Following the forums for it, I think this was done due to issues with some preorders NOT getting into the Open Beta.
 

Champions Online definitely has some new twists on MMORPG conventions, but overall it isn't as radical of a departure as I thought it would be. After all the hype from the MMO community I had very high expectations. I'm glad I tried the beta, because it was not the game I was expecting. Regardless of this, it is still a solid game that is well worth trying. I will probably pick it up and see how I feel after the first month of playing.

If you are looking for a little more action in your MMO this could be the game for you.
 

Oh, it always let me download it from Filefactory, even when I didn't have a subscription. Or do you mean they started giving out beta keys to anybody? If they were, they ran out before I got back from Blizzcon.

Oh well. Maybe I'll check it out with a free trial once it's actually out.