CCP Doubles Down on VR with EVE Gunjack

Yesterday CCP announced its “VR Arcade Shooter,” EVE: Gunjack, joining EVE: Valkyrie as part of its potential VR title lineup.

Just screams, “SCV good to go, sir!” to me.

While EVE: Valkyrie is targeted at the well-known, Facebook-owned Occulus Rift VR platform, EVE: Gunjack is slated for Samsung Gear VR option.  Samsung Gear VR incorporates some of the technology from Occulus Rift, so it includes the head tracking aspects of the latter.  But the Samsung unit does not include a built-in display, somewhat akin to the Google Cardboard VR unit, requiring users to purchase specific models of their Samsung Galaxy Note 4 line to act as the screen.

Because of the overlap in technology between the Occulus Rift and Samsung Gear VR units, I am not sure that this represents a doubling of CCP’s investment in Virtual Reality, but they do seem keen to jump on the VR bandwagon despite the motion sickness concerns and the need to buy a somewhat expensive unit that you then have to strap to your face in order to use.

But they now are working on twice as many VR titles.

And EVE: Gunjack distinguishes itself from EVE: Valkyrie by being… more gritty I guess.  EVE: Valkyrie is a space dogfighting simulator, while this is how EVE: Gunjack is described:

Set in the EVE Universe we all know and love, the player takes on the role of a turret operator aboard a mining rig out in the nullsec region of Outer Ring. As part of the defense team, it’s up to the player to protect the rig from pirates, opportunists and anyone else looking to take what rightfully belongs to the company.

Maybe more Space Engineers or SCV’s Online than a space warrior sim?  It is hard to tell.  The screen shots show more “doing” than “shooting.”

Salvaging an Abaddon hulk?

Anyway, that adds another title to the CCP lineup, which to date looks like:

• Danger Game (Hættuspil) – The most popular Icelandic board game ever, with 1 in 8 Icelandic households reported to own a copy.  While there aren’t all that many households in Iceland, it did help finance EVE Online development.  Made a triumphant return with the EVE Online Second Decade Collector’s Edition.
• EVE Online – A popular spaced based version of the Stanford Prison Experiment.  Makes all the money for CCP.
• Quafe – Not a game, but a drink available in EVE Online brought to the real world.  CCP sold this for a while about a decade back.  It was basically re-branded lemon-lime soda from Egill Skallagrímsson, specifically Egils Orka.
• EVE: The Second Genesis – CCP returned to the table top with a collectable card game version of EVE Online.  Hasn’t been heard from since 2009.
• DUST 514 – An online shooter that promised to allow EVE Online players to grief PS3 owners via orbital bombardment.  Not regarded as a success.  Still pissed I never got to drop rocks on anybody.
• World of Darkness – Worked on fitfully for a few years, then cancelled.  May not be gone for good, but not coming back any time soon.  So now WoD means Warlords of Draenor to most MMO players.
• EVE: Valkyrie – Exciting VR tech space dogfighting simulator.  Promises to make people vomit.
• Project Legion – A promised shooter akin to DUST 514, only on a platform that EVE Online players actually own.  (i.e. Windows)  Reported to be in development.
• EVE: Gunjack – Newly announced.  Maybe less exciting but deeper content?  Perhaps not as prone to motion sickness?

Anyway, that is what CCP has… so they clearly need to keep EVE Online running for a few years longer to pay their bar tabs.  Or bring back Quafe.  I’d buy some of that.