Mark your calendars, tell your significant others and stock the mini-fridge because NCsoft and ArenaNet have announced that the first beta weekend for Guild Wars 2 is about to strike: next weekend in fact! From April 27th to the 29th anybody with beta access (specifically those who pre-purchased the game) will be able to jump in and see firsthand why this is being called different than other MMOs out there.

This will of course be the first of many such weekends and periods of access between now and the games launch so keep your eyes peeled for future updates, and check out the ArenaNet blog for more information on this particular weekend.