Earth & Beyond beta tester reward program

EA's Westwood Studios has announced a program to reward beta testers of Earth & Beyond who buy the final game. The program, called Founders' Federation, will allow testers to carry over up to five characters created after the beta's last character wipe--which will take place two weeks before the final game's release--into the final game universe. Those who participate in the Founders' Federation program will also get a decal on their ships to indicate that special status. A statement by EA noted that if the program is successful, it may be duplicated in the testing and release of other online games EA has in development, like The Sims Online.

Earth & Beyond is a massively multiplayer roleplaying game set in space that's scheduled for release this September after spending over four years in development. The game combines the character advancement and guild interaction characteristics of online games with the highly detailed graphics and action-packed combat expected of space combat sims. For more information, read our previous coverage of the game.