CCP, one of the world’s leading independent game developers, today launched EVE Online: Tyrannis, the 13th free expansion for PC Gamer’s 2010 MMO of the year, EVE Online. Tyrannis will usher in new levels of player control as the pilots of EVE have turned their attention to the celestial bodies around them, casting surface inhabitants into the shadows of their powerful ships and exploiting the planets for the materials and profits they need to fuel countless ambitions. EVE Gate, the new web frontend and social networking platform for EVE Online, is a leap forward in extending the universe outside of the client, allowing access to in-game mail and features and bringing the community closer than ever before.

EVE’s Senior Producer, Torfi Frans Ólafsson, explains the benefits of Tyrannis for the EVE Community: “Having watched EVE grow for seven years, we’ve found it make the game an order of magnitude more interesting when we give more power to the players. You don’t have to be Sarah Connor to prefer empowering humans over well programmed machines. In Tyrannis we deepen the experience by handing over control of commodity production on planet surfaces and providing tools for collaboration in EVE Gate.”

Through Planetary Interaction, players will be able to scan the surfaces of the planets and place structures on them to develop, reap and profit from each planet’s natural materials. With over 65,000 planets awaiting discovery, this will be a great source of income for players and will scale well with their level of involvement—a low barrier to entry but a high reward for the most skilled industrialists. On release players can scout out their planet and begin training skills for the June 8th seeding of planetary command centers, which will allow them to gather, process and export natural resources and refined goods.

EVE Gate is the new portal into the EVE universe which allows players to interact with EVE through any web browser. The Tyrannis release is the first iteration of the project–an important feature that encourages and empowers greater player interaction and community building by allowing people to contribute to the EVE universe from outside the game client. Initially, it will have access to EVE mail and a calendar and allow you to post updates to your contacts, your corporation and alliances. These are the important communication tools to allow the playerbase to self organize—a critical part of a game where the players are the most powerful contributor to content.

In addition, we’ll be providing more options for accessing our API so players can continue to develop their own EVE-related programs. We’re also adding a massive amount of new in-game landmarks, which will soon inhabit a lot more of EVE’s solar systems, giving an even greater sense of history and space to New Eden. Live events have also returned, as shown in the recent Sansha Invasion. Though the forces of Sansha’s Nation have largely been repelled by brave capsuleers, the Nation’s invasion of New Eden is merely passing through the eye of a storm. When and where they will strike next is anyone’s guess.

In Tyrannis, all of these worlds are yours. For more information, video interviews and cinematic trailers using in-game assets, head to the Tyrannis features page. www.eveonline.com/tyrannis. EVE Gate can be found here.

As always, EVE Online expansions are free for subscribers. Get your free trial at play.eveonline.com.

Tags | ccp, eve online, mmorpg, sci-fi