Company of Heroes 2 to enter closed beta “shortly after the New Year”

Here’s some good news to make you forget about that perplexing Company of Heroes movie: the closed beta for the long-awaited RTS sequel is set to launch “shortly after the New Year”. That’s the word from a CoH2 forum post dug up by IncGamers, which was accompanied by a new developer diary. You’ll find that entrenched beneath the break.
If you can’t wait until 2013 (or you believe that a fiery comet is going to obliterate the Earth in a couple of weeks), there will also be a limited Alpha Stress Test next week, details of which will be made available soon. The closed beta, meanwhile, will be open to pre-orderers and “everyone who scored keys from Events”. You lucky so-and-sos. In the post, CoH2 producer Greg Wilson also revealed his post-launch plans for the game:
“Building on experiences from our previous titles, we’re committed to improving our post launch support efforts, by regularly updating the game. This means lots of bug fixing, balance updates and FREE content, for everyone to enjoy. For those interested in more, we’re now excited to introduce the Command Pass – an opt-in upgrade that offers perks like advanced map access, special event access and other bonuses. It’s free for pre-order customers who purchase the Digital Collector’s Edition and a 1 time cost/lifetime upgrade for anyone that didn’t get in on the pre-order goodness. More detailed information will absolutely be available later.”