CCPGames
Latest
'Eve Online' studio acquired by Korean MMO maker
Eve Online developer CCP Games has been acquired by Pearl Abyss, the South Korean studio behind the action-oriented MMORPG Black Desert Online. According to VentureBeat, the deal was worth $425 million and will close in early October. It's a surprise announcement for CCP, which has long operated as an independent developer. Eve Online isn't the biggest MMORPG on the market, but it has maintained a steady and loyal userbase through continuous updates and a well-timed switch to a hybrid premium and free-to-play model. The 15-year-old game is unique, too, with its large-scale battles and notoriously complex economic and political systems.
‘EVE Online’ crowdsourced science data will soon be publicly available
In March 2016, space MMO EVE Online added the Project Discovery minigame which let players classify proteins in their downtime to help researchers. After collecting data for over two years, the project's team recently uploaded it to the publicly-available Human Protein Atlas database for scientists to use all over the world.
'Eve Online' turns 15 today, and its history is epic
Today is the 15th anniversary of the legendarily fascinating virtual world EVE Online, a massively multiplayer spaceship game that has become famous for the incredible stories that sometimes emerge from the community about heists and wars between thousands of players. EVE is so interesting that it even has its own historian, Andrew Groen, a video game writer formerly of Wired who studies the politics and sociology at work in EVE's virtual community over its 15-year history. Groen raised $95,729 from a Kickstarter campaign to independently publish his first book, Empires of EVE: A History of the Great Wars of EVE Online, which has now sold 17,000 copies worldwide and is in its third printing. He's currently Kickstarting a sequel which has already brought in more than $115,000 in support and concludes this week. Empires of EVE is half Star Wars, half Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. It is a true and fact-checked account of what happened inside EVE Online from the years 2003-2009 as player factions began to accumulate power and eventually wage a years-long war between more than 50,000 real players. It's a space opera that takes place on our own internet, and all the characters are 2003 internet users attempting to build their own digital fiefdom. The excerpt that follows is chapter four of Empires of EVE, and takes place near the beginning of the story.
‘EVE: Valkyrie’ studio is shutting down its VR department
While CCP Games is best known for its space MMO EVE: Online, its VR spin-off game EVE: Valkyrie won praise for its immersive (if limited) gameplay. While the studio had begun to break into other VR titles, including the one-on-one competitive Sparc released for PSVR in August, its virtual reality days are done. Today, news dropped that CCP will dip out of VR development for the next few years and refocus on PC and mobile -- which, unfortunately, means shuttering two of its five global offices.
‘Eve Online’ is going mobile next year with ‘Project Aurora’
Popular space MMO Eve Online has been doing pretty well lately, bringing a massive map, galactic trade economies and the vastness of space to players over its 14-year history. It's made several moves to keep folks interested in its PC-based game title, too. Developer CCP Games has made Eve Online free to download and play while also allowing players to participate in finding exoplanets in real life. Now the team is partnering with mobile game developer PlayRaven to bring Eve Online-style multiplayer action to mobile devices. Dubbed "Project Aurora," the upcoming title for iOS and Android is set to launch later in 2018.
'Eve: Valkyrie' drops the VR requirement
If what's been holding you back from playing Eve: Valkyrie has been the lack of a VR headset, that (very valid) reason has disappeared. In addition to the new subtitle, Warzone, there's a new capture the flag gametype, new ships, ultra abilities and customizations for said ships and a pair of new maps. And, of course, now you can play the game on PC or PlayStation 4 sans an expensive and bulky virtual reality display hanging from your face.
‘EVE: Valkyrie’ studio's 'Sparc' hits PSVR on August 29th
CCP Games announced last month that it would be following up its popular EVE: Valkyrie VR game with the Tron-like VR sport title Sparc. Today, the studio announced it'll come out for PlayStation VR on August 29th for $30.
'EVE Online' is crowdsourcing the search for real exoplanets
EVE Online players will help scientists look for other planets from the comfort of their computer desks later this year. The game's developer, CCP Games, is teaming up with Massively Multiplayer Online Science (MMOS), the University of Reykjavik and the University of Geneva to crowdsource space exploration within EVE's virtual universe.
