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Betawatch

Betawatch: January 28 - February 3

Betas, MMO industry, Betawatch, Miscellaneous

Betawatch (Brick-Force screenshot)
This week, TERA revealed the details of its North American and European pre-orders and associated closed beta tests. WAKFU, still in beta but launching at the end of February, likewise unveiled its subscription plans, and Mythos Global officially entered open beta. Again.

Finally, Brick-Force, a Minecraft-inspired sandbox-shooter pseudo-MMO (say that 10 times fast) from German publisher Infernum, has made it to our alpha list as it's aiming for closed beta on February 28th.

Read on for the entire Betawatch roundup.

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Betawatch: January 21 - 27, 2012

Betas, MMO industry, Betawatch, Miscellaneous

Betawatch (GW2)
It's been a good week for beta-watchers: We've finally learned that Guild Wars 2, currently in a very hush-hush closed beta, will be making its way to our PCs in 2012. ArenaNet has announced that press betas and public beta weekends will begin in the coming months.

Anime MMO Spirit Tales joins our closed beta list this week, and we've also belatedly added mobile MMO Traveller AR and MMOFPS titles Repulse and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Online to the open beta list.

Finally, for those looking forward to Firefall, Red 5 Studios will be streaming some beta gameplay tomorrow, January 28th, starting at 2 p.m. EST.

Enjoy the full Betawatch roundup after the cut!

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Betawatch: January 14 - 20, 2012

Betas, MMO industry, Betawatch, Miscellaneous

Betawatch (Seven Souls Online screenshot)
This week, two new games have made their way to Betawatch: Seven Souls Online and indie MMO World Alpha, both of which are currently accepting closed beta testers. We also snagged a glimpse of Jagged Alliance Online's new PvP system and a shiny new trailer for iOS MMO Traveller AR.

Finally, Massively reader Odericko tipped us off to ongoing back-in-beta Glitch dev Q&As. The question segment is over, but the second session -- the answer session! -- kicks off at 8:00 p.m. EST tonight, precisely when Betawatch goes live. Go get your Glitch on!

The full Betawatch roundup is tucked behind the break.

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Betawatch: January 7 - 13, 2012

Betas, MMO industry, Betawatch, Miscellaneous

Betawatch (TERA image)
This week in Betawatch, Red 5 Studios flashed its fiery temper at SOPA, temporarily shutting down the closed beta for upcoming MMO-shooter Firefall in protest over the internet-hampering legislation. Meanwhile, TERA has begun accepting applications for its closed beta test, the Wrath of Heroes MOBA has kicked off a closed beta weekend, and Mythos Global has been resurrected for the billionth time, this time with a new open beta beginning on February 2nd.

The full Betawatch roundup is tucked beyond the break.

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Betawatch: December 31, 2011 - January 6, 2012

Betas, MMO industry, Betawatch, Miscellaneous

Betawatch
This week as promised, the North American open beta test for Wakfu got underway. We also learned of Trion's new beta-status iOS app for RIFT, listened to the Eligium devs explains why the "testing" part of beta testing actually matters, and uncovered how Funcom's The Secret World, currently still in closed beta, might bring the company out of its slump.

Enjoy our whole Betawatch list after the break!

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Betawatch: December 24 - 30, 2011

Betas, MMO industry, Betawatch, Miscellaneous

Betawatch - Wakfu
This week, we learned that the North American version of Ankama's Wakfu will be joining its European cousin in open beta on January 4th, which is good news for people who love quirky classes like Treasure Hunters, Warrior Gamblers, and Lunatic Soldiers.

Meanwhile, Runes of Magic opened invites to test out its new browser client, due to launch January 9th.

Enjoy the full Betawatch roundup beyond the break.

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Betawatch: December 17 - 23, 2011

Betas, MMO industry, Betawatch, Miscellaneous

Betawatch (Dominus screenshot)
You wouldn't think that the week of Star Wars: The Old Republic's launch would be the ideal time to announce a game beta, but apparently several games wanted to get the word out before holiday vacations got underway all the same. Both DUST 514 and PlanetSide 2 began accepting closed beta applications this week, although the former is open only to EVE Online subscribers to start with. DragonSoul, currently in open beta, has announced it will be launching in early 2012, while Dominus pushed its December closed beta off until the new year for optimization reasons. Finally, Dawntide has moved from our open beta list to our closed beta list as its servers have gone offline for the next few months while the team focuses on a game-wide revamp.

Enjoy the full Betawatch roundup past the cut.

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Betawatch: December 10 - 16, 2011

Betas, MMO industry, Betawatch, Miscellaneous

Betawatch
Guild Wars 2 is the king of Betawatch this week, as ArenaNet finally announced that its closed beta (for which you cannot sign up, unfortunately) begins today. Also this week, DarkEden left closed beta for launch, kid-friendly Little Space Heroes opened its doors officially, Runes of Magic rolled out the beta version of its browser client, Diablo III began another round of closed beta testing, and War of the Immortals carried characters over from open beta into its formal launch, forever departing our beta list. And though it's not quite list-worthy just yet, we did learn that Storybricks will be heading into beta this coming February.

Eligium's closed beta is underway this weekend as well. If you still need a key, we have a few left!

Enjoy the full Betawatch roundup past the break.

