Dust 514 beta registration begins

CCP has opened the gates to its Dust 514 beta, inviting PS3 mercenaries to sign up and test their mettle in the upcoming EVE Online FPS cross-over.

“It is with great joy that I can now officially announce that registration for DUST 514: Mordu’s Private Trials, our gated access beta test, has finally begun!,” wrote CCP just days before Christmas. “For now, registration is available exclusively to active subscribers of EVE Online who will join the pool of participants that we will be using to allow entry into early testing and special events for DUST 514. Registration for Mordu’s Private Trials does not guarantee entry, but as an active EVE subscriber, you are the first to have access to sign up for the closed beta.”

Dust 514 is being developed as a PS3 exclusive set in the studio's existing EVE Online MMO universe. In it, players will engage in large scale battles for domination over EVE planets. The title was created to give existing EVE players a chance to flex their FPS muscle, while extending the franchise to console players. In a summer 2011 interview, CCP community manager James Egan discussed how the two titles will link up, explaining, “Your actions have significance. The EVE universe is made up of thousands of solar systems, each with a number of planets within those systems. Those same planets seen in EVE Online, where the MMO players create various planetary structures and colonies, are the potential battlegrounds of Dust 514.”

To date, CCP has no plans to stray from its exclusive agreement with Sony. Look for Dust 514 to land for PS3 with PS Vita support in spring 2012.