EVE Online's next expansion revealed: Explore planets in Tyrannis

It's been known since the last EVE Online Fanfest that the next expansion would be based around planetary interaction, but details on exactly what that interaction would constitute have been thin on the ground. In a bumper devblog today, EVE's Senior Producer Torfi Frans Olafsson gave a first glimpse of what we can expect this summer. Following the graphical overhaul planets received in the Dominion expansion, the next expansion is set to place them in a functional role. The expansion, aptly named "Tyrannis" after the Latin for "Tyrants," will put the fates of New Eden's populated planets in the hands of pod-pilots. Players will be able to survey planets and build planet-bound industrial infrastructures to tap into previously unobtainable resources such as minerals. Planets with harsh environments such as gas giants and plasma planets will be harder to manage infrastructure on but the rewards could be well worth the effort.
Those of us keeping an eye on CCP's upcoming console MMOFPS DUST 514 will be glad to know this expansion is the first step toward integrating planetary control with the upcoming title. Although Tyrannis will focus solely on exploration and industry, a combat portion is planned for a future expansion around the time DUST 514 is finally released.

Other highlights of Tyrannis include the long-awaited EVE social networking website which will be tied into the game itself. The project was originally named COSMOS and was later renamed to New Eden but in true iterative development style, it's been renamed a third time. The new name it's going by is "EVE Gate", a much more fitting name for a one-stop EVE Online web-portal. Planned features for EVE Gate's initial launch include the ability to manage EVEMails and leave messages for players, corps and alliances. Further features such as skills management have been hinted at in the past but they will likely not be part of the first version of the service.

It looks like there's a lot to look forward to in Tyrannis. If planetary interaction has you excited, keep an eye on our EVE Online coverage for updates and exclusive features on Tyrannis as they become available.