EVE Online developer CCP Games has cancelled the development of a fantasy MMO game by the name of World of Darkness. As a result of the decision, the studio also laid off 56 employees working out of Atlanta according to a press release on the matter.
CCP CEO Hilmar Veigar Pétursson said the decision to end the project was one of the hardest he's ever had to make. Pétursson added he has watched the team work on it over the years and has personally always loved and valued the idea of a sandbox experience in that universe.
The executive apologized to current and former employees and fans that they could not deliver the experience that they aspired to make. At some point, they simply had to admit that their efforts were falling regretfully short.
World of Darkness players would have assumed the role of vampires blended into normal human society. The game was announced in 2009 and despite some members of the team being laid off two years later, in-game footage was shown back in 2012.
CCP has provided severance packages and job placement assistance for those affected. Furthermore, some team members have been offered roles on other projects inside the company while the remaining staffers will focus on games in the EVE universe. It marks the first time since 2006 that the entire studio will be working on a single universe, the statement noted.