We’ve seen quite a few virtual reality projects that are just ported from normal screens to fancy goggles—Half-Life 2 was a notable early adopter, with Superhot, ARK, Tabletop Simulator, Elite Dangerous, and more taking the same route. But a game starting in VR and then heading to normal screens? That’s a weird one.
That’s what CCP is doing with EVE Valkyrie though. Nearly a year and a half after Valkyrie’s dogfighting debuted on the Rift and Vive, a forthcoming update is set to bring it to your non-VR displays.
Rebranded as EVE Valkyrie – Warzone, the update is due to arrive on September 26 (alongside a price drop to $30), at which point you’ll be able to fight both in and out of VR—though I can’t tell from the announcement whether there will be cross-play between headset and monitor users. It seems like it would be unfair, given how much easier it is to look around the cockpit in VR.
The entire undertaking is a bit weird, actually. Of all the space games, Valkyrie’s dogfighting was so clearly built around VR—you aim your missiles by looking at passing ships, for instance. I’m curious to see how it translates to a monitor. A flatter skill curve is maybe a sad sacrifice to make for higher player counts.
In any case, the game itself is also being updated substantially. Running down the bullet points, CCP is adding a “modular progression system” for ships, two new maps, a new “Extraction” game mode, a loot box-sounding system dubbed “Reward Capsules,” and more. I’m interested in diving back in—Valkyrie was a great concept that always felt like it needed just a bit more flesh on its big metal bones. Hopefully Warzone will give it a bit more staying power. We’ll keep you updated.