CCP Games Secures $40 Million in Funding for New AAA Game, EVE Universe Setting and Blockchain Implementation Mentioned

[T0@st]

Reykjavík, Iceland - 21 March 2023 - CCP Games, creators of sci-fi spacefaring MMO EVE Online, announced today that $40M in financing has been secured from external partners. This financing will allow CCP Games to build upon the discoveries of its research & development team to enable the full-scale development of a new AAA title utilizing blockchain technology, set within the EVE Universe.

"Since its inception, CCP Games' vision has been to create virtual worlds more meaningful than real life. Now, with advancements made within blockchain, we can forge a new universe deeply imbued with our expertise in player agency and autonomy, empowering players to engage in new ways. This financing has marked an exciting frontier in our studio history as we begin our third decade of virtual world operations. We are humbled by the confidence from our partners in the development of this new title," said CCP Games CEO, Hilmar V. Pétursson.



With key game systems developed on-chain, this new project will also leverage smart-contract blockchain technology, focusing on persistence, composability and truly open third-party development to create a new relationship between virtual worlds and players.

This financing was led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), with participation from Makers Fund, BITKRAFT, Kingsway Capital, HASHED, Nexon, and additional participants.

"CCP Games is a pioneer in virtual worlds and digital economies with 25 years of experience creating living sandboxes with unparalleled depth. They're a veteran team and we believe in their ambitious vision to deliver incredible player experiences at the intersection of best-in-class game design and blockchain technology," said a16z General Partner, Jonathan Lai.



"The depth and nuances of EVE have become a frequent point of reference in blockchain gaming and we are therefore thrilled to support the team's impressive vision of expanding the EVE Universe utilizing this technology. As a former employee, it's a great personal joy to be reunited with CCP and to witness their continued passion for creating truly meaningful virtual worlds," said Makers Fund Principal, Alli Óttarsson.

"We've long marveled at stories of interstellar war, spaceships forever lost, and the constant challenges of staying ahead of emergent, sovereign play patterns. Hilmar and the team's experience is unmatched, and we're excited to see how they use blockchain to let players dream further," said BITKRAFT Ventures Partner, Carlos Pereira.

Alongside independent financing, this new title's production is separate from current and previously disclosed projects, including EVE Online, which is now in its landmark 20th year.

CCP is a leading independent game developer that has been praised for its artistry, technology and game design that facilitates emergent behavior, empowering players with compelling means of self-expression. Founded in 1997 on the principle of pushing the envelope and breaking new ground on all levels, CCP is on a mission to create virtual worlds more meaningful than real life. With the launch of EVE Online in May 2003, CCP established itself as a pioneer of cutting-edge massively multiplayer games, winning numerous awards and receiving critical acclaim worldwide. CCP is headquartered in Reykjavik, Iceland, and has additional studios in London and Shanghai.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site | Source

 

[unwind-protect]

Modules by external partners sounds interesting.

 

[Dr. Dro]

I was interested, even impressed, until "blockchain technology" came up.

Into the trash it goes...

 

[ShiBDiB]

This is getting shit on by the eve playerbase. Hilmar has done a pretty horrible job at steering their flagship (only) game since taking over.

 

[ZoneDymo]

I was interested, even impressed, until "blockchain technology" came up.

Into the trash it goes...

I require an informed answer why this by definition alone turns you off it.

 

[Dr. Dro]

I require an informed answer why this by definition alone turns you off it.

Because cryptocurrency is a fraud, and accordingly, NFTs are scams.

I have nothing but loathing and contempt towards it (no thanks to it damaging the GPU market irrepairably - it'll be years if not over a decade until GPUs are affordable again), and every person I have ever argued about this with has either thrown a very angry fit or opted to ignore me, being unable to convince me otherwise. Even here, where people are supposed to be technologically educated (lacking a better term), the last thread that someone that claimed to be here to "educate" people on crypto ran away and hasn't returned after I inquired about the practical utility of blockchain: I assert that there is nothing that you can do with blockchain "technology" that cannot be done otherwise in a manner just as secure, efficient or private (not that these are qualities that apply to blockchains inherently, if anything, blockchains are extremely inefficient regardless - and those with open ledgers are also the opposite of private).

Reading material:

Why NFTs are bad: the long version

This is the in-depth follow up to this brief article:

antsstyle.medium.com

Bitcoin is a Ponzi

Yes, bitcoin is a Ponzi

but don't worry man, last time a ponzi crashed (Terra and Luna) and shook the whole scheme (since crypto market is a ponzi leaning on a bigger ponzi, in a series of ponzis) was just a rugpull, a ruffian's tomfoolery, bull market season will come soon, hodl!

 

[EatingDirt]

CCP has never been able to capitalize on the success that EVE created in their other ventures. Dust 541, EVE Valkyrie were the only two games they've ever finished.

Dust 541 was a disaster, a console FPS that was going to be somehow connected to PC-only EVE Online. Something that was never really going to work out.