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Betawatch: December 3 - 9, 2011

Betas, MMO industry, Betawatch, Miscellaneous

Betawatch
This week in Betawatch, we learned that Dawntide will shuttering its beta to prep for yet another game-wide revamp, while both The Secret World and ArcheAge offered glimpses of fresh beta zones. APB: Reloaded graduates from the open beta list (again) as it heads into launch and lands on retail shelves. F2P Rosh Online likewise opened its doors officially (check out our first impressions!).

Finally, we bid farewell to Star Wars: The Old Republic, whose beta test attracted a staggering two million testers. The game begins its preorder headstart next week.

The full Betawatch roundup lies just beyond the break.

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Betawatch: November 26 - December 2, 2011

Betas, Massively Meta, Betawatch, Miscellaneous

Betawatch, End of Nations pic
This week in Betawatch, Trion's MMORTS End of Nations kicked off a round of beta test signups, XLGAMES teased us with more ArcheAge closed beta footage, MMOFPS Blacklight Retribution joined our closed beta list, and both War of the Immortals and DragonSoul migrated to open beta status. And don't forget Glitch, which actually moved from live back into open beta in a first-for-Betawatch "unlaunchening."

Are you looking for a new beta to tinker with? We distributed beta keys for three titles over the week: Archlord X: The Chronicles' closed beta; Mythos Global, whose current round of closed beta runs through Monday; and Rosh Online's closed beta, which we announced last week. That should keep you busy if you weren't one of the lucky few to be invited to this weekend's Star Wars: The Old Republic beta round.

The full Betawatch roundup is just beyond the cut!

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Betawatch: November 19 - 25, 2011

Betas, Massively Meta, Betawatch, Miscellaneous

Betawatch
While Star Wars: The Old Republic's final round of beta has dominated our headlines, this week's Betawatch has a few more nuggets to offer. Rosh Online joins our closed beta list this week, and on-again, off-again MMO Mythos returns as Mythos Global -- its latest closed beta edition will launch December 1st. MMOFPS Firefall and and MOBA Wrath of Heroes both offered closed beta updates as well.

Finally, Iris Online celebrated its first birthday. Why is that relevant? Because it's still officially in open beta! "Beta" doesn't mean what it used to, folks.

Hit the jump for the full Betawatch list.

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Betawatch: November 12 - 18, 2011

Betas, Massively Meta, Betawatch, Miscellaneous

Betawatch
This week our eyes have been on one massive beta in particular: Star Wars: The Old Republic's. In fact, we've still got some keys left, so if you're not already a shoo-in for the final Thanksgiving testing round, grab one and apply it before November the 20th!

Gamigo's Jagged Alliance officially heads into closed beta today, and Frogster's Eligium kicks off its closed beta tomorrow on December 19th.

Get your beta on with the full Betawatch roundup past the break.

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Betawatch: November 5-11, 2011

Betas, Massively Meta, Betawatch, Miscellaneous

Betawatch
Welcome to Betawatch, Massively's weekly report on the state of MMO betas. In each installment, we'll report everything from the latest open betas, closed betas and even alphas in one convenient place. Plus, we'll make sure to include as much info on each game's current status, including projected release dates (if known) and links to the sign-up forms to get yourself into that beta you've been seeking.

It's a bit of a quiet week on Betawatch, but there are a few additions and changes to this week's list. The Dark Eden MMO joins our closed beta list this week, as does UFO Online. Star Supremacy makes the jump to open beta, so the doors are open to all on that title.

Follow along after the jump for the latest Betawatch list.

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Betawatch: October 29-November 4, 2011

Betas, Massively Meta, Betawatch, Miscellaneous

Betawatch
Welcome to Betawatch, Massively's weekly report on the state of MMO betas. In each installment, we'll report everything from the latest open betas, closed betas and even alphas in one convenient place. Plus, we'll make sure to include as much info on each game's current status, including projected release dates (if known) and links to the sign-up forms to get yourself into that beta you've been seeking.

We're saying goodbye to Earth Eternal this week, but unfortunately not because the game has launched. In a this-might-be-all-we-ever-get announcement this week, the developers informed players that the project is on hold and the game's development team has been reassigned to other projects.

On a happier note, Castlot joins our open beta list, as does WindSlayer 2.

Follow along after the jump for the latest Betawatch list.

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Betawatch: October 22-28, 2011

Betas, Massively Meta, Betawatch, Miscellaneous

Betawatch
Welcome to Betawatch, Massively's weekly report on the state of MMO betas. In each installment, we'll report everything from the latest open betas, closed betas and even alphas in one convenient place. Plus, we'll make sure to include as much info on each game's current status, including projected release dates (if known) and links to the sign-up forms to get yourself into that beta you've been seeking.

Digimon Masters
is leaving Betawatch this week, and as always, we're happy to bid farewell because it means the game has launched. GLHF, Digimon Masters! War of the Immortals joined our closed beta list with a slightly delayed planned beta date of November 2nd, and if you haven't snagged a beta key yet, we've got a few left over. SD Gundam Online also joins our closed beta list, and while the first testing period doesn't begin until November 2nd, we've got beta keys for you so you can prepare! Finally, Eligium has launched its website and begun signups for closed beta.

Follow along after the jump for the latest Betawatch list.

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