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.

This week saw some major announcements in the realm of MMO betas. First, Champions Online has announced its open beta to begin in August, and Global Agenda should be dropping the closed-beta bomb sometime this month. Ys Online and Red War: Edem's Curse have also announced their own open betas while Ether Saga Online has graduated off the list to 'launched' status. Runes of Magic has also entered closed beta for their French and Spanish versions, continuing their plan of complete world domination. Keep reading after the jump for the complete list of MMOs in their various beta stages.

Do you plan on participating in the Aion beta this weekend? If not, you may want to reconsider, because NCsoft is offering a pretty amazing contest for those of you who decide to play. Here's the rub: North American players who log into the Aion closed beta this weekend (July 2nd to July 6th) and obtain level 3 are entered to win a trip to Seattle for themselves and a friend. This trip culminates at the Aion launch party at the Seattle Space Needle, where they'll also get to attend the PAX 2009 expo.

Pretty cool, right? We're sure that many of you would kill to get a chance to play Aion at all, let alone be entered into this contest. So make sure you get to at least level 3 if you're playing this weekend. You may as well if you're already going to play at all, right? And if you really want that beta key now -- but haven't had the luck to nab one -- preorder customers are given access to every beta event. You can find the page for preordering yourself a copy right here.

Runas de Magica y el pollo es muy delicioso para la cena! Ok, so our Spanish is a little rusty, we're missing some accent marks, and we probably just said that Runes of Magic tastes good with chicken, but what we mean to say is that the closed beta for Runes of Magic in Spain and France has begun.

Now anyone from those two countries, or anyone who wants to have their client in French or Spanish, can enjoy Runes of Magic in those languages. With the closed beta comes the launch of the French and Spanish Runes of Magic websites as well, so feel free to scurry on over and register.

The final date for launch for these two countries hasn't been confirmed yet, but the game will be shipping out with The Elven Prophecy, giving their launches a timeframe of either launching with the new expansion or shortly thereafter.

NCsoft is hoping that the pairing of flight and fantasy in Aion will prove to be a hit in both North America and Europe. Gamers who were accepted into the betas have been asking the Aion team about which version of the title the Western markets will see at launch. NCsoft has announced: "Aion is planned to release with version 1.5, the third major game update, bringing the content as up to date as possible. The Aion team strives to keep the game content consistent between territories, and releasing with this game version brings us one step closer to this goal."

Our own Lesley Smith has been writing about her experiences with the game through Aion's various beta test phases, particularly the experience of becoming a Daeva as an Elyos or as an Asmodian; we recommend reading her hands-on series if you're interested in this title. Massively will continue to cover Aion leading right up to the game's September launch.

Massively Speaking Episode 59 returns this week with regulars Colin Brennan and Kyle Horner as they join Shawn in discussing the current MMO events. There's talk of China's new anti-gold-farming legislation, SOE's community address at Fan Faire, Runes of Magic expansions, Mark Jacobs leaving Mythic and more!

Have a comment for the podcasters? Shoot us an email to podcast AT massively DOT com. Maybe we'll read your letter on the air!

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Ys Online has entered its open beta phase of testing, but for now, the game is still only available to European countries (The full list can be found here. Countries not found on the list are IP blocked). This open beta is a little different to most in that there won't be a character wipe when testing comes to a close, meaning that characters will carry over to the game's launch. Those interested in playing just need to create a Key to Play account, download the client, and log in -- no special key necessary, despite any confusion caused by the name of the game's portal.

According to the Ys Online forums, Key to Play is working on opening up access for more countries to play. Perhaps another publisher will come to the rescue and bring the game to the rest of the Ys-starved world?

With the oversaturation of fantasy in the MMO genre, we've been patiently waiting to get our hands on the steampunk victorian coolness of Gatheryn. An indie title currently under development by Mindfuse, Gatheryn seems to be part virtual world and part mini-game laden MMO, much like Free Realms. Considering how wildly popular Free Realms has become in a short period, many eyes are now turning to Gatheryn to see if the combination of casual minigames in a fun, unique MMO/VW setting can strike gold again. Massively's very own Managing Editor, Shawn Schuster sat down recently with Isa Anne Stamos, Game Studio Director for MindFuse, to find out some more about the future of this retro-feel title.

Massively: We first took a look at Gatheryn at GDC earlier this year, and liked what we saw so far. Can you describe some of the major feature changes or updates to the game since then?

Isa Anne Stamos, MindFuse: Generally, we've been focusing on building out the early stages of the Gatheryn experience – adjusting the layout of the city, adding variations to character customization, and creating a deep casual gaming experience that players can enjoy the minute they enter Gatheryn. Specifically, we just added a Player Health feature that measures your avatar's fatigue and gives us some creative options for healing items and quests. We're also filling in a lot of the quests and minigames – we've probably added a few since you saw us at GDC. We're also working hard to build up the community tools because we rely heavily on them to communicate with our beta users - they're crucial to getting player feedback in these early stages of development.

