Look out Blizzard. NCSoft and Carbine Studios are looking to rain on your World of Warcraft parade with the open beta launch of Wildstar, an upcoming action-adventure sci-fi MMOG. The game doesn't officially open its doors for business until June 3, giving potential customers ten days to get acquainted with the new landscape and lore.
"Set on the legendary planet Nexus, WildStar is a sci-fi MMO that has gained popularity for its wildly entertaining personality," reads the game's description. "The game gives players the freedom to play the way they want to play via the game's unique Path system, while mixing humor and whimsy with a novel approach to combat."
Senior sales manager Simon Cowley recently told MCV that based on the feedback from the pre-orders and closed beta, the game should sell extremely well. He even went so far as to say Wildstar will be one of the biggest games of 2014 -- one of the pillar PC releases this year.
"It's a key release for the summer period. Guild Wars 2 showed there is great passion for high quality MMOs from UK consumers, both online and in stores and we expect WildStar to continue that trend," Cowley said.
Over on GameSpot, Wildstar producer Stephan Frost called the game "one of the most feature-complete MMOs" in the last decade, and defended the need to have a monthly subscription. He says that Wildstar is a triple-A game, and even compares the MMOG with HBO, which is a premium channel that costs cable subscribers a little extra each month.
"HBO, for example, is premium content. It has great shows like Game of Thrones and True Detective. They don't charge extra for those things; they're just charging that sub fee and people gladly pay it because it's good. If it wasn't good, they wouldn't pay for it," Frost said.
According to the press release, the level cap has been raised from 25 to 30. There are also exclusive goodies that are only claimed in the open beta such as an exclusive costume and "free boxes full of awesome" when logging in each day. Potential customers who pre-purchase the game will also receive a special Rocket House, an exclusive in-game title and an exclusive housing trophy.
Wildstar can be purchased here at $59.99 for the Standard Edition, $74.99 for the Digital Deluxe Edition, and $15.00 for the Deluxe Upgrade. To get into the open beta, head here.
