Dust
off your capes and strap on your bandoleer, the href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/co" target="_blank"> style="font-style: italic;">Champions Online
open beta is almost here! Earlier today, the game’s official
site was updated with a complete rundown of important dates and times
leading up to launch, including details on a world event that preorder
customers can participate in as part of the Early Start Program:

 We’re
pleased to announce the schedule for next
week’s Open Beta! On Sunday, August 16th, all characters from
Closed Beta will be wiped from the servers in preparation for our Open
Beta. When the servers open at 10 a.m. PDT on Monday, August 17th,
everyone will have a fresh start, and you’ll be ready to
experience the game from start to finish!



Servers will be taken down nightly from 1:00 a.m. PDT to 3:00 a.m. PDT
for scheduled maintenance. Other than that, you can play all week long
until the 24th. At 10:00 a.m. PDT on Monday, August 24th, the servers
will be shut down and wiped once more in preparation for the
game’s release. The “Early Start Program”
begins on Friday, August 28th, and allows select pre-order purchasers
an opportunity to get a headstart on the rest of the world by playing
the game a few days before the official release. In addition, all Early
Start participants will get to take part in a world event, where
special enemies will drop unique items which will only be available
until September 1st.

• Read the official
  announcement href="http://www.champions-online.com/node/164026"
  target="_blank">here,
  and then discuss it on our href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showthread.php?t=45264"
  target="_blank">forums!