It’s no secret that EVE Online developer CCP Games has been expanding its projects in the EVE Universe. One of their upcoming games, Project Awakening, is a blockchain-based project entering its Phase II playtest next week, and the team is looking for new testers.
Project Awakening is described on the game’s official site: “A new title from CCP Games. Utilizing blockchain technology, set within the EVE Universe”.Both CCP and parent company Pearl Abyss have explored new ventures in blockchain gaming, and Project Awakening is one of the big ones on the way.
A new playtest, Phase II, is set to start on December 6th, and the team is looking for testers to help them along. The brief application asks whether you have EVE Online experience, where you learned about the test, what other games you’ve played, and if you have blockchain gaming experience.
Project Awakening, a new game in the EVE Universe, is accepting applications for a confidential playtest beginning December 6. To learn more and help shape future development, visit https://t.co/eM13Ci9v4U for a chance to participate.
— CCP Games (@CCPGames) November 27, 2023
In October, when CCP Games held EVE FanFest 2023, there was a brief update on other projects, including Project Awakening.
“At the start of this year, we announced Project Awakening, and we have raised USD 40M in external funding to move from experimentation into full development of a new title in the EVE Universe.
We are doing this because we want to take daring experiments to teach us more about the craft of tools for people to build societies. It is still early, but I can share that we are heavily leaning into third-party development and creating a more inclusive business model, which is learning points from our journey so far,” according to CCP CEO Hilmar Pétursson.
News of the $40 million funding round was released months earlier, but since then, the team has been quietly working on this, seeking to remove a whole AAA blockchain experience.