Blade & Soul delivers an engaging story and vibrant world for players to explore. In the game, players must fight to avenge the death of their fallen master in a classic Wuxia storyline. Wuxia, which literally means "martial hero", is a broad genre of Chinese fiction concerning the adventures of martial artists in ancient China. As players explore the world in Blade & Soul, they will see a fusion of Asian cultures that delivers stunning landscapes and vistas.

Blade & Soul defies typical MMO conventions, delivering action-based combat with ability combos and a flexible party role system that does not require dedicated healers. It gives players unprecedented movement abilities around the world as their characters leap over mountains and fly through the air.

The first closed beta weekend for Blade & Soul begins tomorrow, 29th October at 18:00 CET / 17:00 UTC / 10:00am PDT / 1:00pm EDT. All players who have purchased a Founder’s Pack of any tier will have access this weekend, as well as a random assortment of players who signed up on the Blade & Soul website. Slated for a free-to-play launch in the first quarter of 2016, Blade & Soul seamlessly melds martial arts and mythology as players seek vengeance against evil forces bent on destroying their world

“Closed beta is a very exciting time for Blade & Soul, as this is the first time that a lot of the community will have hands-on time with the game”, said Nicolas Coutant, producer at NCSOFT West. “We’ve been hard at work developing a unique MMO experience that players will enjoy, and we can’t wait to see more players breathe life into the martial arts world of Blade & Soul”.

The closed beta period begins this weekend and will be followed by four additional weekends spanning a total of 21 days that will give players the chance to test gameplay and performance prior to the title’s official release next year.