According to a post on the official Earth Eternal forums, the open beta for the game is scheduled to begin early next week. While this isn't technically the official release of Earth Eternal, it does open the browser-based, free-to-play MMO to all players.

Players who participated in the closed beta will gain early access to the open beta today at 3 p.m. PDT. All characters created during closed beta have been wiped, so the early access will give participating players the opportunity to create permanent characters before everyone else. Also, the credit shop is now open for business.

With open beta on the horizon, the Earth Eternal Web site has been changed a bit. "The Game Guide, Knowledgebase, and Credit Shop are now open for you to browse. The forums will also be getting a revamp in the coming days," Community Manager Piggypops said.

We recently got the chance to speak with Sparkplay Media CEO and Creative Director Matt Mihaly about the game. Check out our preview to find out what we thought about Earth Eternal.