Second SimCity beta this month

Gamers who missed out on SimCity's first beta in January will have another shot to try out the upcoming city-building game from Maxis. The developer announced today a second closed beta period, scheduled to start February 16 and last just 24 hours, ending February 17 at 6 a.m. PDT.

Maxis is accepting beta applicants at www.simcity.com/beta until 6 a.m. PDT on Monday, February 11. Gamers who registered for the first beta will not need to do so again. Those accepted into the beta will receive a unique download code on Saturday, February 16, with instructions on how to get the game up and running.

Gamers accepted into the first SimCity beta period are not guaranteed access to the upcoming beta, though it is possible if they are chosen a second time. The beta is available only for PC gamers.

The developer said it learned a "great deal" from its first closed beta, and this second beta is being held for the primary purpose of testing the game's servers. "We have added more capacity to our servers in order to accommodate the flow of players. This beta will help us stress test them," the company said.

SimCity is due out in full March 5. For more, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.