CCP Games Partners with Hadean For 10,000 Player Deathmatch in EVE: Aether Wars

6 March 2019 – London, United Kingdom - CCP Games, the creators of the in-depth and uniquely player-driven spaceship MMO game EVE Online, has announced a partnership with deep tech start-up Hadean for EVE: Aether Wars, a groundbreaking tech demo that will explore opportunities for largescale multiplayer simulation in CCP’s current and future games.

Hadean is the creator of Aether Engine, the world’s first distributed simulation engine that allows developers to create cloud-native games with unprecedented gameplay possibilities. As announced last month, Aether Engine will be powered by Microsoft Azure to allow developers to seamlessly scale their applications at increased speed and ease across the cloud.

Aether Engine will receive its first public showing at GDC 2019 through EVE: Aether Wars, a real-time 10,000 player space deathmatch. To participate, prospective players can sign up for free by visiting www.aetherengine.io/pvp-10k to provide their details.

The EVE: Aether Wars tech demo will be followed by a lightning talk from CCP Games’ CEO Hilmar V. Pétursson and hosted by Hadean. ‘Emergent Game Design: What has CCP learnt over the years?’ will take place at Stand S366 at 12:30 PST on Wednesday 20 March.

CCP is providing EVE Online and EVE: Valkyrie assets for use in the Aether Engine, enabling Hadean to focus on addressing the challenges faced by developers within large-scale online multiplayer environments. The ongoing collaboration between the two companies will seek to explore the potential for substantial changes to the technical infrastructure of EVE Online.

The EVE Online community currently holds the Guinness World Record for “most concurrent players simultaneously involved in a single multiplayer PvP videogame battle” with 6,142 players on 23rd January 2018.

“We are thrilled to have the support of CCP Games with EVE: Aether Wars,” said Craig Beddis, Hadean’s CEO. “This move allows us to focus on our strength – building technology that unlocks new creative possibilities for games developers. We have a world-class team of engineers at Hadean creating EVE: Aether Wars and CCP’s expertise ensures that we have the perfect partner to match the pioneering ambition and robust quality of our technology.”

“Hadean’s technology has the potential to unlock huge creative and design-orientated freedom within virtual worlds such as EVE,” said Hilmar V. Pétursson, CCP Games’ CEO. “We are very happy as always to join up with intrepid pioneers setting out to push the boundaries of what is possible. Continuing to do that I believe will bring about the conditions where EVE will outlive us all. We therefore embrace the chance to inject New Eden into the Aether Engine and create the stunning sci-fi spectacle EVE: Aether Wars. I for one am excited to see our internet spaceships from EVE Online and EVE: Valkyrie playing together, enabled by this cutting-edge technology!”

For further details on Hadean and the Aether Engine, visit www.hadean.com and www.aetherengine.io.

For more information about CCP Games and the EVE Universe, visit www.ccpgames.com/products.

About EVE Online®

EVE Online (PC/Mac) is a compelling, community-driven sci-fi MMO game where players can build and pilot a wide variety of spaceships, traversing vast solar systems for free and choosing their own path from countless options, experiencing space exploration, immense PvP and PvE battles, mining, industry and a sophisticated player economy in an ever-expanding sandbox. EVE is a captivating game in which hundreds of thousands of players compete for riches, power, glory and adventure, forging their own destinies in a single thriving universe. For more information, visit www.eveonline.com.

About CCP

CCP is a leading independent game developer that has been praised for its artistry, technology and game design that facilitates emergent behavior, empowering players with compelling means of self-expression. With the launch of EVE Online in May 2003, CCP established itself as a pioneer of cutting edge massively multiplayer games, winning numerous awards and receiving critical acclaim worldwide. Founded in 1997 on the principle of pushing the envelope and breaking new ground on all levels, CCP is on a mission to create virtual worlds more meaningful than real life. CCP is headquartered in Reykjavik, Iceland, and has additional studios in London and Shanghai. For more information, visit www.ccpgames.com.