Electronic Arts studio Phenomic today announced that an open beta for its upcoming real-time strategy / trading card game BattleForge will start November 7.

People interested in testing sign up at BattleForgeCardHunt.com, with North Americans guaranteed entry if they have the game pre-ordered. Shipping early 2009 for PC, BattleForge uses virtual trading cards representing units, buildings and spells that can be used during singleplayer or online multiplayer -- including co-op -- matches.

City of Heroes and Star Trek Online developer Cryptic Studios today opened registration for the closed PC beta of its superpowered MMO Champions Online.

Those seeking to role-play the virtual life of a super hero can apply for beta access on the game's official site, with the PC-only beta slated to begin in mid-November.

"This closed beta is an exciting step in the evolution of Champions Online," said Cryptic creative officer Jack Emmert. "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."

Champions Online is scheduled to launch on PC and "current gen consoles" in spring.

Publisher FireSky has announced that closed beta testing of Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment's MMORPG Stargate Worlds will start October 15.

People interested in testing can sign up at the Stargate Worlds website. More testers will be added as the beta progresses.

New screenshots were issued as well, those can be found here. Based on the now-cancelled TV shows Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis, Stargate Worlds launches early 2009.

Demigod, the upcoming gigantic-hero PC RTS-action-RPG hybrid in development at Gas Powered Games, is now playable in beta form, all for the price of a pre-order.

Pre-ordering the game on the Stardock Impulse digital distribution service grants immediate access to the game inspired by the Warcraft III modification Defense of the Ancients, according to an announcement on VE3D.

"This is a limited time offer," reads the announcement. "Signups for this cycle of the beta test close on Friday, September 19th." The beta will continue after signups close.

Need to learn more about Demigod before taking the plunge? Have a look at our hands-on preview of the game to see if it's right for you.

Publisher Sony Computer Entertainment America has opened up an online application form for the beta test of Insomniac's PS3 shooter sequel Resistance 2.

Beta access is granted to pre-order customers and subscribers to Qore, Sony's digitally-downloaded video magazine. But for those unwilling to spend money, aspiring players can apply for free access at the Resistance 2 site. Applicants will need their PlayStation Network IDs and must be over 18 years old.

The beta test samples Resistance 2's multiplayer modes--including competitive modes for up to 60 players and 8-player co-operative play using multiplayer maps--and will start in early October. The complete game will be released on November 4 in North America.

As promised, developer Mythic Entertainment has launched the open beta for those that pre-order its upcoming fantasy MMO Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (PC).

After pre-ordering from a participating North American retailer--including Best Buy and GameStop--aspiring participants should receive an open beta code they can register on the game's official account page.

Both level and content restrictions are in place for the beta, as players cannot advance past level 20 or explore an area above Tier 2, and all characters will be wiped in advance of the game's official launch on September 18.

The latest update to the PlayStation 3's digital storefront sees the debut of the August edition of Sony's digital magazine Qore, along with new details concerning paid access to the upcoming beta program for Insomniac Games' shooter sequel Resistance 2.

Those gamers who buy an annual subscription to the digital magazine will be offered early access to the beta, scheduled to kick off in the near future. Single episode purchasers, meanwhile, will be guaranteed access at an undisclosed later date. Qore is priced at $2.99 per issue, or $24.99 for an annual subscription.

Also on offer is the PlayStation Home theme, which acts as an application into the latest round of beta testing for Sony Studio London's online social networking software when downloaded. As revealed earlier today, the theme is available free of charge.

The entirety of today's PlayStation Store update is viewable below... Read more

As Sony prepares to launch the public Home (PS3) beta this year, the company has revealed plans to ramp up the closed beta test at the end of the month.

To apply for the latest round of testing for Studio London's online social-networking software, North American PlayStation 3 owners simply need to download the free PlayStation Home theme that will be available in the PlayStation Store later today.

"We will be using a variety of criteria including activity on the PlayStation Network to determine eligibility for the Beta community," director Jack Buser wrote on PlayStation.Blog, noting that current beta testers will be included in the rollout, and that SCE Europe will be contacting active PS Network users for beta participation.

