Publisher En Masse Entertainment announced today that the action MMO Tera is scheduled for release in spring 2012. Though the game was tentatively slated for the tail end of this year, the push back to next year seems to be to give time for an extra layer of polish.

"Adding time to our schedule will help us ensure we exceed people's expectations for Tera," said publishing VP Chris Lee in a press release. "The game's action combat and depth has generated a lot of interest, and we are committed to making sure every aspect of the game lives up to our standard of quality."

An alpha test will begin later this year, and a beta test is scheduled for early 2012 to prepare for launch. If you just can't wait that long, you could always book a flight to Germany; the game will be playable at this year's Gamescom event.

"By launching Tera in spring 2012 we ensure that the game will not only live up to expectations, but surpass them," said Frogster Online Gaming CMO Daniel Ullrich in a press announcement. "We'll be unveiling various features at Gamescom and rest assured these are just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what players can expect when Tera is released early next year."

Tera has generated interest for steering away from the traditional point-and-click action of most MMOs, complementing it with more action game mechanics. Our hands-on preview illustrates how developer Bluehole is trying to make sure controllers and mouse-and-keyboard are equally viable inputs for the game.