Back in 2009 EVE Online developer CCP Games filed a trademark for the name DUST 514, and announced that they were going to bridge the gap between PCs and consoles, in an MMO/FPS hybrid. A lot of us were left scratching our heads as to how they would achieve this, and I think the following trailer is the incredibly sexy answer.

For anyone out there unfamiliar with the game’s setting,  EVE Online takes place 21,000 years in the future. Humans have long ago exhausted the resources of earth and take to colonizing the Milky Way, continuing to fight over worlds, and resources. Everything changes when we discover a wormhole to a new galaxy that we name “New Eden.” Colonization begins in this new galaxy and a gateway, called EVE, is built at the site of the wormhole to stabilize it. But something goes wrong and EVE collapses cutting colonies off from The Milky Way and the rest of humanity. Eons pass, and the survivors of New Eden have built 5 societies which make up the factions of the game: the Amarr Empire, the Caldari State, the Gallente Federation, the Minmatar Republic and the Jove Directorate. Players pilot customizable starships through an MMO universe comprised of 7,500 star systems. From there it’s standard MMORPG fair: players can take up a number of professions such as piracy, exploration, or trading as well as wage war on one another in a constant struggle for dominance.

Little has been released on DUST 514, but here is what seems safe to assume from the trailer. While EVE takes place in the sky, DUST will take place planetside; on how many levels the two intersect is anyone’s guess, but from the trailer one scenario is clear: EVE Online players may be able to participate in the Dust 514 action, lending support in tactical air strikes. Or, they can stab their console allies in the back for a bigger profit.

I’ve never played EVE Online, but I’ve always admired it from afar. Maybe it’s time I try my hand at a scifi mmorpg, especially if everything with Dust 514 works out. Check out the trailer below, and tell us what you think in the comments.

[Source] Joystiq