Project Nova development halted in order to "return to the drawing board"

CCP Games had halted production on Project Nova in order to "take a step back and return to the drawing board."

Development of Project Nova, the EVE Online tactical FPS spin-off, was supposed to go into an invite-only alpha in November. This too has been set aside "until further notice."

"Over the course of Project Nova’s development, we conducted a number of player research sessions with external partners, tirelessly playtested the game internally and brought community stalwarts in to help us evaluate the project," reads a notice on the Project Nova website.

"After taking all this research and feedback into account, we see that the gameplay experience in its current form does not live up to our original vision and would not achieve our ambitious goals for this project.

"As a result, we will not be moving forward with the upcoming invite-only Alpha until further notice. We hope you understand that we need to take a step back and return to the drawing board, where we will spend more time figuring out how all this hard work can translate into something better and more meaningful for the EVE Universe.

"Remaining true to our vision of Project Nova’s future in connection with EVE is essential. That is the only way we will be able to continue creating memorable experiences that ensure you - our ineffable players – are satisfied and make us proud as developers.

"CCP is in no rush to release Project Nova until we’re satisfied it provides a rock-solid gameplay experience and visuals to match."

You can read the entire statement from studio through the link up top.

Project Nova was a joint venture between EVE-makers CCP and British-based studio Sumo Digital, set in the EVE Online universe as a spiritual successor to Dust 514.