As an alternative to paying with a credit card, Westwood will also offer Game Time cards that will allow players to pre-purchase 90 days of playtime from their local retailer. Game Time cards will be available for $39.99 and will go on sale at the same time as Earth & Beyond. They can be purchased from most major software retailers, including Electronics Boutique and GameStop.
"Our goal is to offer players as many options as possible when subscribing to the game," said Craig Alexander, vice president and executive producer of Earth & Beyond. "We've worked hard to create an accessible massively-multiplayer game. In addition to choosing how they want to play -- whether it's exploring, trading, or fighting -- players can also choose exactly how they want to pay for the subscription," continued Alexander.
Westwood is conducting a public test of Earth & Beyond with thousands of people playing every day. Thousands of additional testers will be selected in August and September, and anyone wishing to participate can sign up online at www.earthandbeyond.com.
Beginning Aug. 5, Gamers who pre-purchase the retail version of Earth & Beyond at Electronics Boutique, GameStop, Amazon.com, or EA.com stores will be automatically included in the public test without having to sign up at the official Earth & Beyond website.
In Earth & Beyond, players become the captain of their own starship and live star-spanning adventures as they explore, trade and fight with thousands of others. Testers will be part of the creation process and will see the universe take shape around them as the developers add more sectors, planets, missions, quests, monsters, characters, features, evolving plot lines and more.