Firefall hits last closed beta milestone, prepares for launch with new teaser

The long in-development free-to-play MMO shooter Firefall will hit its final closed beta milestone tomorrow with the introduction of a new story mode and new PvP content, a fictional eSport called “Jetball.” Developer Red 5 has also released a sneak peek of its upcoming live-action trailer for Firefall, which features some interesting hair and not much else... yet.

Jetball is a PvP mode where two teams of five fly around and shoot a ball through their opponent's goal. I haven't seen any footage of it yet, but in my mind it's like basketball and quidditch mixed up with guns and jetpacks. Players can't defend themselves while carrying the ball, so teams have to use a combination of smart passing and VIP protection strategy to travel to the goal.

Also just implemented is Blackwater Anomaly, Firefall's first story-based episode. Blackwater Anomaly will set the scene for Firefall's story mode, which will be revealed closer to launch.

If you're interested in Firefall but you never bought in during development, you can still snag a Founder's Packbefore July 8. Firefall will hit open beta on July 9—and for a free-to-play game, that's more or less the launch. The game will officially release sometime later this year.