THQ has announced that the multiplayer beta for Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II, the award winning Real-time strategy (RTS) game from Relic Entertainment, will be available exclusively on Steam for Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War – Soulstorm owners at 12:01 a.m. GMT (7:01 p.m. EST) tonight.

“Now that Dawn of War II has gone Gold, this multiplayer Beta will allow us to get a head start on balancing our multiplayer gameplay in time for launch,” said Mark Noseworthy, Dawn of War 2 producer, Relic. “We are committed to supporting our community and refining the multiplayer experience for years to come, and this beta lets us prepare now for future game updates to our already awesome multiplayer suite.”

Using a valid Soulstorm CD key, gamers can go to www.steamgames.com, create an account and get exclusive access the multiplayer beta.  Full instructions for accessing the beta are below.  The beta features five multiplayer maps and all four of the game’s playable races: the Space Marines, Orks, Eldar and for the first time ever in the Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War series, Tyranids. 

Starting January 28, the beta will be opened to the public worldwide via Steam as well as Microsoft’s Games for Windows® – Live Marketplace.

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II, developed by THQ’s internal studio, Relic Entertainment, is a Real-time strategy (RTS) game set in the grim, war-ravaged world of Games Workshop’s Warhammer 40,000 science fiction universe.  Featuring vicious front-line combat, destructible environments, a fully cooperative multiplayer mode, four unique playable races, and a non-linear single player campaign with branching storylines, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II delivers the ultimate sci-fi fantasy RTS experience. The game is scheduled for release on February 19, 2009 for Windows PC, and will be available through worldwide retail and online outlets.  For more information on Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II, please visit www.dawnofwar2.com.

To access the DoW II Beta, first log into your Steam account. 

• If you do not currently have a Steam account, go here: http://store.steampowered.com/about/ to download, install, and create an account
• After you are logged in to Steam, go to Games > Activate a product, then enter your Soulstorm key. 
• After the activation, you’ll be able to download and play the beta