If you’re lucky enough to have a working Xbox 360 in your home, and you’re also a quick responder to the call to arms that is this article, you just might be playing Battlefield: Bad Company multiplayer in a few hours.

Hosted by IGN and GameStop (who else?), the beta is only playable to those of you who suffer through their corporate evil to obtain a code. IGN offers codes through its Insider program; you can go to their underground smut dealership, FilePlanet, and download a key.

The front page states that only European codes remain (as of this writing), but it also claims subscriber keys are still available. Very curious… This is obviously just another attempt for IGN to get you to shell out cash for their stupid VIP club of douchebags (no offense to any VIP club douchebags who may already be “Insiders”).

GameStop, on the other hand, has 5,000 beta keys reserved for the first people to pre-order the game through their website at www.gamestop.com/badcompanybeta. Please note that this is for the Xbox 360 only, as there is no word on a beta test for the PS3.

Karl-Magnus Troedsson, Senior Producer for Battlefield: Bad Company, had this to say:

“We’re really excited about this beta since it gives us a chance to let a wider audience play our new multiplayer game, ‘Gold Rush’. The feedback coming back from something like this is crucial for us as developers and will help us with the final changes and polish in the game. Battlefield and FPS fans get their first glimpse into how tactical destruction can be applied in multiplayer gameplay. We think offering two of the multiplayer maps will give gamers a fantastic experience and some great insight into the game.”

The beta will run from today through April 25th. Battlefield: Bad Company is scheduled for release on June 24th for the PS3 and Xbox 360.

Tags: bad_company, battlefield_bad_company, beta_test, call_to_arms, corporate_evil, fileplanet, fps_fans, gamestop, game_gold, gold_rush, ign, insiders, magnus, multiplayer_maps, PS3, vip_club, xbox_360

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1 Comment » Cenobia on March 26, 2008 11:27 pm No PS3 love? You’d think this would be a perfect opportunity to not fudge online play up like Ubisoft did with Rainbow Six Vegas 2. RSS feed for comments on this post. Comment Now Note: Commenting on Ripten does not currently require registration, however to be eligible for contests on the site, you must be a registered user. Name (required) Mail (will not be published) (required) Website Commenting Rules: No hate speech allowed. If you must argue, please debate intelligently. Comments containing selected keywords or outbound links will be put into moderation to help prevent spam. Ripten reserves the right to delete comments and ban anyone who doesn't follow the rules. Thanks. Notify me of followup comments Tired of the Goomba? Upload your own custom comment avatar.