Get A New Look At EVE Frontier, The Blockchain Space Survival Sandbox CCP Will Work On "For The Next Decade And Beyond"

We've known about EVE Frontier for a while now as "Project: Awakening", but unless you were part of the very limited previous playtest, there hasn't been much to actually SEE regarding CCP Games' next major project. What we did know is that the team was planning to release a "space survival sandbox game" that utilized blockchain technology.

Today, CCP Games dropped a new teaser trailer and the first Dev Blog revealing EVE Frontier and while I would say it isn't full of new details, it does provide a few tidbits of information that space explorers (and modders and dev, probably) may find interesting...at least they better, as CCP intends to be working on Frontier for the "next decade and beyond."

Following in the spirit of most survival games, EVE Frontier will be based on exploration, the discovery of needed resources (called Crude Matter), the building of infrastructure, and of course, managing to not be killed by all the dangers of space. On the topic of building infrastructure, CCP says that each structure will have its own programmable layer and it will be able to unlock third-party development.

"We call this feature Smart Assemblies, and it includes defenses, trading posts, industrial units and a wide variety of other types of facilities to construct your own personal space complex. You can develop your own ideas or address the needs of others: from mission systems to private economies, Smart Assemblies will unlock third-party development with a powerful toolkit for creators to build beyond EVE Frontier’s virtual world."

In addition to talking about the game, CCP Games also dives into two key topics surrounding Frontier: Blockchain and Open Sourcing. Earlier this year, the team's Carbon Development Platform went open source and the team has a GitHub up for Frontiers. Why? Well, according to the team, "We’ve explored this technology thoroughly and we are confident it will unlock new possibilities for virtual world design and third-party development. Digital Physics, Smart Assemblies and other game features have been developed out of its utility."

It's all ambitious and maybe comes with a bit of a downside if you aren't exactly a fan of blockchain technologies, but the post is worth a read if you're interested in seeing exactly how CCP plans to make EVE Frontier a compelling universe to fly, explore, and survive in. If that's possible in a blockchain/pay-to-earn type system.

I just don't know if I see a world where people seriously enjoy trying to "turn their assets, services, and reputation" (I've significantly shortened that quote as the team provides examples of each) into "real world value" using the game's currencies. I know the team is saying they are "being clear" about the use of blockchain and "Pay-to-Earn" type systems here, but I don't think they are actually being all that clear.

(UPDATE 9/13/2024: Yep, this is going over pretty much as I predicted...although it isn't like I was making some "out of left field" prediction here. Here's a reddit post from an Eve fan that says it as passionately as one can...this isn't the only post.)

It isn't in the trailer and it is mentioned so far down in the blog that you could easily miss it. There's a reason games don't usually advertise in bold letters that their game is blockchain or P2E...because so far players don't want that. The games are usually dominated by players trying to make a buck, then they realize the game isn't being played by actual gamers who just want a fun game, so the "assets" end up having no real value. Will this be the case here? Probably, but we'll see.

The next playtest, the team's 4th such test, is scheduled for September 27th and you can still sign up. Who knows, maybe you'll get lucky and get picked to hop in.