Hellgate open beta launches this week with new PvP arenas and the deadly Cow Room

Last month we learned that Korean company Hanbitsoft will be bringing back Hellgate: London as a free-to-play MMO.

as a free-to-play MMO. After a short closed beta test earlier this month, they're set to throw open the hell-gates to everyone with the launch of a US and European open beta, kicking off this Thursday June 30. You can sign up for an account and download the client now from the Hellgate site.

Hellgate is set in London in the aftermath of a demonic apocalypse. You play as a techno-magical knight tasked with fighting back against the demons flooding in through the Hellgate, using upgradeable guns and spells to defend the last remnants of humanity.

The open beta phase of Hellgate will launch alongside a series of experience-boosting events, with the addition game modes. Duel Area adds player vs. player deathmatch in four different arenas with names like "Forgotten Grave" and "Passage of Hallucination." The second mode is the Cow Room. There are no cows in the cow room, but there are zombies, and sandstorms. If you survive the waves of undead and take out the Cow Room boss (hopefully a cow), you stand a chance of picking up some of the most effective weapons in the game.

Hellgate: London was originally made by the now disbanded Flagship studios after the game's failure caused the studio to shut down. Some members of Flagship went on to form Runic Games, who made the excellent action RPG, Torchlight. Meanwhile, Hanbitsoft have scooped up Flagship titles Hellgate: London and Mythos, and rebalanced both of them as free-to-play games. You can find out more about Mythos on the official site.