Sony Online Entertainment announced today that its external beta test program for EverQuest II, the long-awaited sequel to the publisher's massively multiplayer role-playing game, which began in July, is still in progress and continues to grow. Thousands of testers are currently employed in North America and Europe, and closed beta tests for the localized German and French versions of the game have now begun.

　　"The feedback we've already received in the US beta has been phenomenal and has allowed us to see what has worked and what hasn't, ensuring we deliver a solid game on day one," said SOE president John Smedley.

　　"Now that the US beta is in full swing, the development team is ready to receive feedback on the German and French versions of the game as well," said SOE's director of international operations Matt Sivertson. "We're using native language actors to provide the translation and voice-over for the localized versions in order to provide a truly immersive experience for our French and German players."

　　When the title launches later this year, localized English, French, and German servers will be available. All players will be able to play on all of SOE's servers. Square Enix will publish EverQuest II in Japan, although it is not known whether Japanese players will play on the same servers as the rest of the world.

　　Additional beta testers for North American and European beta programs are currently being solicited through the game's official Web site.

　　Featuring an all-new online world, EverQuest II contains more of everything that made the original so addictive--a host of new character customization options, including thousands of different items and a detailed face creation system, 16 races, and 24 classes with a branching development system and player-owned real estate.

　　Since its initial release over five years ago, EverQuest has become a worldwide phenomenon. With over 2.5 million copies of the game and its expansion packs sold, the world of EverQuest currently boasts over 420,000 active users (it averages 250,000 new subscribers a year). At peak times, over 100,000 people around the globe play simultaneously.