Anthem Game Beta CONFIRMED: EA's Destiny rival release date coming sooner than you think?

Announced by BioWare and EA back at E3 this year, Anthem is the publisher's answer to Activision and Bungie's Destiny.

The game - a shared world shooter revolving around loot, mech suits and exploration - has been the subject of many gamer's attention since its light reveal in the summer.

We got a trailer at E3, but since then EA has been pretty quiet on the status of the game: we don't even know when it's supposed to properly release.

However, we might have some more news about the game coming soon if a few tweets from one of the game directors is to be believed.

Jonathan Warner confirms in a reply on Twitter that 'yeah, we'll have a beta' when asked if players will get their hands on the ambitious title before launch.

Warner follows up the tweet with another reply stating that the game is still 'a way out'.

So, in terms of a release date for the beta, we can expect it at some point next year - perhaps mid-summer (aligning with how Destiny did things with its June 12 alpha test before launch).

The upcoming action RPG (due to launch on Xbox One, PS4 and PC) is supposedly going to launch in 2018 - but that's not certain right now.

The game will see you take control of Javelins - mech suits that come in a variety of configurations that can be used to explore the world.

What we've seen of Anthem's world so far is a primeval, jungle-inspired landscape with dynamic weather effects, huge draw distances and vast areas open for you to explore.

The game's initial trailer (which can be seen below) shows off the world and the sort of gameplay we can expect - it's mostly in third-person, and there seems to be as much as an emphasis on combat as there is on exploration.

The timing of Warner's tweets are interesting: why has the director chosen now to make some of these official confirmations?

Perhaps its a precursor to more announcements coming for the game at Paris Games Week (beginning October 30) or even the Games Awards (on December 7).

There have been various exclusive trailers debuted at the Game Awards over the past few years - and Geoff Keigley has tweeted that he's been meeting with various developers ahead of the event to discuss 'projects that will lead the video game industry forward in 2018 and beyond'.

A further tweet from Keighley confirms that there will be 'announced' games as well as the usual surprises at the event, too.

Sounds hopeful, right?

It'd be nice to get some new Anthem information from Bioware before the year is out.