Betawatch

It's official, ladies and gentlemen: You can talk about Storm Legion all you want without fear of an NDA breach. For RIFT players, this is obviously exciting news, and once the usual hate-filled threads about how awful the expansion will be have closed, you can look forward to all sorts of new tidbits.

But it's not all about RIFT this week. WorldAlpha has announced dates for its alpha and beta testing, with the first alpha weekend kicking off on the 26th. The testing sequence should run roughly every other week through the end of the year, giving fans plenty of time to start testing the game and making their voices heard. This might ameliorate any MechWarrior Online fans despondent over the open beta testing delay.

Not enough for you? RaiderZ is planning its open beta, Age of Wushu has extended its pre-order bonuses, and PlanetSide 2 has an official launch date. And there's a whole stew of other games in testing as you'll see just past the cut. Take a look, and if we've missed something, let us know down in the comments! Or just let us know what games you're looking forward to; that's also cool.

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When it rains, it pours, but when it doesn't rain, there's a distinct lack of... rain-like substance. After last week's beta onslaught, this week has been far more quiet, with only the semi-MMO-related shooter District 187 entering into open beta.

Of course, that doesn't mean that this week was devoid of betas altogether, with several still running nicely and the upcoming RaiderZ hosting an open stress test for the weekend. Not to mention that this past week saw the annual GDC Online conference, which meant several opportunities to check out titles currently in beta in slightly more detail. So there's still some fine testing afoot if you need it. There's just not a lot of changes.

Of course, if you missed last week, you're probably still unsure of what's in testing and what falls under the dreaded "soft launch" category. (It's assumed that category is dreaded.) So take a look past the jump for our full list, and if we've missed anything, let us know down in the comments!

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It's been a big week for betas, with Pirate101 giving everyone a chance to jump in for a bit and MechWarrior Online dropping its NDA. There are also some upcoming test dates for both Final Fantasy XIV and The War Z, but right now neither game has an active beta. It's also the final beta weekend for End of Nations. Oh, and die-hard EverQuest raiders can sign up to get their guild into beta testing if they want a look at the next tier of content coming out with the expansion.

Die-hard roleplayers, meanwhile, are yet again denied the chance to look at the next set of buildings to talk within. Next year in the expansion.

In any event, jump on past the break for the full scorecard of what's currently in testing, both open and closed. And if you know of something that we've missed on the list, let us know in the comments so we can add it in for next week!

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Today's Betawatch marks the start of pile on October week, which is totally a thing! We learned that steampunky Guns of Icarus will not make its September launch; it will emerge from beta on October 29th, though you can preorder now to snag beta access. Also launching in October is Pirate101. It's also accepting preorders as of this past Wednesday.

PWE likewise announced that RaiderZ will soft launch with an open beta on October 24th. In keeping with the theme, RaiderZ is available for prepurchase right now.

Finally, Trion's End of Nations will kick off its fourth and final closed beta weekend event starting on October 4th.

Check out our complete Betawatch roundup after the cut!

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This week on Betawatch, we say farewell to Sevencore, which officially soft-launched this week with a massive contest doling out a laptop, gaming mice, hoodies, and a bean bag chair. Seriously.

Rejoining Betawatch is Black Prophecy Tactics: Nexus Conflict, whose death announcement was apparently premature! Turns out, only the Reakktor Media version of the game is shutting down on September 26th; the Gamigo edition entered its second closed beta today.

Finally, Diablo fans (or not-fans) might want to check out Path of Exile this weekend; the game is holding a three-day stress test that started just an hour ago.

The complete Betawatch roundup is beyond the break.

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Happy Friday, Betawatchers! If you're into not-elves, you're going to love today's roundup.

Steampunk fans, furbish up your browsers: City of Steam's closed beta is gearing up (pun intended) for November. Spandex more your thing? Try Marvel Heroes; its closed beta will begin on October 1st. How about sci-fi? End of Nations' third testing event began this morning, Otherland is initiating a second beta weekend, and PlanetSide 2 announced its beta promotions today as well.

Finally, we added Xulu Universe last week, and now we've checked it out in person. It's in "sort of an open alpha," so you "sort of" can too.

Check out the complete Betawatch list after the cut!

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Remember that Otherland beta that was on and then off again? It's on again! In fact, its first open beta weekend kicked off today with a brand-new trailer.

NASA's MMO has been renamed Starlite and joins Betawatch tonight, as does sandbox Xulu Universe and adult-themed Venus Rising, fka Orgia Romanus. And just to confuse you, Aeria announced beta signups for its latest title, Starlight Story.

Finally, as reported last week, Knight Age's open beta launched on Tuesday. End of Nations' beta events will resume on September 7th.

Journey onward for the complete Betawatch roundup.

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Betawatch says farewell to Guild Wars 2 today, as the subscriptionless MMO will launch its headstart later tonight. Stay tuned for our launch coverage next week!

Lord of the Rings Online's Riders of Rohan expansion has been delayed, extending the beta period more than a month. We also learned that gPotato's Sevencore open beta will kick off on September 6th, Age of Wushu is launching in the States on October 18th, DUST 514's Precursor beta client is now live, and Knight Age named August 28th as the date for its open beta. And remember that Otherland beta we told you about last week? It's been delayed indefinitely.

