I doubt it.  If they absolutely need a beta, I believe it will be a closed beta.  Don't expect it though.  CoD4 and Halo 3 are massive online games, and beta's help them gather information about gameplay and their servers with a mass amount of people.  Since it is a RTS, it isn't like you, as a game developer, are trying to find the right weapon balance or the right gameplay perks that make it fun.  All you need to do is iron out how the game runs and how controls are.  And controls are pretty straight forward.  Until we find out what Halo Wars is bringing for online, I wouldn't put money on it.
 

It is perfectly neccisary to hold a beta, I can't think of many RTS's that haven't.  The time though, is not now.  Let them work on it, fix some stuff, add some stuff in, then release a beta when the game actually is beta.  At the earliest I would say around october, if we get one.

But please, there have been like 10 threads on this already.

They r still working on halo wars i dont think they r even thinking about a beta yet plus they havent finished so they can still change it around DUH!!!!!!!!!

offe50:

will ther be a helo wars beta?

reincarN8ed:

offe50:

will ther be a helo wars beta?

no.  now go away.

how bout you go away noob

beta's are made to help the game developers (as said before) in figuring out balances in multiplayer and such... for RTS their beta's are usually closed off to a select few people who are usually professional game testers looking for bugs and such

low possibility for an open beta 

RTS require more much profesional beta testing than FPS, an open beta, or atleast a proper one to try to help with balancing, is very unlikely

Most RTS only have open beta's to find out how they work on dif system specs, and to find out bugs on dif systems, or dif ways of playing, as it's a console game, you don't need to test dif system specs.

there probably will be a beta but first they have to finish the game first so they probably havent even started a beta

i doubt there will be a beta but i think there will be a Demo on XBL

(i think Paragon hinted at it)

I wouldn't doubt a closed beta, like the one I am participating in for Halo First Offensive, some select professional games that don't neccisarly want to test the game, but can test the game and find bugs.  Of course that is our job, and we are always bug hunting, for the most part.  Never said we can't have any fun. =p

The beta, if there is one, will probably only be open for a select few on these forums, like the Halo 3 one, but without the rest being able to by buying crackdown.  Sorry noobs, but just saying I want to participate in the Halo Wars beta isn't going to get you in, so yes there will probably be one, but no, not on your terms or image of a beta.

do you guys think that this is the pace we would hear about it?

because i know call of duty modern warfare had a 24 hour beta and i never heard a thing about it

Pheonix092:

They are not planning on a beta at all in the near future. If there is one at all look for it around a week or two before launch date.

Well at the rate i've seen things, the media would found out first, then paragon would know, and then he would confirm it with us after we had already posted several hundred threads with the title 'zomg! is there a beta!!'

And then several hundred threads would follow that with the title 'zOMG!11  tHERE'S a bETA!!@'

During that time, several of our members would be banned due to A) Spamming uncontrollably or B) Flaming n00bs who use 'zomg'.  Or one of my favorites C)  Conspiring w/ Pieman against a senior member who reports threads with zomg.