One of the most eagerly anticipated games supposed to ship this year has to be id Software’s Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, and the big news that was announced today is that the game will move from the first public beta to a second public beta within the next week or so. id Software partnered with FilePlanet to distribute the first beta and the keys to use it.

No word yet on if additional keys will be distributed or if the second beta will only be open to those who have keys from the first round of public beta testing. We expect more details on this to emerge from id in the next couple of days. Those who are attending Quakecon will have the first chance to have a look at the new Quake Wars Beta 2, so don’t look for it to appear on FilePlanet until sometime after Quakecon ends on August 5th.

Beta 2 of Quake Wars is said to feature a new map for users to test, as well as improvements to play balance, physics, user interface, and (of course) multiple bug fixes. Perhaps the biggest news is that performance over the last build is about 30% faster, a very welcomed improvement. Stats tracking and achievements are said to also be available for viewing in Beta 2.