The betatests hasn't begun yet. That will probably take at least 2-3 months. So if that will begin soon the earliest release will be in July-August. My guess would be before the end of the year

bah Hero 9 is only the beginning:

Hero 5 - The prequel new announcement 2005-4-22 - will feature translation in strange languages

Space quest 9 is also in the works! Check it out.