Blizzard courts beta sign-ups
For unannounced game. But is it just the WOW expansion?
One of the things Blizzard did at its inaugural Blizzard Convention at the end of last week, apart from pulling the rabbit out of its by-then-transparent hat and going, "Ta-da!" was to encourage attendees to sign up for a beta test on an at-the-time unannounced piece-of-game.
Using an entry code on the back of the BlizzCon pass, attendees can sign up on a special website. "As it may be a while before the invitations are sent for this beta test, we want to make sure you'll receive your invite!" the site declares.
Given that the page was up and the link doing the rounds prior to Blizzard's official confirmation of WOW expansion The Burning Crusade, and given the signup page's residence on worldofwarcraft.com, the chances are it's one for the expansion. Still, that hasn't stopped excitable types speculating on a possible Diablo massively multiplayer game and more besides.
And maybe they're right. Or at least maybe it's not about the WOW expansion. In a media Q&A released this morning, Blizzard said this about a possible beta test for The Burning Crusade: "We have not yet determined whether we will hold a public beta test for the expansion. If we decide to conduct a beta test, we will post details on the official World of Warcraft website."
If there's no decision, then it seems unlikely Blizzard would court anybody to take part. Hrm. We'll let you know if Blizzard sheds any more light on the situation.