Eve Online's Aether Test resumes with Phase Two in August

Hadean and CCP Games have revealed that Phase Two of their Eve Aether Wars playtest will start on August 18, a continuation of the partnership that saw 3,852 players take part in one battle earlier this year, resulting in the destruction of 88,988 ships at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) this year.

Phase Two is bigger though, as 10,000 players are being targeted for a single battle, "offering a richer, deeper gameplay experience that will set new standards in large scale multiplayer simulation," according to the press release.

Players can sign up right here before the battle takes place at 13:00 EDT (18:00 BST, 19:00 CEST) on August 18, and all of this will be made possible by Hadean's cloud Aether Engine.

"This is the start of something special," said Craig Beddis, CEO of Hadean. "We wanted to show the world that our Aether Engine technology can perform flawlessly under unprecedented strain. We've done that. Now we want to show the world unique and exciting gameplay experiences that can only be delivered by our technology. It's not just gamers who will be thrilled by EVE Aether Wars: Phase Two but the games industry as well. We can't wait for everyone to join us in this ambitious project."

"We are keen to build on the success of our joint efforts with Hadean on EVE Aether Wars and push our prototype even further," added Hilmar V. Pétursson, CEO of CCP Games. "By using this technology to test the limits of the virtual worlds we can build, we hope to open up new possibilities for developers, the industry and ultimately the players themselves. We're eager to explore the boundaries of what can be achieved in large-scale multiplayer gaming, which may even lead to the creation of spectacular new genres."

Will you be taking part in the massive battle?