Finally, we got a close look at RIFT's housing-system-in-testing and the beta version of Pirate 101.

Hit the jump for the complete Betawatch roundup!

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Upcoming sandbox ArcheAge has kicked off its fifth closed beta test this week as if to taunt those of us on this side of the pond who don't speak Korean. To tide us over, we have City of Steam, whose final alpha weekend starts up tonight; DUST 514, which aims to run a closed beta event for PlayStation Plus members beginning on August 21st; and PlanetSide 2, which will see PlanetSide vets join the beta come Monday.

Meanwhile, Guild Wars 2's prepurchase headstart is just a week away, and the team delivered two stress tests this week in preparation. Not up for GW2? Give Knight Age a spin; its open beta kicks off on August 28th.

Finally, Massively reader Travis tipped us off to the rumor that Otherland's closed beta will begin a week from today on August 24th.

The complete Betawatch roundup went thataway!

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PlanetSide 2's closed beta test kicked off earlier this week, as did MechWarrior Online's early access beta, though the free-to-play MWO is quick to discourage traditional beta terminology. RaiderZ likewise joins the closed beta roster; we put together a video preview of the game for those of you not yet in on the test.

We also learned that Neverwinter will be playable at Gamescom next week, though there's no news yet on that game's upcoming beta. (People keep asking. Now you know what we know.)

Finally, Guild Wars 2 ran two more impromptu stress tests this week for people who don't work during the day. Thanks, GW2!

The complete Betawatch roundup is just past the cut!

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The War Z and Forge have joined Betawatch this week, the former with an alpha signup that garnered over 100,000 applicants in just a day. PlanetSide 2's beta was met with more delays and now aims to open up Monday, while Guild Wars 2 surprised everyone with an impromptu, four-hour stress test on Wednesday. Might we see another one before the game launches?

Players who've been waiting months for a chance to play Glitch will be happy to learn that the team is now letting new players trickle in. Pirate101 has also kicked off its closed beta. But if you're not into such cutesy fare, maybe you'll prefer Taikodom, which launched its closed beta today, or our recent hands-on with MechWarrior Online -- early access starts this coming Tuesday!

Finally, this weekend marks fresh beta events for City of Steam and End of Nations. The complete Betawatch roundup is just past the cut -- now with shiny subreddit links!

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This week on Betawatch, we say farewell to Divina, which officially launched on Wednesday with festivities and bonuses including new minipets and mounts and an ongoing event in celebration of the Olympics.

Mists of Pandaria, the World of Warcraft expansion that's been tickling the Betawatch list for many months now, finally has a launch date: September 25th. If you can't wait and are in the mood for something with a hint of Blizzard about it, try Diablo-inspired Path of Exile, which is running another open stress test starting today. If you want something more MMORTS-flavored and can wait another week, you can sign up for End of Nations' next beta event.

We've also added Lord of the Ring's Online's Riders of Rohan to our closed beta list. Ride for ruin and all that!

Finally, PlanetSide 2 released a new beta trailer and clarified the beta invitation process. All this and more in the complete Betawatch roundup behind the break!

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This week, we learned that Lord of the Rings Online's Riders of Rohan beta has officially kicked off, though mounted combat isn't quite in yet. But if Hobbits aren't your thing, why not check out End of Nations' first beta weekend, which begins today? You could also sign up for Sevencore's beta for another dash of F2P sci-fi; the test kicks off August 9th.

Betawatch also says farewell to Drakensang Online, which has just celebrated its end of beta events with a new continent and trailer.

Finally, Guild Wars 2 fans will this weekend embark on the final beta event, enjoying the Asura and Sylvari races and starting zones, a live gem store, and a brand-new PvP map.

The complete Betawatch roundup is tucked behind the break!

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This week on Betawatch, we say farewell to Brick Force, which has officially launched! Soul Captor Online moves from our closed to open beta list, while both Sevencore and RaiderZ have announced closed beta dates (July 16th and August 8th, respectively).

Meanwhile, PlanetSide 2's devs have confirmed that the game will be headed to beta within the next month, a new round of beta invites has gone out to ArcheAge's Korean testers, and Aeria is now accepting beta applications for its new F2P shooter, Born to Fire.

Finally, we learned that the Sylvari and Asura will be playable in Guild Wars 2 final beta event. One more week to go!

The complete Betawatch roundup is tucked beyond the fold.

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Happy Friday, Betawatchers! This week, we learned that Brazilian sci-fi shooter Taikodom will enter closed beta in August. We also said farewell to Phantasy Star Online 2, which launched in Japan on the 4th of July while you were eating pie and blowing things up IRL.

Trion has announced that End of Nations will kick off its first closed beta weekend event on July 20th, with guaranteed access for founding purchasers, while Joymax declared a one-week open beta event for its newest title, Knight Age, starting July 10th.

Finally, if you're looking for something to play in the shorter term, try either C9, which entered open beta last Saturday and will officially launch on July 11th, or RuneScape, which is holding an open beta for its new combat upgrade this very weekend.

Hop past the break for the complete Betawatch roster.

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