With just a few weeks to go before release, Relic's long-awaited sequel to its excellent Warhammer 40K-themed RTS, Dawn of War II, is being printed and prepared to make its way to retailers. Anxious fans hungry to get their hands on the title early will be able to do so as of today, as the game's multiplayer beta is now underway.

The Steam-powered beta went live late last night. Users who own a copy of Dawn of War Soulstorm can re-activate their old CD key through Steam to gain access to the beta. In an attempt to win over a few more purchases of the old game and give access to a few more anxious players, Relic and Valve have also set up a pretty sweet sale for the Steam version of Soulstorm: right now, gamers can scoop up the first game's last expansion and access to the multiplayer beta for just $7.50. This promotion ends on January 28, which is when the game's public beta begins.

Soulstorm itself is a strong expansion for the original game that is easily worth the modest $7.50, but access to the free beta—set to run from today until the game launches on February 18—is a nice bonus. We've got our copy of the beta all set up, installed, and ready to go, so watch out for some detailed impressions (and maybe a special kind of walkthrough) in the coming days.