So, about when will Toribash Next have a playable, downloadable beta / alpha?

no release date yet

The original goal was to get it released by 2019 but I guess that's impossible at this point. Once it gets closer to being released there will most likely be an announcement for beta testing.

in short: eventually

I’m not privy to the timeline but it is unlikely to be out before the current competitive season ends

it probably wont come out

I'm sad to say, but he is probably right.

Judging from sneak peak gifs and etc I don't think it's fair to say that it won't be released, unless Hampa decides to drop it, but that would be a massive waste of time considering all the time that must have went into it.

That said, with only one developer working on it, who knows how long it might take. Amplified by how mysterious hampa tends to be about his activity, we might never truly know what's the state of it until it gets released.

deja vu
http://www.glitchracer.com/