But considering that we're already six months into 2009, a four to six month beta period is kind of cutting it close, if the game has any intentions of shipping this calendar year. Granted, Blizzard hasn't officially committed to that, but StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty is the company's best bet for a "front line release" this year. So... will it ship this year?

"It's getting there," Browder said, adding "We can still make four!"

While what we played at Blizzard's recent hands-on felt beta ready to us, we're obviously not calling the shots. Browder says that StarCraft II needs to be in the best possible shape before it gets its beta coming out party.

"Beta is extremely distracting for us," he said. "We're playing. We want to see what other people are doing. We need to fix bugs right now. The minute beta goes out, we lose a lot of efficiency."

"So, we don't want to be in beta for nine months."

Hey, neither do we!

Browder, who posts on the official Blizzard forums under the handle Cavez, actually posted a Frequently Asked Questions article in the forums yesterday, covering timelines for the StarCraft II beta (we don't know), the next Battle Report (we don't know), and the game's eventual release (we don't know). Amidst all of the uncertainly however, was a glimmer of hope.

Yeah. Sorry. We don't want to lie about the Beta, and we don't even want to lie about the next Battle Report. When we know a date (for anything) for certain, we'll let you know.

Hang in there. We're in the final stretch.

That having been said, keep in mind that Blizzard likes long, luxurious final stretches that can last for months and months. They're like cats, those guys.

Some Updates [BlizzBlues via StarCraftWire.Net]