CCP Games have announced that their made-for-VR online, multi-player space shooter EVE: Valkyrie, will ship free with every consumer Oculus Rift VR headset at launch, some time in Q1 2016.
Today, CCP Games have announced that their first made-for-VR title that started life as a 20% part-time project in the wake of the hugely successful Oculus Rift Kickstarter campaign, will ship in the box with every Oculus Rift at launch.
An obvious candidate to be included with the first consumer grade, desktop focussed VR headset from Oculus, EVE: Valkyrie is one of the few games out there to have had the time invested to join the Oculus Rift as a launch title. Thanks to CCP’s early foresight that virtual reality would clearly become a viable consumer platform very soon, they’re now leading the charge on the software front.
But while Oculus’ choice to include the game with the Rift (due to ship in Q1 2016) may have more than a little to do with development timelines, it’s also that EVE: Valkyrie remains one of the best virtual reality titles we’ve seen on any platform. We’ve followed the title’s gestation from the start and recently went hands-on with a recent pre-alpha build at a special event held in London to accompany the announcement. After spending a significant amount of time with the title there, we can confirm that EVE: Valkyrie isn’t just a great ‘VR’ title, it’s plain just a great game period!
Speaking to this, Oculus’ founder Palmer Luckey issued a statement to accompany CCP’s announcement.
EVE: Valkyrie is one of the most anticipated virtual reality games, and one of the first true VR games to go into development. It perfectly captures the promise of immersive gaming, shooting you into a sci-fi adventure as you pilot a spaceship in search of combat. Battling your friends (and enemies) in multiplayer space dogfights is the ultimate VR thrill, and we’re excited to partner with CCP to bring this experience to Rift owners everywhere.
CCP are understandably delighted at the prospect of being the first VR title to launch anywhere for anything, but being assured a place in every Oculus Rift owner’s collection is quite a coup for the company and a significant head-start in building one of the first potential VR game communities out there.
Congratulations to the EVE: Valkyrie development team, we can wholeheartedly say this news is both well received and richly deserved.
We’ll have much more EVE: Valkyrie coverage soon, including video gameplay captured from our 5 v 5 PVP matches at the CCP event this week. Stay tuned.
