A tweet from Final Fantasy XIV’s official twitter account confirmed that the open beta is set to launch on September 1.

Square Enix, developer and publisher of the Final Fantasy series, already announced that servers will go live 24 hours that day to allow players to participate at any given time.

This is definitely a huge treat for players as nothing quite matches the feeling of getting to experience the game firsthand.  Set in the visually captivating, multifaceted realm Eorzea, FFXIV offers advanced class system, faster combat and more user-friendly controls.

Players will also get to create characters from among five playable races (Hyur, Elezen, Lalafell, Roegadyn and Miqo’te), all of which have a similar look to the races presented in FFXI.

As part of the promotions, players with active FFXI accounts will be a given discounts when they link to a new FFXIV account. The monthly subscription fee will go from $12.95 to $7.00 should they choose to play both games. A bonus in-game item, the gold-tipped, leather Hermes’ shoes, also awaits active players. Take note that no amount of FFXIV gil can buy this exclusive item.

For more details, visit the official FFXIV site.

ETA: It seems FFXIV players have to wait a little while longer for the open beta test. Blame “critical bugs” for the postponement. Click here to read the statement posted on their website.

When plans to require members to use their real names when posting on the official Blizzard forums came out, it spawned a deluge of negative reactions from members of the community.

The new Real ID policy, created with the intention of significantly cutting down trolling and trash talking and fostering an increased sense of responsibility, posed privacy risks to many members.

Just days after, Blizzard responded to customer feedback and retracted the policy.

After much anticipation from FFXI fans, the Walk of Echoes has finally opened its doors.

Available only to players with characters who have reached level 70 and above and completed the Wings of the Goddess missions, the Walk of Echoes leads to a myriad of battlefields that must be conquered in succession.

Upon entering a battlefield, players are subjected to a time limit in squaring off against several enemies while imposing no restrictions on new players joining the battlefield and battle with the dark forces.

So what’s new for Season 1.2?

First up, we have the new Accolade system. Players can advance through the game by earning Accolades in a number of ways: completing certain missions, inflict damage of a particular energy type and more.

Squad Support is another premier addition to the patch. With this comes the opportunity to team up players of differing levels, surely benefiting those who’d want to play together with their friends and families.

Download Season 1.2 and experience these changes for yourself.

Just a friendly reminder to those who’ve already saved the date and an emergency notice to those who haven’t.

The worldwide ticket sale for THE event to be in the Blizzard universe is tomorrow, June 2 at 7PM Pacific Time. Second batch of tickets will be rolling out on June 5, 10AM Pacific Time.

Head on over to the official BlizzCon 2010 ticket sales page to purchase tickets.

You just know a holiday’s coming when there’s news of a huge sale around! Of course, Star Trek Online isn’t one to miss the memo.

In celebration of Memorial Day, the C-Store will be slashing 20 percent off on every item available. Yep, you read it right!

To those who’ve held off in purchasing STO merchandise at regular price, you bet that this one’s a sweet deal. Sale ends on Tuesday, June 2 at 10:00 AM so grab those discounted goodies and earn more cryptic points.

Check out these works in progress:

A sneak peek at World of Warcraft’s new dungeon, Halls of Origination, for the upcoming Cataclysm expansion is out!

The five-player level 85 dungeon features seven unique boss fights in Uldum’s titan constructions. It possesses an Egyptian feel with its pyramids, tombs and sandstorms.

Only the bravest of adventurers can withstand the challenges presented in these Halls. If you prove yourself one of them, you get to assist Brann Bronzebeard in discovering the secrets within them.

This, they say, offers a whole new way to connect with your gamer friends. For starters, RL names will appear alongside players’ character names with Real ID. Cross-game, cross-realm and cross-faction chat across all Blizzard games is yet another remarkable feature, making it easier and faster to invite online guildies for raiding activities and the like.

If that’s your cup of tea, you might wanna hop on to the FAQ section for more details.

Square Enix’s FFXI Ultimate Collection―the most comprehensive set ever to be released―has taken a trip to the bargain rack.

Consisting of the original game, four expansions and three add-on scenarios, the collection is certainly not bad for $14.99. What makes it even better? Owners of the Ultimate Collection will be eligible for the Nexus Cape, an exclusive gift item awarded to those who have bought all three add-on scenarios.

Better hurry though! Sale is only until the 3rd of May