Rumor: Blue Mars to go into open beta on September 2nd?

According to an anonymous source, the new virtual world game on the block, Blue Mars, might be entering into open beta on September 2nd. What does this mean for you? Well, it means that another CryEngine 2 MMO might be making an appearance soon to do battle with Planet Calypso.

Currently we are unable to confirm the exact time of the opening of the Blue Mars open beta, but we can confirm that the game has been shut down and is being prepared for the "public beta" according to posts on the forums.

Blue Mars is the middle ground between Second Life and Planet Calypso. Where Planet Calypso acts as a game with a real money economy and Second Life allows all users to create content and change the world to their preferences, Blue Mars signs up and approves select developers to create content for their world. Standard users will have the ability to open up small shops and/or purchase living quarters (at the developer's preference) as well as interact with the games and events the ruling developer sets up for their players.

Each developer works within the auspices of their own city on the Blue Mars planet. The cities are linked together through the Blue Mars client, allowing players to go from one city to another at their leisure. Each city can offer a different theme or direction, all depending on what the developer wants to do with it. Think of it like a bunch of little worlds all linked together under one big planetary umbrella. To boot, Blue Mars will be united under one currency as well, so the money you put into the system can be spent in any city you wish.

So that's about it. It's not as open and free as Second Life, it's not a virtual world acting like a game a la Planet Calypso. It's something of a middle ground between the two, and it's also running on CryEngine 2 to make sure it stays up to date with their graphics. How will it do out in the open world? Guess we'll find out soon enough.