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After jumping back into the slipstream of development this past May, NetDevil announced today that the latest beta for Jumpgate Evolution has had 250,000 sign-ups. The game is currently in the "friends and family testing phase," but it plans to go into full beta ... um, somewhere in the future.

Jumpgate Evolution's development is in an interesting place at the moment. All we know officially is that the game missed its June release, and that feedback during the current stage of testing of the "feature complete" game caused the team to rethink some stuff.

Jumpgate Evolution will not be making its scheduled June release. What, you've nova heard of a delay before? Anyway, following three years of development, NetDevil noted on its forums that the game is going back into the darkness of development to emerge at some point in the future. The company doesn't even plan on announcing a new release date until it has "established [its] road map for the next few months."

The delay was caused after response during the "Friends & Family" phase of testing brought up a lot of feedback. Considering how competitive the MMO market is now, the company is probably taking the wise approach by polishing the "feature complete" title to a shine before release. MMOs don't get a second chance to make a first impression anymore.

We've been wondering what was going to set Codemasters' upcoming spacefaring MMO Jumpgate Evolution apart from other, longer established astronautical online titles. The answer might just be in the new trailer for the game which you see above -- lasers. More lasers than a San Francisco warehouse rave. We've done the math, there's an unprecedented 158:1 ratio of lasers to seconds of gameplay shown. That is a great deal of lasers.

Also, from what we've seen, it's probably going to stand out due to its fast-paced, dynamic combat and gorgeous visuals -- both of which lend themselves to laser proliferation. If you want to get your hands on the title, they're currently accepting beta applicants -- otherwise, your pilgrimage into Codemasters' final frontier will have to wait for Jumpgate's June release.

See: Jumpgate Evolution HD Trailer Download

[Via Big Download]

Codemasters is avoiding the holiday rush by releasing several of its titles this year during the sleepy summer months (and for this, we thank them). The Overlord sequel, FUEL, and a little game that caught our eye, Jumpgate Evolution, all drop during low-pressure sales months. Codies will release DiRT 2 much closer to the holiday insanity:

• DiRT 2 - September (X360, PS3, Wii, PC, DS, PSP)
• FUEL - May (X360, PS3, PC)
• Overlord II - June (X360, PS3, PC)
• Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising - Summer (X360, "PlayStation system," PC)
• Jumpgate Evolution - June (PC)

The original DiRT was a gem for race fans and FUEL looks interesting, but whether Overlord II receives the polish the first one was lacking is the real question (and hope). Check out the Overlord II trailer after the break.

Sci-fi fans who love the idea of galactic war and space-age dogfighting will want to have a look at NetDevil's Jumpgate Evolution. In this Massively Multiplayer Online game, players take command of their very own fully-customizable spacecraft in a war against a mysterious alien enemy. The developers describe the game as an MMO version of Wing Commander with the intensity of Battlestar Galactica's fast-paced fighter battles.

This war not only has to have grand action, but also has to be set on an equally grand stage. And in that, we can attest that Jumpgate fulfills those duties very well. The artistic direction will be the very first thing that will grab one's attention upon sitting down with Jumpgate. The diverse locales we've been shown are all very colorfully vibrant and lively; there's rarely a spot that's dull or fails to dazzle. Open space is accentuated with swirls of thematic nebulas, while cruising along the backdrop of beautifully rendered planets is an amazing sight on its own. There are various other places to visit including mining colonies, asteroid fields and debris-filled 'space graveyard.'