Combat is Mandatory. You can’t just hide in a corner and wait for the match to end. Your clock is constantly ticking down, and the only way to replenish your time is to stay aggressive. Defeating monsters, picking up energy at spawn points, or “stealing” time from downed opponents are the only ways to stay in the fight.

Perhaps the most daring mechanic is the ability to manually sacrifice your remaining lifespan to level up your character’s unique skills. This creates a brutal dilemma of whether you play it safe with a full clock and base abilities, or burn your life down to a few precarious seconds to unlock a game-changing ultimate?

Matches evolve through seven distinct phases. As the game progresses, Time Energy becomes rarer, and your lifespan depletes at an accelerated rate, naturally funneling teams toward a chaotic final confrontation where only one “Time Energy” source remains.

This shift away from traditional health bars forces a level of constant engagement rarely seen in the genre. If you hesitate, you die, not by a bullet, but by the relentless march of the clock.

How to Join the March Closed Beta?

If you want to test your reflexes, the first major public hands-on runs from March 13–21, 2026. NCSOFT and Mistil Games are looking for a massive pool of players to stress-test the servers.

Getting in is straightforward. Head over to the official Steam store page and look for the “Join the Time Takers Playtest” banner.

Clicking “Request Access” puts you in the queue. Invites are expected to roll out in waves starting a few days before the start date, so keep checking your email.

Is Time Takers Worth Your Seconds?

The “Time Survival” hook isn’t just a gimmick, but it fundamentally changes how team fights play out. You can’t just wait for the perfect shot when your health is ticking toward zero every second.

Since the Beta is free, there is no premium retail price to worry about yet. Jumping in now is the best way to see if the server stability matches the ambition of the gameplay.

Daniel Burrows "Windfell_"

Fueled by a passion for gaming and the ever-evolving world of gaming news, Daniel loves connecting with seasoned and new players to bring games to life on the page, exploring their narratives and gaming trends. A self-published fiction and fantasy author, Daniel has nearly 20 years of experience writing gaming news and a love for storytelling that drives his enthusiasm to deliver breaking news, in-depth analysis, and industry innovations. You will find him in-game as "Windfell."

NCSOFT's Time Takers Beta begins March 13: How to join

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