World of Darkness

City Skylines publisher Paradox Interactive has snapped up the rights to CCP's World of Darkness franchise.

Eve Online developer CCP today laid off nearly 50 staff members in a "gigantic cut" for its Reykjavik headquarters.

The vampire MMO by Eve Online studio CCP - World of Darkness - apparently reached an alpha state three separate times in nearly nine years of development before it was canned.

The gap between what vampire MMO World of Darkness was, and what developer CCP wanted it to be, was "frankly too much" for the company to bridge, boss Hilmar Veigar Pétursson told me at Eve FanFest late last week.

Eve Online developer CCP recently announced it had cancelled its World of Darkness vampire MMO that it had been working on, to varying degrees, since 2007. Over the years we'd caught glimpses of it but never understood how it would work as an actual game. Until now.

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Eve Online developer CCP has announced the cancellation of vampire MMO World of Darkness.

56 staff at the Atlanta studio where it was being made have been laid off. Those who remain will work on Eve Online.

"The decision to end the World of Darkness MMO project is one of the hardest I've ever had to make," commented CCP boss Hilmar Veigar Pétursson. "I have always loved and valued the idea of a sandbox experience set in that universe, and over the years I've watched the team passionately strive to make that possible.

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Eve Online maker CCP has re-evaluated vampire MMO World of Darkness and let go of 15 staff at the Atlanta studio making it.

Vampires are no strangers to keeping secrets, but they're rank amateurs compared to how well the World of Darkness team has kept a lid on what they're working on for the last few years. Today though, that changes - at least a little. It starts on a rooftop, in a city of night and rain. A girl is on the prowl, her slinky outfit as much as her fangs hinting at what's coming next for the poor guy standing a few steps away. She approaches. They caress. She slams his head hard against the brickwork and drains him dry as casually as throwing back a beer, before equally casually leaping twice her height up a vertical wall and slipping unseen into a more social world of cool parties and gothic chic at a rooftop bar.

We'll catch a "tiny" glimpse of vampire MMO World of Darkness at this year's Eve Online Fanfest in late April, maker CCP has told me.

World of Darkness, the vampire themed MMO from the makers of Eve Online and upcoming PlayStation 3 exclusive shooter Dust 514, is still in "active development", its makers have promised.

A few more details concerning CCP's World of Darkness have emerged at this year's Fanfest in Reykjavik. Senior producer Chris McDonough took to the stage to reassure fans that progress on the title continues - despite CCP's recent internal reorganisation in order to focus on Eve Online and Dust 514.

To the backdrop of a projection that read "Reports of our undeath have been greatly exaggerated" McDonough began his presentation. "Our product is very much still in active development," he explained. "Part of the reason we've been keeping it secret is so we could wait until we show you something that makes you guys nuts."

World of Darkness will feature thematic takes on real-world cities such as London, Paris and New York. The sandbox mentality that drives the ongoing development of Eve Online and Dust 514 will extend into the upcoming title, with a deep political system that will see one player assume control of each city as a Prince - one with the power to inflict permadeath on other characters.

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World of Darkness, the MMO from the makers of Eve Online and the upcoming Dust 514, is still in development.

Eve Online developer CCP has admitted making "mistakes" due to biting off more than it can chew. Eve Online subscriber numbers have fallen since their peak this summer.

Eve Online developer CCP has begun building technology for the next generation of consoles, it has confirmed.

Forthcoming vampire MMO World of Darkness will likely feature permadeath, according to developer CCP.

An alleged internal CCP newsletter has surfaced on the internet.

First look at gameplay.

CCP's vampire MMO World of Darkness is playable, the developer has told Eurogamer.

There's talk that EVE Online developer CCP is to lift the lid on its World of Darkness vampire MMO at a fan convention in September.

Hilmar Petursson, boss of EVE Online developer CCP, is to give a keynote address at the Game Developers Conference Europe in August where he will make "an announcement on its latest project".

No further details are given, but CCP is known to have two major initiatives in development: the Walking in Stations extension to EVE, and World of Darkness, a mature horror MMO based on the White Wolf table-top RPG. Of course, Petursson might have something else altogether in mind.

"'Niche' is not a dirty word," reads the official keynote preview. "CCP grew from relative obscurity in the middle of the Atlantic to a major MMO company. CEO Hilmar Petursson will show what brought them here and share exclusive views into the future, including an announcement on its latest project, suggesting that the opportunity for the game industry to reinvent itself is now."

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World of Darkness, the in-development White Wolf MMO, will take four to five years to complete, CCP marketing director Magnus Bergsson told us last Friday at the company's offices in Reykjavik, Iceland.