As the Cities XL closed beta continues to run strong, we got word that the beta's NDA has lifted [Edit: for press] and we can spill the beans on our first impressions of the game so far. Now, two very important points to be made here include the fact that this is not a review (MMO reviews are bad, mmkay), and this is still in early closed beta stage.

With that in mind, we're here to give you some facts on how the game stands now, with a bit of healthy opinion thrown in for good measure. If you're at all curious about how this city-builder MMO can possibly work, follow along below.

Hi-Rez Studios just updated their Answer Center with new Global Agenda beta information. The game is expected to move to a Closed Beta phase this July. Global Agenda has been in Alpha testing for a number of months now.

It looks like they're sub-phasing their Closed Beta Test as well (e.g., CBT-1, CBT-2, etc.), an approach that seems more common in MMOs these days. Warhammer Online did a series of closed beta phases, and more currently, Aion is doing the same. Each phase focuses on a different area of the MMO that needs testing and each successive phase usually brings more testers to the mix.

There are pros and cons when taking this phased approach. On one hand you really get to hammer down on your areas of concern but on the other you're only testing the individual parts and not the whole. Players always seem to play a game differently when unleashed upon the full experience.

In the end though, it probably won't matter to all the people who want a taste of what Global Agenda has to offer. Winning E3 Editor's Choice awards like "Best of Show 2009" is definitely building anticipation and raising expectations for this title.

Mortal Online is the next MMO title on the way that will cater to the hardcore fantasy PvP niche, which is currently filled for some gamers by Darkfall Online. The Mortal Online developers, Star Vault, announced that two beta players were given permission to write "Combat Beta" reviews of the PvP-centric title, which can now be found on the game's official forums. One was written by Mortal Online player Lachrymose which looked at character creation, melee and ranged combat, while the other review by Shinzon looked at crafting and the game environment, as well as combat.

That caught our attention and we think the reviews are worth a look, but the real news here is about the Mortal Online limited edition we mentioned recently -- there are only 999 copies of the limited edition which will go on sale on June 29th in the Mortal Online Game Store. Here's what you'll get with the limited edition:

• Everything in a printed jute bag

• Numbered and embossed metal box

• Collector's figurine: Draconigena Knight

• Collector's figurine: Thursar Barbarian

• Mortal Online journal with 24 concept art pages and poster

• Free shipment of all pre-launch updates on DVD

• Digital Download access

• Free access to 'Block A' beta

• "Free future digital updates and expansions"

• One month of game time (after the Q4 launch)

Mark your calendars, because according to fansite Champions Online Daily News -- and confirmed by Cryptic themselves -- August will be the month when everyone can flood into Champions Online's open beta. This information came from Daily News' recent visit to Cryptic's actual studio in Los Gatos, CA where it sounds as though the design team is sweating plutonium to get the game ready for public play.

We know many of you have been waiting to hear this news. With the game launching in September, it was only a question of whether or not a beta would happen -- August was mostly a foregone conclusion. Still, now that it's officially coming you can toss up your hats (or whatever article of clothing you would like to remove and hurl into the air) and celebrate. Beta's only a couple months away... just a couple more months.

[via 1up; Thanks, Kinnetik!]

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.

Another productive week for betas as WonderKing and Dungeon Fighter Online have both entered the closed beta stage. We've also added DragonSky to the list, thanks to a reader suggestion. See any that we missed? Give us a shout! Follow along below for the complete list.

The Fallen Earth stress test that is being run through Fileplanet (which we reported on a few days ago) has had the "subscriber-only" restriction lifted. Because of this, those that were on the fence about paying for the beta will now only need to register for a regular Fileplanet account to get into the game -- a much easier decision to make, we're sure you'll all agree.

If you do want to give the Fallen Earth stress test a go at the new bargain price of 'free', sooner is better than later, as there is a limited amount of promotional keys to be given away (you can get them here). Check out the Fallen Earth Stress Test FAQ for more information about this phase of testing.

[Thanks, Aetrix.]

It's Friday, and you know what that means! Well, lately it's meant that we at Massively are giving something away, and today is no exception. Today's key code giveaway will get you into the WonderKing closed beta, and we have a metric ton of these things to give away, courtesy of the fine folks at NDOORS. Of course you remember WonderKing from our recent interview with the game's developers, but now you'll have your chance to actually play the game.

To claim your code, simply leave a comment on this post telling us why you'd like to get into the closed beta. From there you'll get an email with the key code and instructions on how to redeem the code (so make sure your registered email is correct!). All comment entries must be in by Monday, June 29th, 2009 at 9am EST when eligibility will close. Only one prize per person. Good luck!