CCP Games has announced that they have cancelled the World of Darkness MMO project in development in their Atlanta, GA studio. As a result, 56 employees from this studio have lost their jobs, with some being offered roles on other projects while others were provided severance packages and job placement assistance by CCP. Focus at the Atlanta studio will now shift to the EVE Universe, marking the first time in eight years that the entire company has focused on working on a single franchise.

Last week marked the end of EVE Fanfest 2012, and while much of my focus was on EVE's Spring Expansion, "Inferno," and everything DUST 514, I was also looking forward to one unique event slated for Saturday afternoon: the World of Darkness Presentation. I'll admit here: despite the plain title, simply seeing that World of Darkness had not been forgotten for Fanfest 2012 was enough to get me excited.

EVE Online. DUST 514. World of Darkness. CCP is developing all of these games, and GameBreaker TV's Gary Gannon got the chance to discuss them all with Executive Producer Nathan Richardsson at GDC Online. ZAM's own Mike B. aka Fony also asked a few questions, and the duo ended up getting some interesting answers regarding CCP's impressive lineup.

EVE Online

As far as EVE Online is concerned, Richardsson focused his discussion on the new character creator that is currently available for testing on the Singularity server. He said that more customization options will be added to the character creator and recommended that players check out the videos of the creator that are currently on YouTube to see it in action.

Richardsson confirmed that the technology used in the new character creator will be used in DUST 514 and World of Darkness, so it should give players an idea of what the graphics will look like in both games.

Keep reading after the jump for Richardsson's comments on DUST 514 and World of Darkness. You can also watch the entire interview below.

It's safe to say that the unveiling of the World of Darkness MMO at The Grand Masquerade convention last week caused a wave of excitement among the ZAM staff. We're anxiously awaiting every bit of information that CCP reveals, which may take some time since the earliest launch window is in 2012.

However, Ardwulf's Lair has come through with some more interesting discussion points surrounding the vampire-based game. The blog links to a post written by CCP Designer Justin Achilli, who attended a panel at The Grand Masquerade where fans got the chance to tell the company what they want to see in the game. Achilli wrote all their wishes down and shared them in his post.

This list is full of interesting topics, ranging from permadeath to social powers. It's an interesting read, but keep in mind that these are things players want to see and not necessarily what CCP will add to the game. However, Achilli does say that "the goals of the players represented here are very much in accordance with the things we've been designing and iterating."

So what do you want to see in the World of Darkness MMO?

We've known that CCP has been working on a World of Darkness MMO for quite awhile now. The company merged with White Wolf Publishing back in 2006, and they announced at the time that early development had begun to bring White Wolf's horror-filled universe into the online realm. For those of you unfamiliar with the World of Darkness, it's the setting for countless RPGs and novels that feature vampires, werewolves and other staples of the genre.

Well, some details have finally been revealed at The Grand Masquerade convention in New Orleans, which is being held throughout the weekend. Ardwulf's Lair (via Massively) is reporting that the MMO will indeed be called World of Darkness, but it is actually based on Vampire: The Masquerade, which is the older version of White Wolf's vampire RPG. (UPDATE: Ardwulf's Lair has confirmed through multiple reports that the game will be vampire-only, at least at first.)

According to Ardwulf's Lair, 2012 is the earliest release window for the game. World of Darkness "will have a focus on player politics and social interaction," which makes sense considering the setting. You can watch a trailer that consists of concept art after the jump.