Believe it or not, it’s been four years since EVE: Valkyrie first made its mark at EVE Fanfest.
While we’re celebrating Valkyrie’s first birthday out in the wild – it launched on Oculus Rift in March 2016 – it’s worth remembering that the road to immersive combat in New Eden has been a twisting and turning one, but always fascinating and exciting.
With Fanfest 2017 opening tomorrow, we thought you might like to take a nostalgic look back at how Valkyrie became part of the EVE family and the annual Fanfest extravaganza.
Ground Zero
It’s 2013. EVE Online is already into its tenth year. But what is this? An EVE-related upstart bursts onto the scene. It’s EVE: Valkyrie, although it has yet to adopt that familiar moniker, instead going under the name of EVR. This brief trailer betrays little about what is to come but promises much. So it begins.
Valkyrie Just Got Real
At Fanfest 2014, CCP CEO Hilmar Veigar Pétursson handed the stage over to Executive Producer Owen O'Brien, and things would never be quite the same again. Following the previous year’s teaser, EVE: Valkyrie had undergone an Unreal 4 makeover and was now a living, breathing and fully functional part of the EVE universe. Check out the YouTube vid from 19:06 onward.
Adding Meat to the Bones
Fanfest 2015 saw the announcement of a raft of improvements to EVE: Valkyrie with the stated intention of making the game nothing less than the best competitive multiplayer game in VR. Rán Kavik’s story was made explicit, the Wraith was introduced and players got to see the game’s maps in detail for the first time.
The Rest is History
EVE Fanfest 2016 was a buzz beyond measure. As well as hosting the Tournament of Champions, the event was the first opportunity for the public to engage with the game in all its fully-formed glory. Already available to Oculus Rift players, attendees were treated to a sneak peek at the game’s all-new Carrier Assault mode and the ground-breaking possibility of cross-play between users of different VR platforms was revealed.
Onward and Upward
And so we find ourselves here, on the eve of Fanfest 2017. Tomorrow marks the start of CCP’s annual get-together in Reykjavik, Iceland, and for players of EVE: Valkyrie it’s going to be a weekend to remember. As well as pub crawls, roundtables and parties, the event will include a presentation revealing all-new content for the game. Even if you’re not there to enjoy it live, you can catch up with CCP Roo’s announcements via our Twitch.tv channel. Just tune in from 12:00 UTC to join in the fun.
The next few days are going to be a blast for Valkyrie pilots, so stick with us and we’ll keep you abreast of all the developments as they occur.
Fly safe!