Hawken, Adhesive Games' free-to-play multiplayer mech combat title, will launch in open beta on Dec. 12, publisher Meteor Entertainment confirmed today.
The open beta will be available worldwide except in China, where it is "coming soon" from publisher Kong Zhong, according to a press release announcing the open beta.
"It's been a long road and I'm getting the jitter bug as we are getting near our Open Beta Event. Everyone on the team is putting in the extra effort to make the Hawken experience as fun as possible," said Adhesive Games co-founder and creative director Khang Le.
The studio has been running closed beta test periods for the past few months, and according to co-founder and lead animator Chris Lalli, "Open Beta is our chance to implement all the good feedback we've gotten from closed beta players on the forums, and deliver the changes the community wants to see." Launching in open beta, he said, gives the developers "flexibility to roll out these updates in waves, and get instant player feedback that will influence the final version of the game.
"The community will really have the ability to shape the game and be part of its development," he added. No timetable for the release of the final version of Hawken is available yet.
Interested parties can head to the game's official website to sign up and reserve a callsign before the open beta launch. According to Meteor Entertainment, a launch trailer created by Gears of War art director Jeremiah O'Flaherty and effects house Digital Domain will premiere during Machinima's Inside Gaming Awards on Dec. 8.