CCP ‘building tech for next-gen consoles’

Online games giant CCP is building technology for next-generation consoles and PC hardware, the company has told Develop.

Thor Gunnarsson, CCP’s vice-president of business development, said the firm’s UK subsidiary CCP Newcastle is working on tech for platforms beyond PS3.

In an interview with Develop, to be published soon, Gunnarsson claimed that CCP Newcastle was primarily focused on optimising its latest PS3 project, Dust 514.

“But, yes, we’re currently building tech for the next generation of consoles, as well as future PC tech too,” he added.

“Ultimately, CCP Newcastle will be working in full capacity on technology for the next generation of hardware.”

CCP Newcastle, which is the Eve Online developer’s fourth studio, quietly opened last year and has hired more than twenty engineers since.

“Newcastle really is an engineering office for us, that’s the kind of people we’re looking for,” said Gunnarsson.

“They’re working on internal tech, and with various middleware, and game engines too.”

For several years CCP has built its own internal tech framework, called Carbon, that incorporates an engine and other related technologies.

The group’s upcoming FPS, called Dust 514, is however being built around the Unreal Engine.

Next gen ‘already on desks’

The arrival of the next generation of consoles remains a matter of debate. The console manufacturers have said nothing official on the subject.

Develop previously revealed that an unnamed EA studio is working on early next-gen Xbox technology. The publisher initially declined to comment on the matter though later denied the story.

Soon later, it was speculated that Crytek has been modifying its engine for the next generation Xbox. The company eventually denied the claim.

Analysts’ views on when Microsoft will release the successor to the Xbox are varied, with predications ranging from 2013 to 2015.

Nearly all believe Microsoft will launch its new console before the nex PlayStation.

Earleir this week, a source at chipmaker AMD told Develop that Microsoft will reveal its new console at E3. The claim has not been verified.