CCP Games, the studio behind hardcore MMO Space Simulator EVE Online, announced a brand new endeavor at its annual EVE Fanfest in Iceland: Project Legion, a free-to-play multiplayer First-Person shooter that will be exclusive to the PC.
Although details are currently scarce, what is currently known is that Legion will feature both PvE and PvP gameplay, unlike its PS3 counterpart, Dust 514, which is exclusively PvP.
Additionally, Legion, like Dust 514, will be set within the EVE Online universe and will have connections to it in more than just story. In an interview with Rock, Paper, Shotgun, CCP Asia’s creative director Atli Mar Sveinsson said:
So the games are not linked in the form of a couple of barrels being shot on a planet’s surface from orbit. They’re primarily linked by corporations and social networks and that is actually what we care most about. Of course we care about the footprints in the sand between games, but at its core this is about socialisation – that, more than a specific feature, drives us to certain conclusions.
Dust 514, which Legion seems to be using as foundation to build off of, is connected to EVE Online in that players in EVE could hire mercenaries, aka Dust 514 players, to fight for various planets in the galaxy in order to reap their benefits. The successes and losses of battles in Dust 514 affected the universe in EVE Online, so it is likely that Legion will follow a similar concept.
While its PvP elements will be similar to Dust 514, in which players choose planets of varying skill levels to fight on, Legion’s PvE gameplay will revolve around a sandbox concept where players can team up to explore planets and find loot, while fending off AI-controlled enemies. There will be two different types of PvE modes: high and low security. The former will have friendly fire disabled, while the latter will have it enabled, presenting tense moments in which players have no idea if their counterparts will aid them in scavenging for valuable materials, only to betray them and take all the rewards.
Of course, one must keep in mind that CCP aren’t even sure if Legion will eventually become a full fledged game. Speaking to Polygon, Dust 514 executive producer Jean-Charles Gaudechon said :”We’re still in project stage, we’re very much in the stage of sharing with the community, very CCP style, to get feedback […] If the community doesn’t react well… more importantly they will help us shape the right product.”
More news is sure to follow in the coming months, but it is clear that CCP has some work to do to make their new project stand out in a market that is overflowing with Free-To-Play shooters, especially considering that Dust 514, which they are borrowing heavily from, was released to tepid reviews.