Hi-Rez Studios announces that closed beta testing will commence tomorrow for SMITE, saying they are not planning character wipes after the beta, so those who test upcoming Windows and OS X MOBA will get to keep their progression as the game moves into open beta testing and ultimately goes live. They also outline what the beta will entail:

The Closed Beta build of SMITE includes seventeen playable gods from five mythological pantheons on a fire-themed battleground map. Five gods are available for free - Artemis, Ra, Kali, Ymir, and Sun WuKong. Additional gods can be unlocked via gametime or more quickly via in-game microtransactions. Hi-Rez Studios will be adding new playable gods during the Beta period and beyond.

"We are excited to shake-up the moba genre with SMITE" says Todd Harris, Hi-Rez Studios Chief Operating Officer. "Whether you are a fan of existing DoTA type games or MMO PvP battleground play, we invite you to check out SMITE and play alongside our dev team in Beta."