EVE: Valkyrie closes its doors, after years of disaffection

Unsurprisingly overlooked by both gamers and studio CCP Games, multiplayer space combat game EVE: Valkyrie will shut down on August 5th, concluding a long-aborted attempt to expand the EVE universe. Online.

For the little story, EVE: Valkyrie is initially a technical demo developed by members of CCP Games in their spare time, to illustrate the potential of virtual reality. A first draft was presented at the 2013 Fanfest convention, then still under the name of EVE-VR. The demonstration then turned into the development of a full-fledged game, under the leadership of the studio CCP Newcastle. Offering fights between light and fast hunters, EVE: Valkyrie will have as its figurehead the character of Ran Kavik, voiced by actress Kate Sackhoff, known in particular for her role in the Battlestar Galactica series.

Released first on PC with headphones Oculus Rift in 2016, EVE: Valkyrie will gradually be extended cross-platform to different headsets, notably on PlayStation 4 and then the HTC Vive. Considered good without being exceptional, this space combat game will be one of the figureheads of this new way of approaching video games. Several updates will expand its content, but the limited enthusiasm of the general public for virtual reality will push CCP Games to offer in a final attempt to save EVE: Valkyrie the Warzone extension, allowing it to be played without a helmet. Without success, however, CCP Games finally threw in the towel in 2018, selling its studio dedicated to virtual reality CCP Newcastle to Sumo Digitalpartner collaborating in parallel on the FPS project Project Nova.

This change of hands will not cause any shock for EVE: Valkyrie, which switches to maintenance mode in parallel with a disaffection of the players. With the interest in multiplayer relying on these, the game was doomed and it’s almost surprising that it still persists today. The conclusion of this attempt by CCP Games to expand the universe ofEve Online will therefore fade on August 5, 2022, as announced on the game’s official website. gameplay. If the MMORPGs space has since have arenas to compete in a framed way, it is good by keeping its own mechanics.