Firefall paints a beautifully devastating vision of Earth, 200 years in the future. The promise of a new clean energy source, Crystite, leads to the disastrous arrival of the Melding, a hostile energy storm that engulfs most of our home planet. Earth’s surviving humans must band together in the eye of the Melding storm to save our species. Unfortunately, a new danger emerges as a bloodthirsty race known as The Chosen threatens humanity’s survival.

Players will protect the Earth through the use of high-tech battleframes, which can be customized extensively to unlock the power of Firefall’s class-based combat. Battleframes allow players to specialize in their favorite style of play, while giving them the flexibility to swap and trade their way to new configurations on-the-fly. Whether you enjoy supporting your team, aggressively assaulting an enemy position, or sneaking behind enemy lines, there is a battleframe for you.

Firefall will feature a free-to-play model that allows players to experience every detail of the vibrant world without having to pay a penny. Updates to the game, dynamic world events, and other content will also be offered without a price tag, while a marketplace will allow fans to purchase optional enhancements.

Firefall will go open beta on July 9, 2013.

“We’re incredibly excited to be nearing what we consider to be the most important stage of Firefall’s development – Open Beta,” said James Macauley, Vice President of Development, Red 5 Studios. “For us, Open Beta isn’t a traditional ‘marketing beta’, but rather an opportunity to include many more players in our community-driven development process. We’re looking forward to welcoming these new players into the community and continuing to build an amazing game together.”

New updates will continue to roll out leading up to Open Beta with major milestones planned for May and July. Players can look forward to a final stage of Closed Beta testing which will flesh out Firefall’s dynamic open world and deepen existing systems. Upcoming content includes:

• City Power Levels: Players will receive new bonuses and rewards in the open world by increasing the power level of major cities through local missions and encounters.
• Melding Exploration: By raising city power levels and unlocking special dropships, players will finally be able to enter and explore pockets of the deadly Melding energy storm surrounding New Eden.
• Chosen Instances: Fortifying the open world allows players to take the fight to the Chosen, driving back the hostile alien race in epic new battle instances.
• Crafting and Progression: Players will continue to see major additions to crafting and Battleframe progression (including the new UI).

Players can keep up-to-date on Firefall’s latest progress or sign-up for beta access.