Free-to-play is coming to the space MMO 'EVE Online'
After over a decade with a straight subscription model, the massively multiplayer space RPG EVE: Online is adding a free-to-play tier. While paid accounts will still exist for new and old players alike, the new free accounts will give gamers basic access to the vast EVE universe, "New Eden." It's been surprising how long EVE developer CCP has held out on free-to-play. New Eden may have been home to some of the most famous conflicts in video game history, but that hasn't stopped subscribers leaving in droves. Introduced in 2003, the game peaked with 500,000 subscribers in 2013 (the last time CCP gave official figures). From comparing activity logs and historical player figures, the current subscriber count is likely less than half of that peak.
Play 'EVE: Valkyrie' with friends on any VR platform
The rise of VR inspired devs to build an offshoot to the venerable intergalactic MMO EVE Online, one that deals less with politics and economy and more just...blowing stuff up. EVE: Valkyrie is out now on Oculus Rift and will be released on PlayStation VR and HTC Vive later in 2016 — but CCP games just announced that gamers can play with anyone regardless of their VR platform.
'Eve: Valkyrie' is coming to the HTC Vive this year
With the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive now available for consumers, the virtual reality wars have officially begun. But depending on your headset choice, the content options will vary. So if you had your heart set on playing CCP Games' multiplayer dogfighting space shooter Eve:Valkyrie, but worried it'd be tied to the Rift, you can breathe a sigh of relief. The Icelandic studio announced on Twitter today that the VR title will be heading to the Vive in 2016. Beyond that very vague release window, we don't have much more in the way of specifics. So while you wait patiently for your chance to take part in CCP's epic space battle, why not check out the plethora of content just waiting for you on Vive's launch day.
Take out space pirates in 'Gunjack' on Oculus Rift and Vive
Gunjack places you in the gunner seat of a spaceship in the EVE universe, battling interstellar crafts as they attempt to infiltrate the mining vessel under your protection -- all in glorious virtual reality. It launched in November alongside the Samsung Gear VR headset, and now it's heading to Oculus Rift and HTC Vive for $10. Gunjack hits PCs for the Rift when the headset begins shipping on March 28th and it'll come to Vive later in 2016.
'EVE Online' now rewards you for helping science
At last, playing a ton of EVE Online can do a lot of good in the real world. As promised, the massively multiplayer space title now includes a Project Discovery minigame that has you contributing to real science. If you offer to classify proteins in between space flights, you'll both help scientists understand the proteins' roles in the human body (especially relating to disease) and earn in-game rewards ranging from ISK currency to loyalty points. You don't have to be a paying EVE subscriber to participate, so it won't hurt to give the project a go if you're eager to advance medicine while you explore the virtual cosmos.
This is how Oculus will sell VR to the masses
By Nathan Ingraham and Aaron SouppourisA big question has followed Oculus around since its Rift unveil back in June: How will it persuade the public that virtual reality is ready for primetime? Today we have the answer: Oculus VR has announced that Eve: Valkyrie, CCP's multiplayer dogfighting shooter, will be a pack-in with every pre-order of its upcoming VR headset when it launches in early 2016.
Oculus VR's first published game will be EVE: Valkyrie
EVE:Valkyrie is no longer just a neat proof-of-concept demo for Oculus' prototype VR headset -- it's now an exclusive launch title. Today, Oculus announced that it'd be entering into a co-publishing agreement with developer CCP Games to make its space dogfighter one of the Rift's first AAA "made-for-VR" games. That Oculus would seek to back EVE:Valkyrie in this way shouldn't come as much surprise to those following the nascent VR outfit's saga. The two companies have had a closely intertwined relationship that reaches back to Oculus' Kickstarter days. So when CCP revealed plans to develop the VR shooter as a standalone title within its EVE Online universe back in August of last year -- previously a go-to demo for the Rift -- it seemed likely the title was destined for Oculus. At the time, CCP had even mentioned 2014 as a target for the games' commercial release, a date which coincided neatly with the same vague release window Oculus had set for a commercial launch of the Rift.
PC impressions: EVE Online
Three years after its launch, EVE Online has racked up 100,000 players and a dedicated fanbase. Developer CCP is in the midst of a graphical revamp, upgrading the game's look and feel without increasing its system requirements. As a game where it takes months to even learn to fly a ship, let alone build it, there's a refreshing contrast to the instant gratification of some other MMOs. Skills are learnt in real-time, rather than based on level, but specialisation options and the power of numbers mean new players can stand alongside older ones.
