‘EVE-VR’ goes from Oculus Rift demo to full game as ‘EVE: Valkyrie’

By Adam Rosenberg August 21, 2013

eve vr space combat sim becomes valkyrie

CCP Games confirms that the sensational Oculus Rift tech demo EVE-VR, introduced for the first time during April 2013’s EVE Fanfest, is now officially set for development as a full release under the title EVE: Valkyrie. The game is a multiplayer dogfighting shooter set in the EVE Online universe. There’s no mention in the press release of Oculus, though it notes that Valkyrie “uses virtual reality to give players the sense of being a real pilot in an EVE Online spaceship,” and is currently set for a 2014 release.

CCP Games CEO Hilmar Veigar Pétursson had little to say in an official statement, though he promises to reveal more info soon. “From the moment this year’s Fanfest attendees first got their hands on EVE-VR, the question has been, ‘When can I have this?’,” Pétursson’s statement reads. “What started as a passion project by a small, incredibly talented group of CCP developers became one of the most highly anticipated games of the year — before we even announced it. We have big plans for EVE: Valkyrie and I can’t wait to share more details later this year.”

We checked out EVE-VR at Fanfest, and then again at E3 2013. Even in its relatively rough, unfinished state, the play amounts to an impressive showcase of what a VR headset like the Oculus Rift can do to enhance the experience of immersing yourself in a game. We learned when we spoke with one of the demo’s creators that it came together over a series of weeks, with everyone on the small team chipping in during their off hours. As impressive as EVE-VR is, just imagine how wild it could be to fly through space in your own spaceship once it’s a proper fully formed game.

2014 never seemed so far away. Tide yourself over for now with the reveal trailer below.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Gamescom

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Previously, Adam worked in the games press as a freelance writer and critic for a range of outlets, including Digital Trends…

Computing

Every Oculus Rift pre-order comes with a free copy of Eve: Valkyrie

every oculus rift pre order comes free copy eve valkyrie cand6 liquified

Conceived by CCP Games, Eve Online is one of the most commonly played massively multiplayer online role-playing games in the world. It's so popular, in fact, that Facebook is opting to make its forthcoming dogfighting shooter spin-off, Eve: Valkyrie, the flagship title for Oculus Rift -- potentially the Wii Sports of VR, the be-all and end-all proof of concept for simulating virtual worlds. Oculus Rift pre-order will come with a free copy of the game.

"EVE: Valkyrie is one of the most anticipated virtual reality games, and one of the first true VR games to go into development," said Oculus VR founder Palmer Luckey. "It perfectly captures the promise of immersive gaming, shooting you into a sci-fi adventure as you pilot a spaceship in search of combat. Battling your friends (and enemies) in multiplayer space dogfights is the ultimate VR thrill, and we’re excited to partner with CCP to bring this experience to Rift owners everywhere.”

Computing

'Special announcement' from Oculus VR scheduled for Thursday's Game Awards

oculus teases special announcement game awards palmer luckey close up

In 2012, crowdfunding success and industry acclaim put the Oculus Rift at the head of the VR pack, long before the likes of the HTC Vive and PlayStation VR had ever been publicly showcased. The path towards a consumer version of the Rift, however, has been long and winding, but it seems the end may finally be in sight.

This Thursday, The Game Awards 2015 will emanate from Los Angeles with a guest list that includes Glaswegian pop outfit Chvrches, Industry Icon Award recipients from Westwood Studios, and Oculus VR founder Palmer Luckey. The inventor of the Rift will be making a 'special announcement,' according to a report from Tech Spot.

Gaming

EVE Online universe spans three games connected by immortal clone-jumpers

ccp games eve online universe e3 2014 project legion

Icelandic game developer CCP Games had a quiet spot in a meeting room away from the main show floors at E3 2014, but the studio's vision of three games connected by their players is more exciting than the space lets on. With Eve Online, Eve Valkyrie and Project Legion, CCP wants fans of virtual reality, first-person shooters, and the complex space MMO that established this universe to jump among these three titles using a single identity.
But first the team needs to figure out if that's what their fans actually want.
Expanding industry. The first piece of this puzzle is Eve Online, a notoriously complex massively multiplayer game that's been running for 11 years and is still growing, according to CCP Senior Brand Manager Ryan Geddes. The game's economy is entirely player-driven and player-run, which facilitates momentous unscripted events like the recent battle of B-R5RB, in which thousands of real-world dollars' worth of in-game ships were destroyed.
The developers erected an in-game monument to commemorate that battle, and they'll be able to do more things like that on the fly now that they're updating the game 10 times a year instead of twice. "What it lets us do is if something's not working, if a feature's not coming in right, if we need more time, it's not tracking right, we don't have to wait, we don't have to make our players wait six months or a year for one of these big expansions," Geddes explained. The first smaller update, called Kronos, came out June 3, and it simply added new spaceships and factions. The next Eve Online update, arriving july 22, is called Crius. It's "all about industry," Geddes said.

"Industry is really the backbone of Eve," he said. "All those Titans that we saw earlier, all those ships, all the ammo to shoot down our ships, was made by our players. We don't make that stuff. Our players do." The Crius update is meant to "make industry easier to use, more fun, more accessible for our players who've never tried it, and we also want to give it more power for our current industrialists," he continued.
But can that industry extend beyond the detailed world of Eve Online? That certainly seems to be where things are headed.
The real Valkyrie. Just look at Eve Valkyrie. The virtual reality space combat game is more impressive every time it's shown in public. It's gone from a tech demo created by a handful of CCP's talented developers working during their off-hours to a full-blown game being developed for an eventual commercial release. It takes place in the same universe as Eve Online, and the games are directly connected.