StarCraft 2 beta launching this month

Blizzard Entertainment has confirmed that it will have a pre-release multiplayer beta of the much anticipated StarCraft 2 ready by the end of the month.

Better still, according to Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime, the full game is still on track for a international release at some point in the middle of this year.

"We are slated to begin closed beta testing this month," Morhaime told investers, according to ShackNews, promising that the beta would be available to players from multiple countries.

Morhaime said that the game was still set for a mid-2010 release, but wouldn't explicitly commit to the hoped-for release date at the end of June.

Don't go getting too excited about all this StarCraft 2 talk just yet though. Blizzard is still sticking to plans to divide the full game into a trilogy of smaller titles and has spoken often about the increased casual appeal of the new StarCraft, both of which have hardcore fans on the edge of their seats.

Blizzard hasn't yet clarified the details of the beta and we still don't know if it will be open or closed, whether players might have to buy in via pre-orders or what the system requirements might be. We'll let you know more when we do, but until then you can tell us your thoughts in the forums.