Betawatch

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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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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