EVE Online expands wormhole and mission gameplay with new release

“Hyperion” update on 26 August adds to popular game systems in the sprawling sci-fi universe

26 Aug 2014 – Reykjavik, Iceland – CCP Games, a leading independent developer of massively multiplayer games, has launched some big additions to agent missions and wormholes in the latest release for their award-winning sci-fi game, EVE Online.

In Hyperion, dangerous “Burner” pirates have started to arrive all over the universe. Trained by the five major pirate factions, these lone criminals hide behind space gates that only frigate-class ships can activate, making for a fresh alternative to the battleship warfare that dominates high-level agent missions. These optional but lucrative new missions mimic the type of battle more often found between players.

Hyperion also includes major changes to wormhole effects. Since wormholes were introduced into the game years ago, EVE players of all experience levels — always ready for a challenge — jumped headfirst into the unknown and carved out fragile refuges amidst a constantly shifting interstellar landscape. Among the changes:

• New wormhole connections have opened up, and those with Black Holes inside have become the de facto fast-skirmish wormholes.

• Class 4 wormhole systems have added another reliable exit wormhole, making them the perfect base from which to skirmish into other unknown systems while still providing a substantial income to those brave enough to stake their claim.

• Changes in the mass calculations of ships entering wormholes should provide some exciting skirmishes, as bigger ships find themselves drifting further from the safety of the entrance.

“Hyperion brings the first of many upcoming changes to core parts of EVE Online that let players explore the New Eden universe and clash with its inhabitants.” said Andie Nordgren, Executive Producer for EVE Online. “Missions, wormhole exploration, and incursions are an integral part of EVE’s player-driven vicious cycle of harvesting, creation and destruction, with players of all levels sewing the fabric of our massive universe with their ambitions.”

Hyperion brings other changes to EVE, including more ship and module balancing, improved UI like sharable overviews and tooltips, new cybernetic arms and “retro” headwear, and the opening of planetary colonies in null security space to those outside the sovereign alliances that control them.

Hyperion follows Crius as the third update in a major shift for EVE development, from two expansions per year to around 10 releases annually, as CCP delivers more content, more frequently, to its legendary player-base. Hyperion is available free to all EVE Online subscribers and trial users.

Further information about Hyperion can be found on the feature page, as well as in developer blogs, the patch notes, and the Hyperion in-development video.

Hyperion has been deployed in the midst of the Alliance Tournament XII, a live-streamed month-long competition, where dozens of the game’s most powerful and skilled alliances send representatives to battle it out for supremacy, putting their own assets and reputations on the line for a shot at glory as well as unique blueprints for powerful prize ships.

About EVE Online®

Celebrating its eleventh year, EVE Online (PC/Mac) is a captivating science-fiction game in which hundreds of thousands of players compete for riches, power, glory and adventure in a single universe. EVE players build and command a wide variety of starships and traverse vast solar systems interconnected by a sophisticated player-driven economy, forging their own destinies in the meaningful context of other players vying to do the same. Learn more and play the free trial at www.eveonline.com.

About CCP

CCP is a leading independent developer of massively multiplayer games, and has been praised for its artistry, game design and unique player-driven, infinitely scalable storytelling narratives. CCP is the creator of the critically acclaimed science-fiction game EVE Online (PC/Mac), which is celebrating an unprecedented eleventh consecutive year of subscriber growth. In addition to EVE Online, CCP also develops DUST 514®, a groundbreaking, free-to-play, massively multiplayer online first-person shooter for the PlayStation®3, and EVE: Valkyrie™, a multiplayer spaceship dogfighting shooter, both set in the EVE Universe.  Founded and headquartered in Reykjavik, Iceland, in 1997, CCP is privately held, with additional offices in Atlanta, Newcastle, and Shanghai. For more information, visit www.ccpgames.com.