Final Fantasy XIV inches closer to its autumn release with the start of a closed beta test.

Square Enix tweeted on Saturday that the game's closed beta has launched, allowing a selective group of Japanese gamers a close-up look at the upcoming massively sequel.

The start of the closed beta signals that the game is likely to make the scheduled autumn release set by Square Enix, although this tenative date only applies to the version. At the beginning of July, it was revealed that the PlayStation 3 version won't come out until March of next year.

No word on an open beta, but invitations to the closed beta for and gamers is likely to occur in the coming months.

By Tracy Erickson