An Eve Online mobile spinoff to arrive next year

Not only is Eve Online famous for its stories of espionage, politics, and real-life drama, but the MMORPG’s complexity is just as legendary. If ever there was a game that seemed unsuitable to make the jump to smartphones, this is it — but its creators disagree.

Icelandic developer and publisher CCP Games is joining forces with Finnish mobile games firm PlayRaven for Project Aurora, a spinoff from Eve Online. The upcoming title does look quite similar to its PC cousin, but it will only be set in the same universe, rather than having any direct integration with the 14-year-old space sim.

Project Aurora, which will be available on both Android and iOS, even sounds like Eve, requiring players work together to dominate the galaxy and become the most powerful corporation in the universe. It’s described as “a massively multiplayer mobile universe, filled with epic player stories.”

“We’re all longtime fans of CCP and EVE Online, so we’re immensely proud and honored to be working with such a legendary developer and beloved franchise. It’s really a dream come true to have the opportunity to create a new EVE experience on mobile,” said Lasse Seppänen, co-founder and CEO at PlayRaven.

Project Aurora will be free-to-play, and based on PlayRaven’s other mobile titles — SpyMaster, Robocide, and Winterstate — it’s highly likely to feature some form of microtransactions.

“For years and years we have wanted to bring the EVE Universe to mobile devices in a way that is tailored to the platform and EVE fans. We wanted to find a partner who is passionate about EVE, has a track record of producing high quality and deep mobile games and is capable of creating completely new experiences on mobile. PlayRaven fit the bill perfectly,” said Hilmar Veigar Pétursson, CEO of CCP Games.

The mobile title is set for release in a limited number of territories in the “near future,” with the full launch set for later in 2018.

Project Aurora won’t be the first spinoff from Eve Online, which itself started offering a free-to-play option in 2016. PlayStation 3-exclusive multiplayer FPS Dust 514 was released in 2013 but shuttered last year. There’s also space dogfighting sim Eve: Valkyrie, which can be played on the HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, PC, PS4 and PSVR