The beta for Starcraft 2 that we told you about waaaaay back in May 2009 has finally begun. Check your email account that you signed up to Battle.net with, as they’re sending out emails today letting people know the steps they need in order to download it.

As promised the beta is multiplayer only, offering ranked 1v1, 2v2 and free-for-all matches, along with some unranked custom matches. If you want to practice with a computer opponent before jumping online to be slaughtered you can do that too.

Here are the system specs-

PC Minimum Requirements:
* Windows XP SP3/Vista SP1/Windows 7
* 2.2 Ghz Pentium IV or equivalent AMD Athlon processor
* 1 GB system RAM/1.5 GB for Vista and Windows 7
* 128 MB NVidia GeForce 6600 GT/ATI Radeon 9800 PRO video card
* 1024×768 minimum display resolution
* 4 GB free hard space (Beta)
* Broadband connection

Sorry Apple folks, there won’t be any Mac beta.

No word on when the beta will end, but the first of the trilogy (StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty) is supposed to be released before July 2010, which likely means we’ll see it before 2012 for sure.

Who’s playing it?