EVE Online developer/publisher CCP blindsided conventiongoers at GamesCom 2009 in Cologne, Germany with its announcement of Dust 514, a massively multiplayer FPS for consoles that ties into EVE's persistent world. This unique title has players engaging in ground combat on planets across the galaxy. Gameplay details are scarce, but we know that maps are created by a combination of hand-crafted geometry and procedurally generated terrain, which CCP touts as allowing it to populate thousands of planets with unique battlefields. Similarly to Battlefield 2, a commander will set waypoints for each team and set up deployables to support his troops on the ground. The game will have limited PvE bot play, but CCP is making no bones about the fact that its focus in squarely on competitive online multiplayer.
The relationship between EVE and Dust 514 hasn't been fully revealed, but CCP has let a few details out. The outcome of battles in Dust 514 helps determine which player faction in EVE controls the planet and its output. The publisher is releasing a game-centric social networking site that will allow players of both games to interact in that way, and it's a good bet that EVE's dynamic player-driven politics and factional warfare will have an impact on Dust 514's social structures as well. Dust 514 has no announced release date.
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