Report: EVE Online Dev CCP Opens UK Office

CCP Games, developer of the spacefaring MMORPG EVE Online, opened a new UK studio, which is at work on "current and future" console projects, media reports say. CCP plans to employ 10 to 20 staff at the new Newcastle studio, which is currently hiring positions in programming and quality assurance, according to a report on UK-based website GamesIndustry.biz. Reykjavik, Iceland-based CCP's main source of revenue is EVE Online for PC, a game that has players create and modify ships, complete missions, and join virtual corporations that are part of a complex in-game economy. CCP announced its expansion beyond the PC platform last year when it revealed the console-based first-person MMO Dust 514 at GDC Europe in August 2009. While a separate release from EVE Online, CCP said that Dust 514 players will take part in ground battles on planets that are part of the EVE Online universe. Dust 514 has been in development at CCP Shanghai for around three years. The new UK studio will reportedly work closely with the Shanghai studio and the Iceland headquarters. EVE Online originally launched in May 2003, and had around 300,000 active subscribers as of May 2009, the company said last year.