Hi-Rez Studios announces that the closed beta testing of Tribes: Ascend will be opened to all comers on Friday, offering the chance for anyone who is interested to check out the upcoming multiplayer first-person shooter. Players will be able to create accounts on the Tribes Ascend Website on Friday at 17:00 GMT and download and play the game at that time with no beta key, and they are gearing up for new players with expanded capacity in North America, Europe, and Australia, and new local servers in Brazil and Asia. A new patch for the game is going live this week with the following changes:

• New gametype, Arena Deathmatch, with two initial maps
• New Capture The Flag map, Temple Ruins
• New Team Deathmatch map, Inferno
• Two new unlockable items for the Soldier class: Proximity Grenade and Utility Pack
• New default suits for Doombringer and Brute
• Ability to view either Blood Eagle or Diamond Sword skins from Class menu
• Service supporting Name Change
• Large number of bug-fixes and balance adjustments.