Betawatch

This week has been a week for games to let down their hair, dress comfortably, and throw open the doors for open beta. SMITE, Path of Exile, DUST 514, and DK Online all threw open the doors to new waves of beta testers, while Firefall is hosting an open beta weekend event.

While The Elder Scrolls Online isn't actually in testing yet, the game is accepting signups for beta now. Meanwhile, City of Steam and the much anticipated ArcheAge have both picked up publishers, ensuring the release of the latter and helping the former reach a wider audience. Scarlet Blade has entered its closed beta or closed alpha test, depending on who you ask, featuring a variety of women fighting one another with large guns and outfits composed of electrical tape.

There's plenty more going on in the beta field, though, so you can check past the break for the full list. If you see something we may have missed or know of a game that crept into launch sneakily, let us know down in the comments.

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My birthday this year is on Sunday. To celebrate the fact that I am one step closer to feeling the icy hand of death crawling along my spine, I took a week off to stare in mute horror at the trainwreck that I have made of my life over the past 30 years. This will be accomplished largely by completely avoiding introspection and combining sleep, video games, and hard liquor in the proper portions. Also some presents.

But enough about my whatever, it's time for WRUP! As always, the Massively staff is out and about playing all manner of video games, and you can find out what games we're playing just past the cut. So take a look and let us know what you'll be up to down in the comments! Especially if you will also be staring in mute horror at something -- possibly your attempts to construct a birdhouse.

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ArcheAge is soon to launch in its native Korea, marking the end of its testing, and the English site for the game has just received a revamp which is hopefully indicative of an upcoming release. But while players on North American shores won't be able to jump right into the game, they can jump into several other games that have just entered testing, such as Broken Realm's already open beta. And European players can look forward to the beta test of Dragon Nest starting on February 27th.

It's also a good time to be a shooter fan. Defiance has started its first bit of testing complete with a new FAQ, DUST 514 is opening the beta gates on January 22nd, and Warface is in closed testing as of now. There's also a new trailer to ramp up excitement for Path of Exile's open beta coming on the 23rd.

Need more potential games to test? Jump on past the break to see the full list, and let us know if there's anything we missed (or a game that sneakily added a cash shop) in the comments!

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DUST 514 is still officially in closed beta, but it's connected to EVE Online and character data will not be wiped again. That means that EVE players can experience the joys of getting a call from their allies and nuking a site from orbit, which we can all agree should be present in more games.

Age of Wushu is still officially launching on February 1st, but its beta servers are remaining up and character data will not be wiped, making this more of an early access for subscribers. City of Steam is focusing on functional improvements to the game client prior to open beta, while Marvel Heroes has introduced a Founders Program for players to buy into the game early. And while WildStar is still not even in closed beta testing, you can get a sense of how the very limited alpha plays.

You want to know about more games in testing? Perhaps in list format past the break? Then you're in luck.

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Earthrise isn't in testing at the moment, but it will be soon. Yes, it did that dance once before, but after the game's untimely demise, it's being resurrected for another go. Of course, it's not the only fish in the science fiction sandbox pond, with The Repopulation humming along in development and upgrading to a newer graphical engine for a bit more visual shine.

The more fashion-conscious among our readers will take note that City of Steam has updated the guard uniforms to be more trim and proper, removing the huge shoulderpads that had previously dominated the look. ArcheAge continues to put out new information as more testing continues in Korea, and Defiance is gearing up for its first beta event later in January.

For more tests in the lineup, click on past the break for the full list. If you notice anything we missed, feel free to let us know down in the comments.

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Are you ready for Origins of Malu? The developers of the sandbox certainly hope so, as the game's beta dates are being announced next week. That's not the only good news for fans of sandboxes over the past week, as Age of Wushu's developers responded swiftly to player outrage at some unexpectedly truncated purchaser benefits. They didn't restore the items lost by some players who deleted characters without realizing that benefits were being deleted as well, but it's something.

Elsewhere in the world, The War Z is facing a potential name change (although it's being fought), and both Ragnarok Online 2 and Power Rangers Online have gone to open testing. But if you're more focused on big names, you can look forward to the beta schedule for Final Fantasy XIV, which has been spelled out in great detail by the developers and will be kicking off early next year.

Need more beta goodness? Check out everything you could want to know just past the break with our full list, and if you see anything we missed, let us know in the comments!

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If you've been waiting to get your Age of Wushu on over the holiday season, the wait is finally over as the game has kicked off another round of testing starting Thursday. This is good news for anyone looking for something leaning toward the sandbox end of the spectrum, as Darkfall Unholy Wars has delayed its purchaser beta due to an issue with object persistence. But there's still more hope on the horizon, as ArcheAge fans were once again assured that the game will be coming over to the West in time.

Not enough beta goodness for you? Well, you can take heart that DUST 514 has added in a new patch allowing players to call in orbital fire from EVE Online. That alone should pull you into the game. Defiance is also gearing up for beta with a new in-universe promotional site.

Still not enough? Well, we've got a whole set of further betas in the list down below, so jump on past the cut and tell us anything we missed in the comments!

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You could be forgiven for overlooking Ragnarok Online 2's breakneck development pace, but allow us to bring this to your attention now -- the game's last closed beta has ended, and the open beta kicks off on the 27th. Age of Wushu's next closed beta starts a week earlier on the 20th, which is at the same time allowing people a chance to sneak into the game for some trial play.

