codemasters-online posts

It has been a long time since developer NetDevil has given a status update on their long-in-development space-based MMO Jumpgate Evolution. Last May the developer, now owned by Gazillion, announced that their planned fall 2009 release date for the game was being pushed back but declined to reveal a new release date. Since then the company has been fairly silent about the game's status.

Now there are some indications that the game is getting closer to an actual release. A post on the game's official message boards reveals that the game's North American Community Manager has been let go by NetDevil. According to the post, "There are a few reasons for this, the main one being that as we near the final leg of development for the game, the team would like their community managers to be on site with the developers." This would seem to indicate that the game's progress is getting closer to release.

In another post from the game's community director, he states that Jumpgate Evolution's delay was due to player feedback that "caused major parts of the game to be rewritten, which led to other changes, and so on." In another entry on the same forum thread he talks about why the dev team has been quiet for the most part about the game's progress, saying, " Did we think that day would come earlier? Yes. Is it still coming? Yes. Is it close? Well, we think so."

Now it's Codemasters' turn to see if they can come up with a good military open world first person shooter. Today the publisher announced that their long-in-development game Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising has now gone gold and will ship to stores as planned on October 6.

However it's not all good news for fans of the franchise. While Codemasters originally announced they were planning to release a demo of the game before the full version ships to stores, a note on the game's message boards has now revealed the demo will be released sometime after the full version. According to the note, "The main factor in this decision was to ensure that the full game received 100% focus and attention before it's release." The demo will feature both single player and co-op modes.

It's been a while since there's been any concrete news on Jumpgate Evolution, the long awaited revamp of Netdevil's space-based MMO. This week the developer sent out a press release announcing that over 250,000 people had signed on to beta test the game. The announcement states that they hope to get the closed beta test going sometime this year.

Last May, Netdevil announced that it had decided to push back the launch date for Jumpgate Evolution beyond its planned June 2009 release. So far Netdevil has declined to set a new release date for the game which will still be published by Codemasters.

One of the biggest MMO launches that we thought might be released in 2009 is Jumpgate Evolution, the revamp of Netdevil's first space-based MMO game with improved graphics, lots of new content and more. For a while Netdevil and publisher Codemasters have been touting a release date for the game for sometime in June.

However, in a new development update on the game, Netdevil co-founder Scott Brown stated that they have discovered some issues after some "Friends and Family" testing of the game. Brown staters, "Based on these results, it is clear that the product needs more time to meet its objectives." A new release date for Jumpgate Evolution was not given but Brown states, " Once we've established our road map for the next few months we'll share with you when the revised release date is."

While NetDevil's other big MMO project, Lego Universe, won't be ready for prime time for quite a while, their other big game Jumpgate Evolution, is very close to completion. Codemasters used a press event they held on Thursday night to announced that the space-based MMO revamp is now scheduled for release this June.

They also took the time to release a bunch of new screenshots for the game that we have added to our gallery. Just in case you are unfamiliar with the title, Jumpgate Evolution is basically a full remake of NetDevil's first MMO title from several years ago with.the emphasis on big action and massive space battles. Can this game take out some of EVE Online's audience?

We've already mentioned that next weekend's New York Comic Con will be full of game publishers exhibiting recent and upcoming games along with game-themed panels. This week Codemasters wanted to let everyone know that the upcoming space-based MMO Jumpgate Evolution will be front and center at NY Comic Con.

Attendees will get to check out and play with the latest code version of NetDevil's upcoming title (a revamp of their first game Jumpgate) which is scheduled to launch later in 2009. Codemasters even sent over three new screenshots from the game to promote their NY Comic Con appearance and we've gladly added them to our gallery.

Developer Netdevil is still working hard on their upcoming revamp of their original Jumpgate space-based MMO game. This week the official web site for Jumpgate Evolution added a bunch of new screenshots that show off some impressive looking visuals for the revival.

According to Netdevil the new screenshots show off some of the spacecraft that can be encounter in the game world's Octavius area and also show off one of the title's enemies, the Ravagers. Netdevil first announced their plans for a Jumpgate revival in the summer of 2007. Jumpgate Evolution is currently scheduled to launch via publisher Codemasters sometime later this year.

Netdevil's first MMO game was the space based Jumpgate and now the upcoming revamp of this classic title is getting a lot of folks lined up to try out the beta test. Publisher Codemasters announced that over 150,000 people have signed up to beta test the revamp, Jumpgate Evolution.

The game itself will enter its closed beta test "soon" with the full title due to be launched sometime in 2009. In the meantime Codemasters released five new screenshots of the game which we have added to our gallery, showing off the revamped graphical engine that Jumpgate Evolution will use.

Codemasters' MMO group has operated two free-to-play games, RF Online and Archlord, for some time now and it plans to add another MMO, Netdevil's Jumpgate Evolution, in 2009. However it appears that players of RF Online in the US and Europe are now going to be out of luck as Codemasters has announced the title's shut down in those territories.

It appears that the issue isn't with players defecting but trying to reach an agreement to continue running the title. According to the game's official web site, "Our licence for RF Online is due to expire shortly and unfortunately, despite several weeks of negotiations with CCR, the Korean developers of the title, we have not been able to reach an agreement to renew the contract." Codemasters will officially shut the game down in the morning UK hours of Nov. 10.

Codemasters Online has announced ArchLord, its subscription-free MMORPG, has reached a landmark 500,000 players.

In the game, players are challenged to raise an army to become the universe's ultimate ruler, the ArchLord. Originally a subscription based fantasy adventure, the NHN Corporation developed title switched to a free-play model in August 2007 and has seen significant growth since.

"ArchLord is a premier free-to-play MMORPG offering significantly more depth and quality than most other free-to-play games," commented Ed Relf, director of marketing for Codemasters Online. "This recent achievement solidifies our commitment to the ongoing development and success of the game."

With the announcement Codemasters Online also reaffirmed that ArchLord: Episode 3, the upcoming free content update for ArchLord, is expected to release later this year.

Download the free-to-play client for Archlord from Big Download today!

[via IGN]