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.

Helmed by veterans from CCP Games and EA, Arctic Theory is proud to reveal they are working on a genre-defining co-op MMO set to release in 2023. Arctic Theory has already raised 2 million USD in funding from its initial seed round in early 2022 and is in talks with prospective publishing partners. Founded by industry veterans with decades of experience creating some of the most iconic, ambitious multiplayer games enjoyed by millions worldwide, Arctic Theory is setting the groundwork for its own boundary-pushing massively multiplayer online game.

Codenamed Annex, the game takes place in a persistent, single-shared world where nature has taken over the remnants of a long-vanished civilization. By searching for resources, building infrastructure and solving logistical challenges, players will alter the landscape of Annex, creating everything from lone outposts, trade networks and humble settlements to large-scale, democratically run cities of industry.

CCP, makers of the legendary EVE Online, made quite a substantial push for VR in the coming of age of Oculus' Rift and HTC's Vive products in the form of EVE: Valkyrie. The game was fully developed by CCP's Newcastle studio with VR systems in mind (including the PS4's), but failed to... sound off quite as much as the developer wanted it to. During last weekend's EVE Vegas FanFest, CCP CEO Hilmar Veigar Pétursson told Destructoid that the company expected VR to become bigger, faster, than it ever did, with utilization rates being way below the marketed attachment rates and sales of VR headsets.

"We expected VR to be two to three times as big as it was, period. You can't build a business on that.", said Hilmar Veigar Pétursson "If it does take off, and I mean if, we'll re-assess. The important thing is we need to see the metrics for active users of VR. A lot of people bought headsets just to try it out. How many of those people are active? We found that in terms of our data, a lot of users weren't. May of last year (2017) is when we started to figure it out. Was it a surprise? Maybe. But the picture was filling in that there would not be a way to continue with VR as heavily as we were. No regrets. It was right to stop, and it was right to start. I remain a long-term believer of VR." Perhaps things will turn around with subsequent generations of more affordable VR headsets, such as Oculus' Quest, but... It might take some time and slow iteration.

CCP games, the company behind the deep and uniquely player-driven spaceship MMO game EVE Online, has confirmed that Unreal Engine 4 is the exclusive development tool for all of CCP Games' currently unannounced projects. CCP's commitment to Unreal stems from the engine's stability, quick prototyping and the solid cross-platform support for both established and new hardware.

CCP's development teams globally are taking advantage of the powerful and easy-to-use functionality of UE4, from fluid integration of third-party systems with plug-ins and modules to improved networking and cross-platform support. CCP's game developers have jumped on board the exclusive use of UE4, specifically its Unreal Editor that leads the way in terms of lighting and rendering solutions, world composition, landscape sculpting and Blueprint prototyping.

Today, CCP Games is excited to launch the Winter Update for EVE: Valkyrie - Warzone - the acclaimed multiplayer first-person spaceship shooter set in the gritty-but-glorious universe of EVE - across PlayStation4 and PC, including all high-end VR headsets (PlayStationVR, Oculus Rift and HTC Vive). This update introduces highly requested community tools and Spectator Mode designed for player-run tournaments, along with a new EVE Online: Lifeblood-themed map, plus support for TrackIR and Tobii delivering head-tracking for non-VR players.

First is the long-awaited addition of Custom Matches. No longer will you have to wait for a specific game mode, now you can set up your own matches on EVE: Valkyrie - Warzone's official dedicated servers. You can also control the lobby through passcodes, private invites and a public server browser. Additionally, you'll find options for map rotation, game mode and a ton of other settings to tweak the game for maximum enjoyment (…or carnage, depending on your preference).

Today, CCP announced the launch of the Arms Race update for EVE Online, their in-depth and uniquely player-driven spaceship MMO game, which introduces even greater accessibility and wider gameplay variety to players with free-to-play accounts, known as Alpha Clones. Introduced in last year's Ascension expansion, Alpha accounts enable players to permanently join hundreds of thousands of established users in EVE Online's massive space sandbox for free. Now, CCP Games has opened up the ability for Alpha pilots to train many more skills, fly more impressive spaceships and equip more advanced weaponry.

"There has never been a better time to join the universe of EVE and begin your own unique space adventure, or re-join and continue your journey," said Hilmar Veigar Pétursson, CCP's CEO. "The increased flexibility and depth of the free Alpha Clone experience means that EVE is more accessible than ever. EVE players can return and fly their favorite ships for free, re-uniting with old corpmates or continue forging their own destiny to make their mark on the universe."