The multiplayer PC beta for EALA's strategy title Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 has kicked off, allowing the first 2,000 folks that registered beta keys to begin playing.

"We are starting the activation process with a very small pool of testers and will work to ramp this number up to thousands and thousands of Comrades around the world on a weekly basis, likely multiple times a week throughout the rest of this month and August," EALA noted on the game's official site.

The studio expects the next wave to bring in at least 10,000 more participants. At present, the only way to register for the beta is to use the key that was bundled with the PC edition of the C&C3 expansion pack Kane's Wrath.

The full version of Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 arrives on PC and Xbox 360 this October. The project was originally slated to hit PlayStation 3 as well, but was later cancelled due to the PS3's "exotic and tough" development environment.

Serial codes granting access to Blizzard's recently launched World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King (PC) beta are being sold on internet auction site eBay for exorbitant sums of money following the beta's launch late last week.

According to Eurogamer, the beta keys have sold as high as €652 ($1022) on internet auction site eBay's UK arm. Meanwhile, recently completed listings in North America range anywhere from $200 to $650, with one listing going for $735.

Originally distributed at Blizzard's BlizzCon 2007 and 2008 Worldwide Invitational, the keys were recently revealed to grant entry to the anticipated expansion's beta testing phase. The only other means of gaining access is by way of an opt-in sign-up page, from which participants are randomly selected.

Wrath of the Lich King marks the second expansion to the wildly popular fantasy MMO, and includes the title's first hero class, the Death Knight.

The expansion is set to make its full retail debut by the year's end.

The beta for Backbone Entertainment's Super Street Fighter II HD Remix (PS3, 360) has been extended to September 5th, publisher Capcom revealed on its official blog.

Originally slated to operate until mid-August, the Xbox 360-exclusive beta formally kicked off on June 25 and was made available to those Xbox 360 owners who purchased Backbone's Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3.

The extension is likely aimed at testing a new patch for the fighter revamp, which Capcom says will arrive "in the coming weeks." The patch incorporates a new netcode which minimizes lag while playing the game online, as well as a number of general gameplay tweaks.

A complete listing of the patch notes are viewable below... Read more

Update: Insomniac Games has informed Shacknews that Qore represents "only one way into the public [Resistance 2] beta," which is planned for worldwide availability.

"There will be many ways in, including a pre-order program we'll announce soon that will grant the earliest access to the public beta," noted Insomniac's James Stevenson.

Original Story: The August issue of Sony and Future Publishing's downloadable PlayStation 3 video magazine Qore, priced at $2.99, will contain an exclusive invitation to the online beta for Insomniac's upcoming first person shooter Resistance 2 (PS3).

Resistance 2 is slated to include 60-person online class-based competitive multiplayer and 8-person online cooperative play in addition to the expected ... Read more

Serial codes handed out at Blizzard's BlizzCon 2007 and 2008 Worldwide Invitational will allow players access to a beta testing of World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King (PC), the company revealed today.

The news arose in a forum post written by a Blizzard representative, who stated that attendees of either event who have their keys on hand can register the codes on the company's official beta sign-up page.

Those eager players who did not attend BlizzCon or this year's Worldwide Invitational can participate in an "opt-in" beta sign-up, in which participants will be chosen at random. A launch date for the beta has not yet been disclosed.

Marking the second expansion of the wildly popular fantasy MMO, World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King will include the MMO's first Hero class, the Death ... Read more

Developer NetDevil and publisher Codemasters have announced that the pre-release beta signups for the upcoming PC space-action MMO Jumpgate Evolution have begun through the game's official website.

Codemasters also provided a new set of screenshots alongside its announcement.

Announced around this time last year, Jumpgate Evolution is NetDevil's update to its long-running MMO Jumpgate with new graphics, AI tweaks, a redesigned user interface and other improvements.

Jumpgate Evolution is expected to debut later this year.

