closed beta
Latest
Fallen Earth announces closed beta
As announced in a recent press release, Fallen Earth, LLC will begin closed beta sign-ups for their post-apocalyptic MMO Fallen Earth. Anyone interested in signing up for this closed beta is encouraged to apply at their forums and website. With the recent addition of a comprehensive tutorial and more content added or improved daily, the team feels it's ready to take on more testers to "better observe overall game play, perform system stress tests, and ultimately perfect the Fallen Earth game experience."The game is set in the Grand Canyon, circa 2156, after a plague of disease destroyed most of mankind. It features a classless advancement system, six factions and a powerful crafting system where players create 95 percent of the items for other players. An exact launch date has not been announced, but they're aiming for Q2 of this year.
Battlefield Heroes beta rolling back into action
Things have been quiet on Battlefield Heroes' front lines since Electronic Arts first called for a ceasefire last November, halting the game's release and sending scores of pastel-colored grunts back to their bunks. Now EA has reopened beta sign-ups, giving the boys in green another chance to enlist.Still, it's unknown how many players will be admitted into the beta, and greenhorns eager to taste the free-to-play shooter's cartoon action could be left in their barracks. Seasoned vets, however, will get first dibs, and do not need to get back in line, as any players who were already in the beta or had previously signed up will automatically receive an invite to report for duty. As for when soldiers can expect the call to action, EA is saying only to watch for more announcements in the "coming weeks."[Via Massively]
Global Agenda announces closed beta signups and target launch date
Hi-Rez Studios has announced today that their spy-fi MMO Global Agenda will be entering closed beta in the second quarter of 2009. On top of that, the press release states that the game itself is slated for release in late 2009. This is certainly exciting news for those fans who have been following the game since they left stealth mode just last year."Our alpha testing has gone very well - in terms of game stability and, most importantly, very positive feedback from an active alpha community," said Todd Harris, Executive Producer of Hi-Rez Studios. "Based on these results we are excited about aggressively growing the Global Agenda player community in Beta." Be sure to check out the entire press release, linked below, for more information on what will be included in the closed beta, and how you can get your hands on an application.
Outspark announces closed beta for Wind Slayer 2D MMO
Wind Slayer, not to be confused with the sexy Champions Online villain Mind Slayer, was first announced late last year from the MMO's publisher Outspark. It is described as "a 2D side-scrolling MMO that features six classes, character customization and player-versus-player modes." Did we mention it's free?Now, the closed beta for Wind Slayer has been announced for January 7th through January 14th. This short closed beta will be used for player feedback before the open beta begins in February, and an official launch is slated for later this year. Check out their website for more details on entering the closed or open beta.
Earthrise beta signups begin
Fans of massively multiplayer online games who think fantasy settings are getting a bit stale are looking at other genres to explore -- namely the upcoming sci-fi MMO titles soon to arrive. One such game that we've been keeping tabs on at Massively is Earthrise, a post-apocalyptic MMO currently in development. We recently mentioned that Earthrise would be taking beta signups at the end of 2008, and the team at Masthead Studios kept their promise: Earthrise beta signups have begun. Earthrise's Community Manager, Moll, let prospective players know the details about the stages of beta on the game's official forums. If you're excited about getting an early hands-on with Earthrise, you'll want to check out the Q&A there before going ahead and filling out the beta application, which could get you into the fray on Enterra Island soon.[Thanks Aron]
New official website for All Points Bulletin opens up
Signs of forthcoming news are beginning to make their appearance for All Points Bulletin as Realtime Worlds has recently updated the title's official website. There's even a tease for eventual forums! Oh, how we await the heated discussion of whether or not dual-wielding pistols should be nerfed. All semi-sincere joking aside, the new website is leaps and bounds above the old from a visual standpoint. Anyone looking at the current page will definitely get the impression that this is a well-funded title. We're also particularly fond of how responsive the high bandwidth version of the site runs.Don't overlook the handy link at the bottom-center of the first page that allows any interested parties to, uh, register their interest, aka registering for some sort of eventual beta event. We know, it's some heady stuff.[Thanks, Tammy]
Runes of Magic enters open beta on December 15th
If you missed out on the closed beta for Frogster Interactive's Runes of Magic MMO, you may be pleased to hear that they've just announced their open beta to start on December 15th. In addition, Frogster aims to thank their current closed beta testers by holding an in-game event beginning December 7th and ending just before the open beta begins. Daniel Ullrich, Frogster's Director of Product Management stated in a recent press release that "more than 170,000 registrations from players worldwide shortly before the start of the open beta show us, that we are on the right track with Runes of Magic." The game is set to launch in the first quarter of 2009, and we will be sure to keep Massively readers informed on the game's progress.
