Update – CCP has reached out to Polygon to clarify that while the studios are being consolidated, development on EVE: Valkyrie has not ended, and that work on the game is expected to continue. A statement from CCP reads (in part), “The team is intact while we go through the consultation period for the proposed sale of the studio. We will release the winter update to the game as planned.”
When it comes to MMORPGs, EVE Online is one of the longer-running MMORPGs in the world, which means that over the years it has managed to establish a pretty huge and loyal fanbase. This is why you can imagine that the idea of EVE being brought into virtual reality sounded like a pretty obvious step in terms of evolution.
Last year developer CCP launched EVE: Valkyrie which is basically a game based on the EVE universe but playable in VR using the Oculus Rift, HTC Vice, and the PlayStation VR (it has since been made playable in flatscreen as well). It sounded like a fantastic idea, but unfortunately it looks like plans for the game have since been shelved. According to a report from the Iceland Monitor (via Polygon; via IGN), it looks like developer CCP has decided to put the game on hold due to a reduced investment in VR technology.
However while the game has been put on hold, it does not mean that they do not plan to return to it in the future, or create other VR titles. CCP’s CEO Hilmar Veigar Pétursson was quoted as saying, “We have been front and center in the second wave of VR. Our belief in the long-term transformative power of the technology remains strong.”
Recently former Blizzard exec and designer for World of Warcraft Rob Pardo shared his thoughts on VR MMORPGs, claiming that such titles are still a long way from happening, and if anything it looks like the halt on development of EVE: Valkyrie seems to have proven him right.
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