The head of CCP, the company behind EVE Online, has given a somewhat eccentric interview. He says the MMORPG appeared to him in a dream and commanded him how to proceed. He should unleash the dogs of war and declare the era of chaos. EVE wants it that way.
Who speaks there? It is Hilmar Veigar Pétursson, the CEO of CCP. He gave an interview to the print magazine PC Gamer, and the site PCGamesN reports from it.
The topic is why EVE Online suddenly goes crazy and declared the “era” of chaos:
- aggressive NPCs invaded EVE – until then, they were just stupid cannon fodder
- CCP hardly gave any warnings and just did it – previously, everything was somewhat predictable
- in addition, CCP changed certain rules, making the MMORPG more dangerous for everyone
EVE came to him in a dream and said: I don’t like how it’s going
This is what he says:
“You have to imagine EVE as a living being. Eve doesn’t like how things are developing. It doesn’t feel agile anymore. It has lost its endurance, its agility. It feels a bit stiff.
Eve came to me in my dream and told me: Hilmar, unleash the dogs of war.”
In doing so, he affectionately calls EVE Online “Eve” – Eva.
The CEO says this is how the era of chaos began:
“This is how it happened. It came to me in a dream and said: It can’t continue like this: I don’t like it, this is not what I was created for.
The game has a mission. It wants to complete its mission, and this mission is much bigger than what has been executed in the last 16 years.”
When asked what the mission is, the head replies: “I believe it wants world domination.”
After the crisis in 2017, EVE Online is reinventing itself today
What’s behind it: This is surely one of the most eccentric and coolest interviews in MMORPG history. If you know other interviews from Pétursson, then you know that he is a rational man who thinks strategically and has precise ideas about how to lead his company to success:
- Pétursson apparently sees the future of EVE Online as becoming an even more radical sandbox, sowing chaos in the game, keeping players in motion.
- Strategically, CCP wants to broaden its focus on the EVE brand, likely moving towards mobile and Asia.
Why is the turnaround happening now? CCP is in the bizarre situation of sitting in Iceland and operating a relatively quirky hardcore MMORPG from there.
EVE Online lives on people taking it far too seriously and being space rulers, diplomats, pirates, hard miners, or industrialists in the world of EVE.
It had actually gone quite well for years, but by the end of 2017, the break came: CCP had to lay off about 100 employees.
It was clear: the way could not continue like this.
EVE Online is now 16 years old and had the problem of seeming stuck – just as Pétursson describes it in his dream.
It was difficult for new players to get into the game because EVE is dauntingly complex and existing players have a huge advantage.
You also heard less about EVE Online year by year.
For an MMORPG like EVE Online, it is important to constantly remain in motion and attract new players.
With the acquisition of CCP by the Koreans from Pearl Abyss, there has been more movement in the company:
- They are planning a mobile game that is meant to be a big sandbox MMORPG – apparently for the Asian market
- And for EVE Online itself, they declared the “era” of chaos, brought aggressive NPCs into the game, changed rules and generally caused chaos
This seems to bring the CEO quite some joy, as can be gathered from his statements. The player numbers also seem to confirm this.
