CCP opens up new office to focus on console games

by: Chuck - posted: 6/29/2010 10:15:00 AM

CCP online announced today that they have opened up a new office in Gateshead Quays that will focus on development of console games. The first project for the company's fourth office will be DUST 514, the sci-fi FPS/RTS hybrid that will hook into EVE Online.

It's nice to the company growing and I'm really intrigued by DUST 514 as the early footage from the game was easily at the Killzone 2 level of graphical fidelity.  Hopefully we'll get more info on the game soon as it is certainly something that gamers should be keeping an eye on.

CCP NEWCASTLE OPEN FOR BUSINESS
EVE Online Developer’s Newest Studio to Focus on Next-Generation Console Games

Reykjavik, Iceland – June 29, 2010 – CCP, one of the world's leading independent game developers, today unveiled its fourth game development studio, CCP Newcastle. Located in Gateshead Quays, CCP Newcastle will focus on console game development, charting new paths for gameplay and business models that will breathe new life into connected consoles.

“The decision to establish a UK studio was an easy one for CCP,” said Richard Smith, Technical Director of CCP Newcastle. “The North East has a distinguished heritage of game development, an experienced console-development talent pool and local universities producing exceptional graduates. We have been able to assemble a world-class team of console developers with unparalleled Unreal Engine expertise and integrate them with CCP’s global organization.”


As its first project, CCP Newcastle will collaborate with CCP Asia in Shanghai on the development of the upcoming MMOFPS DUST 514 for console platforms. It will also be responsible for delivering advanced solutions for lighting, physics and artificial intelligence to CCP's console projects. CCP Newcastle most recently teamed with Cambridge-based middleware provider Geomerics to integrate Enlighten technology for real-time radiosity lighting into Epic's Unreal Engine. Consequently, DUST 514 will be the first console title using the Unreal 3 engine to feature fully dynamic lighting.

CCP Newcastle’s founding engineers come from Midway Games, where they were widely recognized as some of the UK's leading experts on Unreal Engine. This core group will spearhead console-specific research and development, looking ahead to the next generation of videogame consoles and strengthening North East England’s reputation for pioneering game technology.


“Gateshead Digital Summer has showcased our commitment to attracting digital and creative businesses to Gateshead. The news that CCP will be opening a studio in Gateshead supports our vision of an enterprising borough,” commented Councillor Mick Henry, Leader of Gateshead Council. ““The arrival of CCP will lead to the creation of up to thirty digital jobs in an industry that already employs over a hundred local people. For Gateshead to continue to develop, we must support creative industries that provide employment and help boost the local economy.”


At this year's GameHorizon conference June 29-30 at The Sage Gateshead, CCP Senior Director of Business Development Yohei Ishii will outline a new path in console game development that will redefine how games will be accessed and monetized in a changing console and gaming market. CCP Newcastle is actively recruiting talent that shares this vision, and expects to attract some of the best and brightest game technologists in the UK development community.


Said Simon Goon, Head of Business Investment at One North East, “The digital games industry is a sector in which the North East is especially strong and which has been identified as a key area for creating jobs and economic growth in the years ahead. An innovative, market-leading firm like CCP will provide a major boost to the critical mass that is already here and we are delighted to have helped the company establish this new base in the North East.”

About CCP Games
CCP is widely recognized as an industry-leading pioneer of the single-server persistent universe architecture as the developer and publisher of EVE Online, the critically acclaimed, science fiction-based massively multiplayer online game (MMOG). Utilizing a cross-discipline approach combining cutting-edge technology and artistic excellence, CCP is dedicated to providing vibrant, compelling products that transcend the boundaries of conventional MMOs and facilitate social networking through virtual worlds. Privately held and founded in Reykjavik, Iceland, in 1997, CCP's international reach now spans the globe with offices in Atlanta, Shanghai and Newcastle as well as a base of operations in London. More information about CCP is available at the company's website www.ccpgames.com.

About EVE Online
Set tens of thousands of years in the future, EVE Online is a breathtaking journey to the stars, to an immersive experience filled with adventure, riches, danger and glory. With over three-hundred thousand subscribers worldwide inhabiting the same virtual universe, EVE features a vast player-run economy where your greatest asset is the starship, designed to accommodate your specific needs, skills and ambitions. EVE offers professions ranging from commodities trader to mercenary, industrial entrepreneur to pirate, mining engineer to battle fleet commander or any combination of these and much more. From brokering business deals to waging war, you will have access to a diverse array of sophisticated tools and interfaces to forge your own destiny in EVE. Learn more at www.eveonline.com.

Definition of Subscribers
EVE Online subscribers include individuals who have paid a subscription fee or have an active electronic time code (ETC) to play EVE Online, as well as those who have purchased the game and are within their free month of access. The above definition excludes all players under free promotional subscriptions, expired or cancelled subscriptions and expired ETCs.

About DUST 514

A hybrid first-person shooter (FPS) and real-time strategy (RTS) experience, DUST 514 features brutal ground and vehicular combat within the universe of EVE Online. Developed for the current generation of consoles, DUST 514 will equally test players’ battlefield reflexes and strategic planning, allowing commanders and ground infantry to work together using real-time configurable modular weapons and vehicles to adapt to and control dynamic battlefield conditions. With this approach, CCP will create for consoles and FPSs what it has created for MMOs: a persistent virtual world in which emergent gameplay and players' own social behavior drive the action.