ArenaNet makes 2012 the ‘Year of the Dragon.’

Mike O’Brien, President and Founder of developer ArenaNet, posted on the ArenaNet blog today announcing several important steps in the finale of Guild Wars 2′s development. According to O’Brien, the Guild Wars 2 beta will open to select press in February. In March and April, ArenaNet will “aggressively ramp up the size of [the] beta test events” to include gamers outside the press.

The post continues to confirm a 2012 launch for Guild Wars 2, which was never officially stated but widely speculated.

Guild Wars 2 promises to bring a new style of questing to the MMO tradition, as well as facilitate an unmatched level of cooperative play between gamers. Like its predecessor, Guild Wars 2 currently will not charge a monthly subscription fee.