The Tribes: Ascend website is now accepting signups for Hi-Rez Studios' revival of this beloved multiplayer shooter series. They offer client downloads and account registration for the free-to-play game, and here's word on what to expect:

Hi-Rez Studios, independent developer of AAA free-to-play online games, today announced the official release of Tribes: Ascend. The fast-paced, sci-fi multiplayer shooter has completed Beta testing and is now a live PC game available for digital download.

Tribes: Ascend is the world's fastest shooter. The game features jetpacks, skiing, vehicles, team-based gameplay, and cutting-edge graphics using Unreal 3 technology. With this official release, the game is available for download directly from the developer at www.tribesascend.com.

The Tribes: Ascend release build includes 9 playable classes, 5 game-modes, and 16 unique maps.

Recent additions include the CTF map Raindance, as well as a new game-mode called Capture and Hold. The Release build also includes a preview of the Custom Server functionality that will soon be available to players.

"For the past 15 months, we've had a very passionate dev team working hard toward this goal," said Todd Harris, Hi-Rez Studios COO. "Along the way some publishers told us modern gamers couldn't handle an FPS that was fast-paced and skill-based. We believe otherwise. Players seem to agree since we've had well over 500,000 join our Beta. We're excited to now grow the community further with the official release."

Hi-Rez Studios also released a summary of Beta statistics including:

        • 575,000+ beta participants
        • 150 million player kills
        • Over 3 million Blue Plate Specials
        • Over 3 million flag captures