World of Warcraft beta draws to a close

This evening, Blizzard e-mailed participants of its World of Warcraft beta-test program, informing them that the current beta period would finally be coming to a close at 3:00pm PT on Friday, October 29, in preparation for another "stress test." Blizzard confirms that beta testers' characters will still be available for use during this stress test, but that testers will need to download a new software client at that time.

The World of Warcraft closed beta program originally launched on March 18 of this year. Since that time, Blizzard has made significant changes and additions to the work-in-progress version of its first massively multiplayer online role-playing game. This evening's e-mail concluded with some words of thanks to participants of the long-running beta: "We want to take this opportunity to thank you for all the hard work you've been putting in to make World of Warcraft a better game. You've done a great job, and without you, the classes would not be where they are today...and the changes implemented from your suggestions would never have taken place."

Notably, Blizzard's e-mail did not comment on World of Warcraft's official release. Earlier this week, Blizzard told GameSpot that "[it hasn't] announced the release date yet," and that "what you're seeing on retailer sites right now is still just speculation." However, the conclusion of the beta program is ostensibly an important step leading up to the long-awaited release of this highly anticipated game.