The World of Warcraft: Cataclysm beta test is live! Each week we will add new World of Warcraft: Cataclysm playtesters. To opt in for Blizzard Entertainment beta tests, you must create a beta profile using the Beta Profile Settings option located in the “Manage My Games” section of your Battle.net Account Management page.

Official Cataclysm site: http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/cataclysm/

Please note that players selected via the opt-in system do not receive beta keys. Rather, your account will be flagged automatically and an email will be sent to you. Simply log in to your account by visiting http://battle.net when you receive a beta welcome notice and check your “Manage My Games” section to verify that the beta client is available for download. Be careful when reading emails claiming to be beta invites. Scam emails often use clickable links to gather your account information, so the safest practice is to go to http://battle.net to check on your beta invitation status. If you would like tips on how to arm yourself against phishing attempts, head over to the Battle.net Account Security page: http://us.battle.net/security/

You can find the Cataclysm Beta forums here (http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/board.html?forumId=7555625&sid=2000). Keep in mind that these forums are open to the public, but only those invited into the test environment will be able to post. Check out the full announcement for the beta test, and stay tuned for more exciting news about World of Warcraft: Cataclysm.

Official press release: http://us.blizzard.com/en-us/company/press/pressreleases.html?100630

* We’re still in the process of selecting accounts and ensuring that they’re properly flagged for beta access. We’ve not yet sent out any invitation emails, though. So, you may want to check your registered email address periodically during the next 24 hours to see if you’ve been invited to the Cataclysm beta, or simply keep an eye on the “Manage My Games” section of your Battle.net Account Management page (https://us.battle.net/account). If you’ve been selected to participate, you’ll definitely be notified in one of those two areas.

Good luck!

• Invites are still in the process of being sent out and, as I noted yesterday, it make take around 24 hours for all the invitation emails to arrive. It’s not yet been a full day yet, so it’s best to give it some time and not abuse your F5 keys too much. Also, if you don’t receive an invite to the World of Warcraft: Cataclysm beta today, don’t despair! We do intend to send out more invites in the future.

• While 24 hours was simply an estimate, I do understand how easy it can be to lean towards a more literal interpretation. That’ll teach me.

• It’s important to keep in mind that we’re distributing World of Warcraft: Cataclysm beta invites the same way we distributed StarCraft II beta invites. Instead of sending out a beta code via email and requiring the user to flag their own account, we’re doing all of that for you. The invitation process is running, but it takes time to flag each account that’s eligible.

Players who opted in and were selected as recipients for this first round of beta invites will likely be informed through Battle.net Account Management sometime today, though, potentially before the invitation email arrives.

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