Ghost Recon: Future Soldier due March 2012, beta deploying January 2012

[UPDATE] Ubisoft has now confirmed that Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier will launch in March 2012. The original article is below. [END UPDATE]

Shooter fans wondering when they'll be able to test-fire Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier now have an answer. Today, Ubisoft announced via Twitter that the multiplayer beta test for the military shooter will launch in January 2012 exclusively for the Xbox 360 version of the game. Access to the beta can be granted by preordering it at GameStop or by having a copy of last year's stealth-action game Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction.

Ghost Recon: Future Soldier is still set to ship during the first quarter of 2012, meaning its launch will quickly follow the beta's end. The game was first teased in January 2009 for an early-2010 release but was later delayed to a Q4 2010 launch. Since then, it has been pushed to the first quarter of 2011 and then again to its current release window.

Ghost Recon: Future Soldier gets its name from the "Future Soldier" programs being conducted by the US and its NATO allies. The initiative, currently part of the US Army's Brigade Combat Team Modernization Program, focuses on outfitting infantrymen with networked communications and high-tech equipment. The third-person shooter will have a cooperative mode, and its gameplay will focus on both stealth and heavy action. It is in development for the PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PSP, and DS.

For more on Ghost Recon: Future Soldier, check out GameSpot's recent preview straight from the 2011 Electronic Entertainment Expo show floor.