MAG Gone Gold, Open Beta Launches Soon

The North American, Japanese, Korean and Asian versions of Zipper's 256-player online shooter MAG have gone gold and been sent off to manufacturing, with the European versions expected to follow suit "sometime in the next few weeks."

The revelation came as part of a PlayStation.Blog update, with Zipper community manager Jeremy Dunham reaffirming the PlayStation 3 exclusive's planned release dates: January 26 (North America, Asia), January 28 (Japan) and January 29 (Korea).

However, you won't have to until then to play, as an open beta will be accessible to all PlayStation 3 owners from January 4 through January 10, offering a taste of the game's 64-player Sabotage and 256-player Domination modes. The free downloadable client needed to play the beta will be available in the PlayStation Store beginning December 22 for North America, December 25 for Asia, and January 4 for Europe.