Late last week, Perpetual announced a new batch of closed beta keys being released for Gods & Heroes, the MMOG they have in development. Coming on the heals of the announcement a few weeks ago that Perpetual has downsized the development team for the game, and coupled with the pushing back of the release date until first quarter 2008, some are speculating that this means G&H is in trouble.

Admittedly, there’s quite a bit of buzz on the net in various places, filled with former beta-testers criticizing the game. Of course, they are all missing one small fact…it’s in beta. Which brings me to the subject of game betas (and it should bring up the subject of NDA’s, but that’s a topic for another time).

Game companies offer betas for quite a few reasons; to allow some folks to get hooked on the game, to generate a little buzz, and because not offering a beta on your game is likened to not pre-screening your movie for critics…”It must suck if they’re not letting anyone in without paying.”

Oh, and publishers also rely on the help of players that understand the true nature of being a beta tester…the ones that actually test the game, and help the developers find and fix problems pre-launch.

That .4% of players in beta really help, too.

The other 99.6%, however, are the reason why game companies are starting to dread betas. Giving everyone an opportunity to scream “This game sucks!” or “EQII clone!” on various forums long before the game is ready to be judged publicly, especially in the current climate of “I’m tired of your game, even though you haven’t finished the design docs yet!” isn’t very condusive to helping a game develop into what you want it to be.

I expect this climate will eventually reach critical mass, and publishers will either severely limit public betas altogether, or really clamp down on the requirements for being included. Because beta is a bit too useful…when it’s used properly.

It’s not “a free game to play”. It’s a responsibility. Think the game stinks in beta? That’s what you’re there for. Start telling the devs instead of the forums.

Having said that, Gods & Heroes still has closed beta keys available, as of today. Go get yours, play the game, and then say what you want to say to the devs.

Let the “133t 31it3″ take care of their own forums for a while, and do your job.