Dawn of War II: Retribution multiplayer beta starts Jan. 31

THQ has announced a multiplayer beta for the standalone expansion, Dawn of War II: Retribution. The beta includes all of the game's factions and multiplayer maps and is scheduled to begin on January 31, at which point access will be given to the press and "Key Dawn of War community members." The following day, the beta will be open to anyone who has pre-ordered the game on Steam. Beginning February 8, the test will then open to anyone who has ever purchased a Dawn of War product or registered a copy of Dawn of War II on Steam.

The beta will test Retribution's Steam matchmaking as well as overall multiplayer balance. Once the beta ends on February 24, the results will be used by the developers at Relic to create a "day-zero balancing patch" for the game.