The CEO of the MMORPG EVE Online explains in an interview the positive impacts the MMORPG has on the lives of players and how EVE Online is expected to change in the coming years.
Who is speaking? Hilmar Veigar Pétursson has been the CEO of CCP Games, the developers of EVE Online, since 2004. He has worked on EVE for 21 years and received a two-handed sword for the anniversary, which he proudly showcases in the interview with Venturebeat.
For 10 years at CCP, employees are given a sword. He has distributed about 50 or 60 of them over the years, says Pétursson.
But only 3 people have been with CCP for 20 years. One woman wished for a trip to Italy as an anniversary gift, another wanted a shotgun. But he really wanted a two-handed sword, explains the CEO.
This is the situation at EVE: Pétursson is noticeably proud of what has been created in Iceland. EVE Online now has more subscribers than Iceland has inhabitants and sees itself as a pioneer for the MMORPG genre: “We have been doing for 20 years what people are now dreaming of.”
However, what is done there remains hidden to many. It has improved, but EVE is still obscure. Players can only find it if they specifically search for it. And even then, they have to battle through a lot of “imperfect player experiences” to see what the magic of EVE is all about.
But EVE has so much to offer its players.
EVE Online allows players to be a better version of themselves
This is what he says about the influence of EVE on players:
“The only way to experience the magic of EVE Online at the moment is to play on the PC client for years. Then you really understand it. You are part of the community, part of the metaverse, part of the economy, part of social life, part of all these wonderful things.
The game has had an enormously powerful impact on the lives of players. We are very proud of that. EVE Online has brought about a very positive change in their lives. It allowed players to be a better version of themselves, to realize their potential. But it takes a long time to get to the moment when it all starts.”
EVE is the ultimate survival game
How does EVE achieve that? Pétursson emphasizes that CCP has created an extremely harsh environment with EVE, where players feel “small and lonely.” At first, it seems that other players are only in EVE to hunt you.
EVE is the ultimate survival game, says the CEO.
“When you find those who are not like that; players who turn to you, then true friendships arise. The fact that EVE Online is such a rough place becomes a valuable ingredient that allows people to draw so much energy from the friendships they forge in the game. EVE provides opportunities for friendships to be tested.”
He speaks of EVE as an “anvil” on which friendships are forged.
According to the CEO, it plays an important role that the world is so dangerous. This means that “failure” carries meaning and that “trust” carries meaning.
The terms “failure and trust” are important key elements for growth, learning, and development.
Starting with EVE is like going to college at 6 years old
How should EVE proceed? Pétursson says: They have built something with EVE that other people are just starting to build. He is constantly thinking about how to make EVE accessible to as many people as possible. Maybe not everything from EVE, but parts of it. Perhaps in a way that players do not have to spend so much of their lives just for EVE.
The entry into EVE is incredibly difficult. It feels like going to college at 6 years old. Most people who manage to get into EVE as newcomers are just lucky to get help from experienced players. But it cannot be left up to chance whether someone finds their way into EVE or not.
“A lot of EVE players have basically cheated. They had a friend who helped them. That’s of course also part of what the game is about.”
EVE is now working to make entry easier. So that players can find their way into the game even if they don’t have the luck of meeting a friend.
What’s behind it: There are different ways to play a game like EVE. With a positive influence, Pétursson certainly does not mean spending hours searching for asteroids and farming for materials or wildly flying around and shooting and robbing other players.
The CEO of EVE certainly means players who build connections with others, communicate a lot, set goals, and strive for achievements in communities with others. In 2014, we reported on MeinMMO about a player who used his experiences as a guild leader in WoW to get a job as a manager. This is certainly what the EVE CEO is referring to.
Pétursson repeatedly emphasizes that with EVE, 20 years ago, with technically extremely outdated means, they already built a virtual world that many are now trying to build. Now, the developers need to answer the question of how to lead EVE into the future while preserving what is unique.
Between the lines, it is clear: revise the entry and move to mobile. Both seem possible also because CCP was bought years ago by “Pearl Abyss”, the financially strong studio behind Black Desert.
