CCP Games – makers of the EVE Online MMORPG for Mac and Windows – announced Monday that Dust 514, its forthcoming massively multiplayer first-person shooter, will be free to play when it debuts on the PlayStation 3. Gamers will be able to download the game for free from the PlayStation Network once it’s available.

Dust 514 has been in development for several years. The game is not just set in the same setting as EVE Online – it’s set in the same shared, persistent game universe. What happens in EVE Online will affect Dust 514, and vice versa. Gamers leading teams in Dust 514 misions will work with starship pilots in EVE Online to fight battles, acquire territory, gain wealth and more, according to the games’ developers.

Close private trials of Dust 514 have already begun. The company is giving attendees of this week’s Game Developer Conference (GDC) in San Francisco a first look, and attendees of CCP’s annual Fanfest event in Reykjavík, Iceland will be able to participate in the private trial. Dust 514 is expected to launch publicly later this year.