The open beta for GarageGames' online shooter Fallen Empire: Legions, a spiritual sequel to Starsiege: Tribes, has launched on web portal InstantAction.com.

Prospective beta testers need only sign up for a free InstantAction account in order to get in on the action.

As in Tribes, Fallen Empire's major draw is its jetpack-based flight, which makes for a rather frenetic first-person shooter. The game supports up to 16 players on two maps, played in either deathmatch or capture-the-flag modes.

For more on the game, check out our recent preview.

Publisher Capcom announced today that the beta release of its upcoming classic fighter overhaul Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix will be made available to Xbox 360 users on June 25.

Access to the downloadable Xbox 360-exclusive beta will be granted to all who purchase Backbone Entertainment's Commando 3 from the Xbox Live Marketplace. The beta allows gamers to test the title in online play as either Ken or Ryu on a single stage.

Developed by Backbone Entertainment, the full version of SSF2HDR will be sold at an unknown price through the online storefronts of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 later this summer.

Realtime Worlds today unveiled its plans to host a "full public beta of APB," its upcoming crime-based MMO due out on PC and Xbox 360. Helmed by Grand Theft Auto creator David Jones, the studio's first release was the open world title Crackdown (360).

The news and two new bits of character art were tucked away within the announcement of Chris 'Ulric' Dye as the game's community relations manager.

According to business manager Mario Rizzo, Dye's hiring "signals the start of a new phase for APB where we can interact more fluidly with both gaming sites, and our potential future player base. This is an important milestone for the game now that we are transitioning into Alpha and moving towards the full public beta of APB."

Alpha and beta tests are relatively common for massively mutliplayer online efforts, though they often occur within the confines of an closed, invite-only environment. No timeframe or platform details were provided for the public beta, though the game is expected to launch in 2009.

People interested in beta testing Ubisoft's voice-controlled strategy game Tom Clancy's EndWar (PS3, X360) can now sign up at this website, provided they have an Xbox 360 with an Xbox Live Gold subscription, and 3GB of free space.

The private beta, which will run for three weeks in June and July, will include three maps and the ability to play 1v1 and 2v2 matches. For more on EndWar check out our recent impressions and interview.

Speaking with Shacknews, Electronic Arts has clarified reports of pay-to-play weaponry in the upcoming release of EA DICE's Battlefield: Bad Company (PS3, X360).

Responding to reports that ten weapons in the Xbox 360 multiplayer beta of the title were marked as purchasable from the Xbox Live Marketplace, a representative explained that some of the weapons would be made available as part of pre-launch promotional programs.

"Battlefield: Bad Company will release five unique weapons free of charge through five different promotional programs prior to launch," the rep noted. "EA will again make these weapons available to players free of charge after launch, in case anyone missed the pre-launch promotions."

The other five weapons will be made available to players who purchase the Gold Edition of Battlefield: Bad Company, which will be released alongside the standard retail release this June. "For players who do not purchase the Gold Edition of the game, they can still buy the five weapons at a small individualized price per item," the representative continued.

"All weapons are balanced for gameplay," they added. "More weapons offer players more choices but do not create an advantage/disadvantage for players who do not opt to buy new items."

A glance at the unlockable arsenal in the newly released beta for EA DICE's Battlefield: Bad Company (PS3, X360) reveals weapons will be up for purchase on the Xbox Live Marketplace, Game|Life reports.

The Unlocks section of the game's menu system lists a variety of weapons, ten of which read "buy this weapon on Xbox Live Marketplace" when highlighted. The game also displays a model of the weapon which can be rotated and viewed at any angle, leading some to speculate that the weapons are already packed in the game data.

While many elements in the beta versions of many titles are often changed or scrapped prior to retail release, the inclusion of a microtransaction seems an unlikely candidate for overhaul as Bad Company nears its June release.

Another EA DICE online shooter, Battlefield Heroes (PC), was recently confirmed to include microtransactions to support its free-to-play pricing structure.

Shacknews has reached EA for comment, but the company has not responded as of this writing.