14 DAY TRIAL // EVE Online is one of the most interesting MMOs on the market at the moment, a game which deals in betrayal and real life plots just as much as it focuses on ship piloting and the acquisition of more ISK and the developers at CCP believes that the market is ready for a shooter that is built around the same principles.
The Asian studio of CCP, which is based in Shanghai, is now working on Dust 514, which is a persistent shooter that will be launched during 2012 and will be initially available only on the PlayStation 3, using the PSN service.
Speaking to Gamasutra Torfi Frans Olafsson, who is the creative director working on the EVE Online MMO, has stated, “Fifteen years ago, people wouldn't have told you that somebody would care about as much about EVE as they do about an MMO. Or 20 years ago, before MMOs existed.”
He added, “We think the shooter market is ready for this. People want to do this. They have been assembling in clans, and they've been fighting, but never for a proper purpose -- always for a position on a leaderboard, or some random achievement. But conquering the universe with tens of thousands of other people? That's just mind-numbingly cool, I think.”
The infrastructure of Dust 514 and that of EVE Online will be unified, which means that players will share chat channels and in-game economies.
The idea behind the CCP made shooter is to put more meaning into the action mechanics, allowing them to influence the wider battle for control of the MMO universe, while at the same time making EVE Online more accessible.
The hope is that someone who tries out the shooter and likes it will learn more about the factions and the backstory and might then take a chance on EVE Online.