Home beta down Thursday morning for mall stock taking
As we inch ever closer to Home's open beta phase, when the PSN's unwashed masses finally gain entrance, it's clear that preparations are being made for the big day (whenever that may be) behind the scenes. Home producers both sides of the pond have revealed that there will be some server downtime tonight, as they do some jiggery-pokery. The downtime will occur between 2am and 9am EST (7am to Midday GMT).When they come back up the Mall (or Shopping Centre, in Europe) will be full of purchasable items. While they're technically pay-for items, they will be free to grab for everyone in the closed beta for a limited period and will carry over into the open beta. We have no idea when that will be, so make sure you go ahead and grab them ASAP, just in case. We're assured that if you miss out on getting these items for free, their full price will be pretty cheap and they will "continue to have free items in Home on a regular basis."[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
Darkfall beta is actually happening, tester feedback proves it
Aventurine's Darkfall has been in development pretty much since the dawn of time (alright, since 2001, but that's not far from the dawn of time for the MMORPG genre), and we have on more than one occassion wondered whether or not those promises of an eventual beta test would be fulfilled. Turns out that for some, they have been.The developers have posted a large collection of quotes from beta players' feedback. They claim it's representative, and it's mostly (but not all) positive. Sounds like players are impressed with the hugeness of the world and a solid crafting system, but a bit turned off by a complicated and unconventional control scheme. The devs say they're working on it.If you fall into Darkfall's hardcore Ultima Online-esque PvP niche, feel free to scan through to see what you've apparently been missing out on for the past seven years.
Spellborn's American launch pushed back, closed beta starts the 27th
So we heard a couple months ago that The Chronicles of Spellborn would be released in North America and the United Kingdom on November 27th, coinciding with the continental European launch. Turns out it's been pushed back -- kinda. The European launch will still commence on the 27th, but the North American closed beta will begin on that day, with the actual, final launch occurring sometime in January.Sure, we're a bit disappointed, but chances are we'll still get to play the game soon. Acclaim, the game's publisher in the region, went out of its way in the press release it sent us to stress the "Freemium" business model -- a newbie trial area will be available to all players, who can reach level seven before they have to upgrade to a premium subscription at the usual $15/month rate. The idea of an unlimited free trial area with a level cap isn't fresh -- both Meridian 59 and EverQuest II have done that, but it's not a bad way to sample a game to decide if you want to invest your hard-earned cash in it. Might be worth trying just for Jesper Kyd's soundtrack
Battlefield Heroes beta in ceasefire until early '09
Get back behind the sandbags, soldier! No, not those, they're far too realistic. These, more cartoony bags are much better suited to protect your rounded corners and chiseled jaw while waiting for Electronic Arts to decide when Battlefield Heroes will roll onto the front lines. EA once more postponed the official release of its free-to-play shooter, while the closed beta will soon go dark until sometime next year.James Salt, senior producer on Battlefield Heroes, broke the news on the game's website, writing that the beta will close down Friday night at 6pm CET so the team can focus on "polishing the backend." In the meantime, we expect many brokenhearted, animated grenadiers to keep polishing their oversized rifles until early 2009.[Via Big Download]
Earthrise approaches closed beta
If you've been following along with our coverage of Masthead Studios' Earthrise, you may be pleased to hear that the post-apocalyptic MMO will be entering "closed, limited beta" by the end of the year. That gives us a time frame of just under two months!What do they still need to tweak before the beta launches? According to the most recent newsletter, they're integrating features and working on the RPG system, PhysX, improved character control and collision detection, implemented game UI with complete functionality, performance and hardware information gathering, logs and reports. Check out the entire Issue 6 of the Earthrise newsletter for even more information.
Champions Online announces Closed Beta signups
Cryptic Studios has just announced that players can now sign up for a chance to participate in the first Closed Beta of their forthcoming superhero MMO, Champions Online, with the Beta beginning in mid-November 2008. Applications can be made at the official website. The Beta is for PC only.Jack Emmert, chief creative officer of Cryptic Studios, announced 'This closed beta is an exciting step in the evolution of Champions Online... All of us here in the Cryptic offices have been playing the game for a while now, and we're excited to invite others in to have as much fun with Champions Online as we've been having internally.'As we've covered in considerable depth here at Massively, Champions Online features highly customizable character costumes as well as the option to create a super-powered nemesis for your character, action-based gameplay, and a large-scale comic-book universe to explore. The game is scheduled to be released in the Spring of 2009.
Stargate Worlds closed beta announced for October 15
Stargate Worlds is one of the hotter sci-fi MMOs in development based off a popular television and film IP. We've been following this title for a while now through its ups and downs, and other places on the web are taking notice of the game as well. Massively's sister site Big Download has received word that the Stargate Worlds closed beta is no longer pegged for an unconfirmed date, and is now slated to commence on October 15th. If you haven't been selected for the closed beta from that pool of over 200,000 people who signed up, at the very least there's a gallery of new Stargate Worlds screenshots to check out over at Big Download. Open beta is still a long ways off though, so the Stargate Atlantis episodes will just have to keep you occupied until then.
