50.000 aspiring barbarians may enter Hyboria on May 1st 2008.

Funcom, Eidos and IGN are proud to announce that Open Beta for Age of Conan will start on May 1. The Open Beta will be hosted exclusively by IGN's popular game download site, FilePlanet.com, as well as being offered through partner IGN sites such as Gamespy.com, Tentonhammer.com and Warcry.com. The application pages at FilePlanet.com are now open for registrations, and gamers from across the world can sign up. As 50.000 gamers prepare their Hyborian assault, rivers of blood are about to flow, and it's exclusively available through FilePlanet and IGN partner sites.

"When we started development of Age of Conan four and a half years ago we truly wanted to move away from the standards of the MMO genre. We wanted to bring something new, exciting and fresh to the gamers," said Gaute Godager, Game Director on Age of Conan. "As we get ready to show everyone what Conan's savage world is all about, we need final stress testing. Teaming up with the Beta Masters at IGN was a perfect opportunity for us! We simply couldn't ask for a better partner for this crucial stage of our Beta."

"The IGN and FilePlanet audience has consistently told us that Age of Conan is one of their most anticipated games of the year, and we are very pleased to partner with Funcom and Eidos on the Open Beta," says Senior Vice President of Consumer Products at IGN, Jamie Berger. "The Funcom team has developed a truly unique, visceral gaming experience that players will have to see to believe."

Funcom would like to point out that the primary function of the Open Beta is to stress test Age of Conan prior to launch. This means that Funcom will not make the entire game available to the Open Beta testers, and a level 13 cap will be applied. The Beta experience will still give hours and hours of entertainment, and complete class and culture variety, while at the same time giving Funcom the needed focus for an Open Beta.

You are required to be a FilePlanet member in order to sign up for the Open Beta. Preloading of the client will start prior to the launch of the Open Beta, and applicants will receive more information should they receive a beta key. The Open Beta will start on the 1st of May at 1500 GMT / 0900 EST. 

Source from Here.