The Premier Edition of the just released Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3 contained a beta test key that can be used for an upcoming RTS game that Electronic Arts plans to release. The fan site Command and Conquer DEN speculates that the beta key could be for a second entry in the C&C: Generals portion of the franchise.

They point to a special video of the Battlecast Primetime series that's also included in the Red Alert 3 Premier Edition where EA Los Angeles General Manager Mike Verdu states, "...don't be surprised to see another installment of Generals in the future." The first installment of the Generals series was released in 2003 (with an expansion pack, Zero Hour, released later that year). Generals, set in the near future, is more realistic in tone than the sci-fi roots of C&C or the campy alternate history theme of Red Alert.

[Via Blue's News]