New Stargate Worlds wallpapers feature in-game imagery
The official Stargate Worlds website has been updated in two waves with nine new wallpapers, most of which show in-game locales and combat engagements. You can go look at them at the official site, or you can grab them right here instead! We're awesome like that.Most of the wallpapers depict a city, but we're apparently not quite Stargate SG-1 literate enough to identify it. There are a couple images of combat (including one of someone getting torched by a flamethrower; that's kinda cool), one shot of a Jaffa in the previously mentioned city (pictured above), and one montage of weapon concept art.Despite a few cash flow problems at the studio, Stargate Worlds' closed beta test is either already underway or imminent, depending on who you ask. So if you like these images, you might as well go sign up.%Gallery-32906%
The Chronicles of Spellborn launches November 27th in North America
Publisher Acclaim Games has finally announced the North American release date of developer Spellborn International's action-oriented MMORPG The Chronicles of Spellborn. The game will go live in the United States and Canada on the 27th of November -- exactly the same day as the European release. Why Acclaim and European publisher Frogster didn't announce for all regions at once, we're not quite sure!In the press release we received, Acclaim promised that a North American closed beta will begin soon, and directed would-be players to sign up at the official site. Expect fairly standard MMO gameplay, except for combat, which is a little different. You'll actually have to aim your attacks like you would in a third person shooter game.Spellborn runs on "Unreal Engine 2.5" and features music by respected video game composer Jesper Kyd, who has contributed scoring to games like Assassin's Creed, Gears of War, and Unreal Tournament 3.
Stargate Worlds beta "just a few weeks away"
Cheyenne Mountain/FireSky's Stargate Worlds beta test plans seem to be on track. At the Leipzig Games Convention, Studio Head Dan Elggren told the press that the beta would start in "early September/October." If you were worried that wouldn't happen, it might be time to stop worrying and start signing up (if you haven't already); there's an announcement at the official website saying that the closed beta test is "just weeks away."No further information was provided. We just got the above and a reminder to sign up. Since it's just the closed beta, though, you're not very likely to get in too terribly soon what with 200,000 applicants and all. That probably shouldn't upset you too much, since early closed beta tests tend to be about as playable as Ultima IX: Ascension.Hardcore Stargate Worlds fans will of course ignore these words of wisdom, because that's the kind of crazy gamers can proudly be.
Perfect World International beta test opens up to pretty much everyone
Perfect World International, the English-language version of the popular Chinese MMO of the same name sans "International" and plus a "2," has moved into its open beta testing phase. The beta test features two servers -- one PvE and one PvP -- and characters created in the testing period will be kept through the live launch of the game.Like most Chinese games, PWI is a microtransaction-based MMO, but it was originally slated to be a subscription-based game. It got all the subscription-based-game-type triple-A graphics and game design treatment, so it should appeal to Western users more than most Eastern free-to-play games. At least, that's the company line.Features include mounts, marriage, PvP territory wars, and pretty much every other staple, all in a Chinese mythology setting. It's been in closed beta testing for only a few weeks. There's no official word on the live date for the post-beta version yet.[Via 1UP]
DICE: Battlefield Heroes 'already out', closed beta to expand
Battlefield Heroes is a fairly unconventional game, especially when measured against other installments in the Battlefield franchise. It's an odd chimeric blend of some of our favorite shooters, with the cartoony style and sense of humor of Team Fortress 2, the character advancement of Call of Duty 4, and the free-ness of America's Army. As such, one couldn't expect the game to be released in a conventional fashion. Were the title gracing store shelves, we'd half expect the discs to come not inside a box, but rather, baked inside of a cake.Unfortunately for pastry fans, the title will only be available via digital distribution upon its release -- though the term "release" seems to have come under scrutiny from Ben Cousins, executive producer for DICE, Battlefield Heroes' developer. According to him, the title, which is currently in closed beta, is already technically "released", and won't have the "big splash release" one expects from an Electronic Arts title. Cousins explained that DICE simply plans to increase the size of the closed beta "to the point where every hardcore gamer in the world will probably be able to get a key if they want to," leading up to a time when the game will eventually "sneak out." We've never known a title to be well-served by a surreptitious launch, but we imagine the rules could be different when your game costs bupkis.
Warhammer Online NDA lifts tomorrow (August 19th)
The Warhammer Online NDA is expected to lift tomorrow, according to Mark Jacobs, GM of Mythic Entertainment. The announcement has popped up in a few places, but the message is clear: the NDA is lifting. Jacobs' announcement also touched upon why they're running the Open Beta as they are and early client downloads, but it's the NDA lift that seems to be catching most everyone's attention. Jacobs said, "We expect to lift it tomorrow morning. I was hoping it was going to be today but I wanted to wait till I got the beta reports from the weekend and we just didn't have enough time to get everything coordinated with our partners in order for the press release to go out today." Jacobs also stated that he'll explain the reasons for the delayed NDA release tomorrow. WAR bloggers everywhere are already freaking out (in a good way) over the news, so expect a literal flood of Warhammer Online info for tomorrow. Did you enjoy this? Make sure to check out all of our previous Warhammer Online features, and don't miss any of our ongoing coverage as Massively goes to WAR!
