Stars Reach rolls out Before the Frontier update for current alpha testers

Playable Worlds has released a new Stars Reach alpha update called Before the Frontier, and it’s available now for existing testers. The studio has also paused new tester signups for the moment, saying development is moving quickly and more systems are being added.

According to the studio, this update starts bringing in a larger batch of features players have been asking for. The announcement doesn’t spell out every addition here, but the main point is straightforward: Stars Reach is still pushing ahead with alpha development, even with access temporarily limited to people already in the test.

That signup pause is the other notable part of the news. If you’re not already in, you can’t join the current alpha right now. Playable Worlds hasn’t said in this snippet when that might change, only that the team is focused on implementing a lot of new systems as work ramps up.

Stars Reach is the sandbox MMO from Playable Worlds, the studio led by former Ultima Online designer Raph Koster. The game has been in early testing for a while, with the team gradually opening up pieces of its player-driven world as systems come online. Before the Frontier looks like the next step in that process, aimed more at expanding the game’s foundations than making a splashy public rollout.