The DUST had settled, in 2016 we saw the last Dropship fire its mercs planetside to wrestle control of the mission objectives one last time. Although there were a lot of players, CCP was having trouble maintaining interest in keeping DUST 514 going. The nostalgia was right, but player felt there were far better games out there. Whether it was the theme, the tech, the strategies, you name it, someone else was already doing it better and announcing improvements. The only thing DUST really had going for it was it’s connection to EVE Online, and that wasn’t really there anyway. The sun had set planetside, and DUST went dark.
Not long after, CCP announced, almost in passing, Project Nova during Fanfest 13 which sounded like a replacement for DUST which we noted here. We had a follow up piece, but there really wasn’t much to say as CCP was being very closed door about the project. Quite frankly, people were starting to doubt this would ever get off the ground. After all, why in all of New Eden would you create a replacement for something you shut down?
The future is going to be better! In EVE Fanfest 15, CEO Hilmar revived speculation. He confirmed that it is still under development with Sumo Digital. He said it would launch on PC this time, to exuberant applause! CCP had sent out a survey asking former players’ opinions and received over 10,000 responses! They wanted the focus on the game first, with intense moment-to-moment action and a purpose for being there. Hilmar even had an interesting quote at the end of the presentation, “Have you ever wondered what it would be like to run around on the surface of a battleship to hear its guns roar? Soon you will know.” Actually, that’s all we know. And then we heard nothing. Again.
Then, quietly on October 3rd, an email was sent out with the subject line: “Important DUST 514 update!” Here is my copy of the email.
Greetings [DUST 514 Merc],
Take advantage of this limited – one time – opportunity and claim a single DUST 514 character name, belonging to an account that is linked/registered to [my email address] email address. This name will be carried over into a new first person shooter being developed by CCP Games.
You must claim your DUST 514 name [DUST 514 Merc] by 28 October 2018, as all unclaimed characters and accounts will be reset and their unique names will be made available to other players.
Any potential DUST 514 Veteran Rewards will only be made available to accounts that have a claimed character. As the first exclusive Veteran Reward, we will grant the unique “PHOENIX” Dropsuit, representing the rebirth of the mercenaries, its firmware being designed by Arkombine and issued to Molden Heath veterans only.
Unclaimed names will be wiped with no chance of Veteran Rewards. Please note that only those characters that fulfill any and all requirements made and decided by CCP Games are eligible for potential rewards mentioned above.
In the case of multiple characters, the character name with the longest history and most progression has been provided, which is [DUST 514 Merc].
All you have to do is follow this link and the directions found on the page.
If you wish to retain a different character name that is also tied to this email address, please follow the above guidelines first, and then contact [email protected].
To find out more about the game and its development, please subscribe to our newsletter.
– The DUST 514 / Project Nova Team
So, in the immortal words of Monty Python in The Parrot Sketch, “Not dead yet!” Hilmar said we should be hearing about Project Nova in “months, not years” suggesting news would be arriving by the end of this year, 2018. EN24 is subscribed to the Project Nova thread and watching Slack. We are waiting to hear from CPP on October 20th where a presentation dedicated specifically to Project Nova is planned. If we hear more, you’ll hear it, too.
