It is the other way round. So don't worry about the future of Andromeda. The levels are called Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon . New players can start at level Epsilon . Detailed rules about your ranking are fixed for each level seperatly.
Rules are a bit different in Epsilon .
Beginning with the next round, I will add a new level above Alpha . There will be always only one game at that level, and this game will be an Ashes of the old Empire game. Sure, I will give him a real chance to win. This additional level means, that you can even climb if you are playing alpha this round. But SPH was always a place for addon-rich, highly customized and very complex games.