World of Warcraft launches European beta test

Blizzard Entertainment's hugely anticipated massively multiplayer title World of Warcraft will be opening its doors for applications to a closed beta test in Europe on July 5th - with applicants from the English, French and German speaking markets invited to help to test the game prior to its European release.

The beta confirms the company's commitment to the European market, which has been sadly missing from many MMORPG titles in the past; although the beta here is taking place a couple of months after the American beta launched, the title is expected to arrive near-simultaneously in both markets.

The European test is designed to help with gameplay and technical compatibility issues, but more importantly, is meant to test the European server and network infrastructure which is being established for the title, as well as the French and German localised versions.

World of Warcraft will be hosted on local servers in Europe, and the game will be supported by a local team - the first non-licensed MMORPG title ever to have a dedicated regional team in place for Europe.

Submissions for the closed beta test run for three weeks from next Monday, and can be found on the local Blizzard websites for the territories: [Blizzard UK] [Blizzard France] [Blizzard Germany]. The final set of testers will be selected from the applicants at the end of the period.