Coming on the tail of the announcement of pre-ordering, EA and BioWare announced today that they are finally getting ready for their beta which can only mean that the game is in the beginning stages of release.

According to a press release posted this morning, The Old Republic will “open Beta Test Weekends” starting this September. These weekend play sessions will be open to selected players worldwide and create an opportunity for fans to get a sneak peak of the epic stories, worlds, quests, battles and characters in the game.”

While I don’t know if I am personally interested in doing beta—I’d have to be hush hush about content and that’s hard being a fan site owner—I do hope that those that are given the job to do it do it with the best of intentions.

Coming along with the announcement of these beta weekends was a hint at when the game was going to be released and it seems that I was right to post what the voice actor said.

“We are targeting Star Wars: The Old Republic to be one of the biggest launches of holiday 2011,” said Dr. Ray Muzyka, Group General Manager and Co-Founder, BioWare and Senior Vice President, Electronic Arts.

To me, that sounds like Christmas might be the release date. Obviously, I might be wrong, but he did say holiday 2011, right?

Regardless, if you haven’t already, go get your pre-order all set up. And, maybe you’ll be one of the lucky few who get to start beta testing the game. Finally, after so many years of waiting, Star Wars: The Old Republic is coming to a store near you.