City of Steam's testing continues apace, with the next round of closed testing almost here. The project has also gone up on Steam Greenlight. Darkfall Unholy Wars has also gone into the beta mode after a fashion, allowing players to test the relaunch if they pre-order the game. And if that's not hardcore enough for you, Wizardry Online is going live on January 16th, fulfilling all your permadeath needs.

For more shuffling statuses and the like, step on through the break to see the full list. If there's anything we missed, let us know in the comments!

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Several titles are leaving the list this week around, something that's become a theme for the past several iterations of Betawatch. Storybricks goes to a better fate than several games leaving the beta list of late; it's still going to see development as a toolset, but it's no longer a standalone game under development. Forge departs because of its launch on December 4th. We also bid farewell to Knight Age and KULTAN as both appear to have soft-launched with cash shops.

On the side of games still in testing, End of Nations has continued its development saga, with Trion Worlds taking over development and Petroglyph laying off several staff members. Meanwhile, Firefall is hosting another open test weekend, and The War Z has officially shed its alpha status tag. Last but not least, Path of Exile's open testing has been delayed by about a month, moving to January 24th of next year. Check out the full list of testing games just past the break!

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Everything seemed to be going along just fine for End of Nations, but this week we learned that the game's testing is on hold for the immediate future. No further details have been offered, but it's a real kick to fans of the MMORTS. Hopefully the game hasn't died permanently.

Speaking of dying permanently, this week has seen more information on the permadeath system in Wizardry Online. We've also seen several updates and previews of ArcheAge as well as the date of its Chinese beta. In the international vein, there's a broadening localization for the City of Steam beta. But if all of that still isn't your cup of tea, you can hope to get into the second Grimlands closed beta.

Check out the full list of games in testing past the break, and let us know if there's anything we missed down in the comments!

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This week, we say farewell to PlanetSide 2, RaiderZ, and District 187, all of which launched on Tuesday.

If you can't get enough of Age of Wushu beta coverage, this has certainly been the week for you. Aside from the closed beta running until Sunday, you've gotten a look at kidnapping, begging, and assassination. It's not quite a reveal of the pillow-fighting and balloonmaking systems, but you take what you can get. There's also a new preview video of combat in Swordsman Online too, if you need more wuxia goodness.

Not enough for you? Well, there's also been a new client update for Heroes & Generals and a new trailer for ArcheAge's setting. You can also sign up for the upcoming Transformers Universe beta. And if that's not enough testing for you, there's a whole list of other games currently in the testing stage just past the cut. If you see something we missed, by all means, let us know down in the comments!

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Usually a game leaves the beta list because it launches. Glitch was an odd case anyway, having launched and then returned to beta. But unfortunately, the quirky sandbox MMO is not getting another shot at launch. The game's closure was announced this week and marks the end of a long journey for a unique and interesting game.

In happier news, a whole slew of launch dates were announced, and Age of Wushu opened its doors enough to let in some closed beta testers. Alliance Warfare entered its open beta stage, and RIFT's first expansion went live at long last. It was a good week if you're into Korean games that may or may not come over to the other side of the world, as well, with a new preview of Cabal II's character creation and the launch dates for the upcoming sandbox Black Desert.

After this week's shakeups, the list has done quite a bit of moving around, but you can still check out the full run-down past the break. If you notice something missing or something we haven't added, let us know in the comments!

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It hasn't been hard to get into Firefall's beta test as long as you know a friend who plays the game. If not, you're sort of out of luck... well, until today, when the game opens up for its first limited semi-open weekend event. If it's already too late for you, don't worry; there are two more in the pipeline. Meanwhile, space shooter Taikodom isn't fussing about with any limited events and has warped straight into a full open beta, giving everyone a chance to go nuts and shoot things with a spaceship.

There's also an open beta starting next week in Cabal 2 Online, but that's exclusively Korean, so the language barrier might be an issue for you.

The War Z has reshuffled some of its development priorities, MechWarrior Online, Forge, and PlanetSide 2 have all put out new videos (and the last released a major beta patch), and there's the usual assortment of other games humming along in testing. Check the list past the break for the full rundown, and let us know if we missed anything in the comments!

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If you were hoping that DUST 514 would be fully released this year, we've got bad news for you. It's been confirmed now that not only will the game still be in beta through the end of the year, odds are good it won't be in open beta until next year either. On the plus side, if you're a Mac user you can start playing a beta client for Lord of the Rings Online, so that's something to be slightly happier about. You can also try out Mechwarrior Online as the game has moved into open beta (and eschewed Kickstarter for funding).

This having been said, there's still much afoot in the world of testing that didn't necessarily have a major update this week. Click on past the break to check out our full listing of active tests, and if you think we've missed anything, let us know down in the comments!

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Forge is currently in closed testing, meaning that even if you're interested in the game you're not able to try it out. But we were lucky enough to get our hands on the current game, and you can take a look at our first impressions to get an idea of where it stands at the moment.

If you're more interested in RIFT's first expansion, Storm Legion, you've got a bit more luck. The expansion is still in closed testing, but it opens for a weekend on November 2nd for current subscribers. RaiderZ, meanwhile, threw open the gates and went fully into open beta this week. City of Steam joined the party with a full outline of its beta schedule, which expanded beyond the vague "November" we knew from before. Last but not least, MechWarrior Online's delayed open testing will kick off on Monday.

And there's still more! Namely, there's the list of games in testing just past the break. If we missed something, by all means, let us know in the comments!

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