Hawken open beta to launch later today (update: it launched)

Update: The open beta is live . Fire at will.

Free-to-play mech shooter Hawken will enter open beta later today, once the developer is done "updating and double-checking" existing accounts. We're told to hang in there until it's ready. In the meantime, feel free to bombard the official site —new servers apparently had to be added to keep up with demand, and we bet web engineers really appreciate it when we encourage everyone to jam the F5 key.

The cinematic trailer above was posted today to announce the launch, so you could just put that on loop while you wait. Or, and this is probably a better idea, you could read our preview from a recent closed beta session, check Twitter for updates , and make sure your system is up to the task by checking the minimum requirements :

CPU: 2 GHz Dual Core

Memory: 3 GB RAM

Graphics Card: 512 MB Graphics Card supporting DirectX 9.0c and Shader Model 3.0

Examples: nVidia 9800 GTX or AMD HD 5670

Operating System: Windows XP or later

Hard Drive: 5 GB of free space

Tyler grew up in Silicon Valley during the '80s and '90s, playing games like Zork and Arkanoid on early PCs. He was later captivated by Myst, SimCity, Civilization, Command & Conquer, all the shooters they call "boomer shooters" now, and PS1 classic Bushido Blade (that's right: he had Bleem!). Tyler joined PC Gamer in 2011, and today he's focused on the site's news coverage. His hobbies include amateur boxing and adding to his 1,200-plus hours in Rocket League.