WAR Open Beta Announced, UK Prices Lowered

Mythic have finally announced a date for the beginning of Warhammer Online: Age Of Reckoning's open beta. It's 7th September, with the game released proper in a month's time, on the 18th. They're expecting it to be very open, with what they hope will be hundreds of thousands of people piling in to stress test the servers. This announcement is only for the N. American servers so far, with open beta invites given to anyone who pre-orders the game. We've asked EA when the EU servers will be offering the same, and will let you know. US players can register here.

Meanwhile, you might remember our confusion over the pricing for the UK subs rates on the game. At the time they were announced, the one month price was £10.31, which struck us as odd. We enquired, and have now been told they're lower.

It seemed wrong for a couple of reasons. Firstly, because out-pricing WoW seemed like a ludicrous business idea, and secondly, because it looked like it was based on that day's exchange rate for the Euro. Which would be an odd way to go about things. We enquired, and were first told that this was correct. We enquired with our eyebrows more arched, and were told it was being reviewed. So I'm pleased to say those prices have come down. Pleased, and taking all the credit.

The new pricing structure for WAR will be:

£8.99 per month

£25.17 for 3 months

£46.14 for 6 months

Which brings it in line with WoW, and is a saving of £8.20 over six months. You're welcome. You can put it in our tip jar. We're told that we might also expect to see the previously announced box price drop too. Last month they said it would be RRPd at £39.69, despite all shops setting it far lower - it can currently be pre-ordered for as low as £28 - and we can't believe they'd be so mad as to go that high.