250.000 people (along with yours truly) signed up for the beta testing of the upcoming space MMO Jumpgate Evolution. The Beta is scheduled to begin later this year. The game itself, from the looks of in game material released so far, is more action oriented in comparison to Eve Online – its direct and only real contender in the space/sci-fi MMO market (at this moment). I’d be inclined to call it the Space Invaders, while Eve would be Tetris. Now that would be one great thing to look forward to – a Tetris MMO – I have no idea how it would be possible, but I never thought putting blocks into place would be that much fun either. I’ll leave it to the Russians to figure it out.

Anyways …

Celebrating the occasion, Codemasters released a batch of new screenshots, of which we present a few below

The official press release reads as follows:

Codemasters Online & NetDevil today announced that Jumpgate Evolution, the eagerly anticipated new space combat MMO, has reached a landmark 250,000 Beta sign-ups in North America and Europe and has subsequently become Codemasters Online’s biggest ever Beta campaign.

Jumpgate is currently in the Friends & Family testing phase, already providing select gamers with a chance to experience the game’s sci-fi thrills first-hand. NetDevil’s aim is that these tests will provide the community with the opportunity to change the game, on the basis of producing a highly enjoyable and quality experience.

“This is a fantastic achievement for everyone involved with Jumpgate Evolution,” said David Solari, Vice President, Codemasters Online. “We have received overwhelming support for the game since the commencement of its Beta sign-up last year and our fans have been clamoring for the Beta. We expect our fans to agree that it was well worth the wait.”

“Our players’ enthusiasm continues to exceed our expectations at every milestone and we are extremely excited to achieve such fantastic support,” said Scott Brown, President of NetDevil. “We have thoroughly enjoyed obtaining some valuable feedback from the people in our Friends & Family test, helping us to take the next major step towards launch.

Tags: beta, jumpgate evolution