Apparently, EA and DICE have plans for an open beta of Battlefield 2142, as well as a demo version.
We sent a few questions to DICE, but since the team is too busy working on the new title, the Marketing Department has sent us back only one answer. We'll post the rest as soon as we get it.
BF2142.com- We noticed that you have confirmed the release of a demo at a later stage, could you give us more information about it, as in how far before or after the game release the demo would be out?
DICE- The demo for BF2 went out about 10 days before launch if I remember correctly, I am sure something similar will be the deal for 2142. We are also going to throw out an open beta in the beginning of August. The beta is predominately to learn about large scale issues, i.e. when we have 10 000’s of people playing at the same time, eliminating some of the problems we have encountered after launch previously in the franchise. Keep your eyes open to join.
We will have more details soon
Source
BF2142 Demo and Open Beta