Development of CCP Games’ upcoming EVE: Valkyrie, the virtual reality space dogfighting sim previously known as EVR, will be led by new hire Owen O’Brien, the EVE Online developer confirms to Gamasutra. O’Brien “will oversee all aspects of EVE: Valkyrie‘s production” from CCP’s Newcastle, UK-based studio.
O’Brien’s comes to CCP after a year spent developing and growing the mobile strategy at DICE. Prior to that, he served as an executive producer at DICE on a number of titles – both previously released and still upcoming – since 2005. His EP credits include Mirror’s Edge, Battlefield 3, Battlefield 4, and an unannounced project. O’Brien came to DICE after working in various senior producer and marketing/PR roles at the Swedish studio’s parent company, Electronic Arts.
CCP first revealed EVE: Valkyrie‘s then still known as EVR, at its annual EVE Fanfest celebration in Iceland, earlier in 2013. More tech demo than game, the 6v6 dogfighting sim nonetheless impressed most anyone that got a chance to check it out (read our impressions). A subsequent appearance at E3 in June got even more attention, and the continuing interest is likely what led CCP to turn the former after-hours pet project into a full-blown release.
There’s no release date confirmed yet for Valkyrie beyond the vague “2014” window, but don’t be surprised if it shows up alongside Oculus VR’s Oculus Rift headset, which many suspect will see a commercial release in 2014. The original game was built for that device, and Valkyrie will support it as well. Of course, with Sony rumored to be introducing a VR headset of its own for the PlayStation 4 next year, there’s no telling where else the game might be supported when it eventually does arrive.
