FIFA Online 3, Zhong Shen Zhengba, and Wakfu entering new rounds of closed beta in China

Always the closed beta, never the launch. That’s what China’s gaming scene often feels like, with games going into round after round of various types of closed beta for ages before finally opening to the gaming public. This week sees the launch of two new and high-profile closed betas in the country.

Yesterday, Tencent’s MOBA offering Zhong Shen Zhengba kicked off a second round of closed testing. The game features MOBA-style battles with ten players on each team, an approach that has generated both excitement and skepticism among China’s MOBA-mad gaming public. If you want to try to get in on the beta, you can answer some questions in Chinese here and hope to win a key in a drawing.

Soccer fans will be more excited about FIFA Online 3, the freemium online offshoot of EA’s popular FIFA series, which enters its first closed beta in China on Thursday. This one is also being published by Tencent in China, but it’ll have to compete with FIFA 14 and other regular entries into the console and PC series, which are frequently pirated in the Middle Kingdom. But if you’re interested in getting in on that beta, you can apply here.

Additionally, the Chinese version of Wakfu — which has already been in open beta elsewhere in Asia for some time now — is also kicking off a new round of closed beta testing on Wednesday. But unless you’re desperate to play the game in Chinese, you’re better off just hopping into the Wakfu Asia open beta linked above.