Betas

The update means users can remotely start downloads on their home PC. It's a welcome addition, though it isn't perfect; your PC must be on and logged in to Steam at all times, meaning it's not quite as convenient as it could be. More >

Command & Conquer Tiberium Alliances, pitched by publisher EA as "the first truly portable MMOG", is now in open beta. Developed by German EA subsidiary Phenomic, whose most recent release was 2010 RTS Lords Of Ultima, Tiberium Alliances is in development for PC and mobile platforms. More >

Microsoft has apparently failed to respond to concerns raised by beta testers who spotted a drop in the quality of video playback after installing the Xbox 360 Metro dashboard update. Users told Eurogamer that videos played from the new dash run at limited range RGB levels, with colours washed out and blacks appearing grey, with Digital Foundry tests confirming the issue. More >

Electronic Arts has announced Command & Conquer Tiberium Alliances, a free-to-play game for PC and mobiles that the publisher says is "the first truly portable MMOG." Developed by Phenomic, the EA-owned German developer whose most recent release was 2010 MMORTS Lords Of Ultima, Tiberium Alliances will enter beta tomorrow, December 15. More >

Glitch, the charming browser MMOG developed by Tiny Speck with input from Katamari Damacy creator Keita Takahashi, is returning to beta for what the developer describes as "fairly radical changes." The game officially launched in late September, but in a post on the official Glitch site, Tiny Speck founder Stewart Butterfield explains that the volume of work the studio wants to do on the game requires that it be "unlaunched." More >

Valve writer Chet Faliszek has admitted that the company delayed the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive multiplayer beta following feedback from professional players who have been helping test the game. The beta for Counter-Strike's eagerly-awaited return was initially planned to launch last month, but in a video interview with ESEA News, reported by CVG, Faliszek said players had fed back a list of bug reports and feature suggestions that, were they not addressed, would mean the beta would fail in its bid to assess the game's netcode. More >

Over 500,000 people have signed up for the beta phase of Funcom's upcoming MMOG The Secret World, the developer has announced. The game, which casts players as one of three secret societies - Illuminati, Dragon or Templar - is currently in beta ahead of its release in April. More >

DICE, Swedish developer of the upcoming Battlefield 3, has confirmed that PC players of the eagerly-awaited shooter's multiplayer beta will be able to play on a second map, Caspian Border, this weekend. More >

Sony has presented those looking forward to today's launch of the Battlefield 3 multiplayer beta with a major headache by taking PSN down for maintenance this evening. In a post on the PlayStation community forums, Sony confirms that PSN will be offline between 5pm and 7pm BST. More >

In a press release, Blizzard has announced that Diablo III has been delayed, and will now be released early next year. More >

Upcoming action-RPG Diablo III has entered closed beta, developer Blizzard has announced. The beta features part of the games first act, with players able to choose from any of the game's five classes: barbarian, witch doctor, wizard, monk or demon hunter . More >

EA has announced that an open beta test of Battlefield 3's multiplayer mode will begin on September 29. More >

The multiplayer beta of Ezio's final outing, Assassin's Creed Revelations, will be made available to all PSN account holders today. It was originally exclusive to members of PlayStation Plus and Ubisoft's Uplay, but from 10am UK time today all PSN users can download it from the PlayStation Store. A word of warning: the dreaded "scheduled maintenance" means PSN will be offline between 4pm and 6pm GMT today. Oh, and another: the beta is a 2.5GB download.

European gamers eagerly refreshing their email inboxes in the hope of receiving an invitation to The Old Republic beta will be doing so for a while, after BioWare's Chris Collins said the studio had decided to wait for a new build of the Star Wars MMOG before sending out the invitations. Collins said that asking European players to download a 27GB client, then a few days later wipe their progress and ask them to download the client all over again was "not an experience we want new testers to be exposed to...You have my word that this batch of invites will happen, it may just mean you have to wait a little longer."

Users can now sign up for the first beta phase of Funcom's upcoming MMOG The Secret World. Players can choose between one of three secret societies - Templar, Illuminati, and Dragon - and Funcom is also asking that existing members of the game's community sign up again to ensure their partication in phase two of the beta, which will add social features, including a "web-based community game." To register, follow the source link below.

A multiplayer beta of this year's entry into the Assassin's Creed series will arrive on PlayStation Network, as a timed exclusive, on September 3, Ubisoft has announced. The beta, which will run until September 11, offers players a choice of nine characters, with four game types playable on three maps. Inevitably, there's a catch: only subscribers to PlayStation Plus, or members of Ubisoft's new Uplay service, are eligible.

Bigpoint's latest free-to-play browser MMOG is now in open beta, with the developer claiming its action RPG has over 100 hours of content. The game was developed at Bigpoint Berlin using the company's Nebula 3 engine, and the team is already at work on updates and new content. Co-CEO Heiko Hubertz says Drakensang Online is "not only an action-packed gaming experience but also a technical achievement which every gamer should test out, especially as it's free to play online in your browser."

At present, the new system only allows users to trade Steam Gifts and virtual Team Fortress 2 items, though Valve says Portal 2 will be added shortly and it hopes to have several thirdparty games on the service in due course. While TF2 players have been able to trade items for some time, Valve has improved the UI and significantly increased the number of items that can be traded. For more, see the detailed FAQ linked in the source below.