Vakyrie was a VR multiplayer game in a time when VR was in its infancy. Could have been a fantastic single-player VR game with optional multiplayer, but the VR consumer market wasn't nearly large enough in 2016 for it to succeed as a Multiplayer-only game.

Then they continue to start projects in an attempt to make a successful FPS in the EVE Universe. Apparently there has been 2: Project Legion, cancelled in 2015; Project Nova, cancelled in 2018 and they're currently working on a yet unnammed FPS in CCP London.

I honestly don't understand why anyone is giving them more money outside of EVE revenue. They haven't shown that they can successfully develop anything outside of EVE for the last 20 years.

 

[Steevo]

Blockchain, so we can expect high power use and intermittent crashes? Or are they using buzz words to try and seem new and innovative

 

[dragontamer5788]

Blockchain, so we can expect high power use and intermittent crashes? Or are they using buzz words to try and seem new and innovative

Blockchain hasn't been a buzzword since FTX was removed from Miami Stadium last year.

The new buzz word is supposed to be "AI" by the way. These guys are behind the times!

 

[R-T-B]

blockchain can mean a lot of things besides a currency. In a highly economic transactional game like eve I can actually see it having uses. No idea if they'll do it well though.

 

[Bytales]

blockchain can mean a lot of things besides a currency. In a highly economic transactional game like eve I can actually see it having uses. No idea if they'll do it well though.

Some people are just stupid/moron. Blockchain isnt about Currency, its about trustless tripple entry accounting and proper ownership of assets. If you thing Blockchain means currency, you got a lot to earn my friend !

 

[R-T-B]

Some people are just stupid/moron. Blockchain isnt about Currency, its about trustless tripple entry accounting and proper ownership of assets. If you thing Blockchain means currency, you got a lot to earn my friend !

Most of the world doesn't have a clue what blockchain means and honestly, given 90% of the use cases have been for crypto, it's kind of hard to blame them. Still sad though.

 

[Dr. Dro]

Some people are just stupid/moron. Blockchain isnt about Currency, its about trustless tripple entry accounting and proper ownership of assets. If you thing Blockchain means currency, you got a lot to earn my friend !

That even implies crypto are currencies to begin with; they're just cryptographic hashes. Any other file a computer generates would be equally viable as a method of trade if there was mutual trust and agreement that said file was/is worth X, Y or Z.

Again, anything that blockchain could do for a video game can be done by its server software and mediated by the administrators/gamemasters and customer support representatives, who ultimately have the final say regardless. I'll bring it one step further, what if an item on the blockchain causes a major problem with the game and due to the game's administration being unable to disable or pull it from the game as they do not hold the ownership to that token (as if it mattered, btw, but let's just play ball - NFTs are, again, simple cryptographic hashes and do not carry the content they are supposed to grant ownership of - it's literally a biblical fraud), would they just leave the game vulnerable to it? That's clearly worth it to all parties involved.

"Blockchain" and all related trendy "technologies" fit entirely within the scope of technologies which serve no beneficial purpose to mankind and would have gone away presto if some influencers and speculators didn't get together to make (launder) a quick buck.

In short: No.

 

[Super XP]

Because cryptocurrency is a fraud, and accordingly, NFTs are scams.

I have nothing but loathing and contempt towards it (no thanks to it damaging the GPU market irrepairably - it'll be years if not over a decade until GPUs are affordable again), and every person I have ever argued about this with has either thrown a very angry fit or opted to ignore me, being unable to convince me otherwise. Even here, where people are supposed to be technologically educated (lacking a better term), the last thread that someone that claimed to be here to "educate" people on crypto ran away and hasn't returned after I inquired about the practical utility of blockchain: I assert that there is nothing that you can do with blockchain "technology" that cannot be done otherwise in a manner just as secure, efficient or private (not that these are qualities that apply to blockchains inherently, if anything, blockchains are extremely inefficient regardless - and those with open ledgers are also the opposite of private).

Reading material:

Why NFTs are bad: the long version

This is the in-depth follow up to this brief article:

antsstyle.medium.com

Bitcoin is a Ponzi

Yes, bitcoin is a Ponzi

but don't worry man, last time a ponzi crashed (Terra and Luna) and shook the whole scheme (since crypto market is a ponzi leaning on a bigger ponzi, in a series of ponzis) was just a rugpull, a ruffian's tomfoolery, bull market season will come soon, hodl!

I never liked NFTs and there's no replacing the real thing, real cards like Hockey Cards for example. I rather collect the physical thing. Anyhow NFTs are exploding on many Blockchain platforms and its not going to stop unfortunately. To name a few Blockchains with popular games using NFTs? WAX, ETH, EOS, TELOS, Polygon, Tron etc.,

 

[80251]

Isn't CCP already a trademarked name/acronym?

 

[Dr. Dro]

I never liked NFTs and there's no replacing the real thing, real cards like Hockey Cards for example. I rather collect the physical thing. Anyhow NFTs are exploding on many Blockchain platforms and its not going to stop unfortunately. To name a few Blockchains with popular games using NFTs? WAX, ETH, EOS, TELOS, Polygon, Tron etc.,

So they're still clinging onto that sinking ship?