There have been rumors that NetDevil was going to miss the release target of June that had hinted at in a promotional trailer released in February at Gamers Day in San Francisco. Last week at LOGIN when I asked Scott Brown about their plans to release the game and when they were going to do so he replied, "When it's ready is the real answer, and it's not ready." Today in a newsletter written for the Jumpgate Evolution community over at the official forums, Scott Brown made it clear that his promise to "not release an unfinished product" or "subject players to a sub-par experience" was being reinforced with the decision to push back the games release, largely due to feedback that they've received in the Friends and Family beta phase.

We understand news of this delay is disappointing. The good news is that our immediate goal is to get the game ready for larger groups of people as we get into wider testing. This means that more people will have more time to give us the vital feedback we will need to improve the game. Once we've established our road map for the next few months we'll share with you when the revised release date is.

Continue reading after the jump for Scott Brown's address to the Jumpgate Evolution community.

It's been about three years since we originally started thinking about making Jumpgate Evolution and in those three years many of you have been following the game's progress quite closely. You've watched the project grow and gain momentum as it has become what it is today. Getting the game complete and into your hands is the point we're really eager to get to and we strive each week to get to where we can share our adventures in space together.

One of the things we've always promised is that we would not release an unfinished product, nor would we subject players to a sub-par experience. The worst situation for a developer is that our game does not meet the expectations of our fans. This is constantly weighed against the need and desire to release the game and let our dedicated community play the game as soon as possible. I know that many of you have seen the targeted June release date and that has generated significant excitement. As with all game development projects, we constantly have to evaluate the quality of the product against anticipation. The question always asked among ourselves, does what we have meet the expectations of the players? Is what we have a good game?

With that, let me be up front about the current state of the game from where we stand. Jumpgate Evolution is nearly feature complete, but since entering the Friends & Family phase of testing we've been able to bring new eyes onto the game and get solid, crucial feedback from actual players and fans. Based on these results, it is clear that the product needs more time to meet its objectives. As an example, we have received and read lots of feedback regarding the instanced and public PvP systems. The feedback has been vital in helping us polish and improve this core feature of the game. We take a lot of time in digesting and considering what people say and take feedback seriously. Given that situation I can tell you that we would rather delay the release, than let you down by releasing an unfinished product. We will continue development past June while extending the test schedules and respond to the results of those tests.

Nowadays, Massively Multiplayer Online Games have a highly competitive market and a less-than-stellar release can be the end of a title before it starts. Our passion for this game means we want to release it in a state that is complete. You have raised the bar for us and we feel a great responsibility to reach that bar and exceed it. The only thing worse than waiting is being rewarded with a product that does not live up to its potential. We've always had one goal while developing this game which we've stated over and over. That goal is to make a great, and most of all fun, space combat game. Until we, and you, are happy that the game fully meets all of those requirements we won't release it.

We understand news of this delay is disappointing. The good news is that our immediate goal is to get the game ready for larger groups of people as we get into wider testing. This means that more people will have more time to give us the vital feedback we will need to improve the game. Once we've established our road map for the next few months we'll share with you when the revised release date is.

Thanks for your patience and continued support.

See you in space!

Scott Brown.