Strategy Informer interviews CCP Games about the future of EVE Online

Gaming site Strategy Informer recently spoke with CCP Games about what the future may hold for EVE Online. The interview focused on two facets of the game: EVE's economy, and the fact that with other sci-fi MMO titles like Jumpgate Evolution on the way, EVE may face increased competition in the coming months and years.

CCP's Lead Economist, Dr. Eyjólfur Guðmundsson talked with Strategy Informer about the game's economic depth, which dwarfs other titles, despite having a subscriber base that's a fraction of what Blizzard enjoys. The interview touched on the possibilities of new trade hubs being established by players over time, the scarcity of certain technologies and their increasing prices, and how the market moves in general. However, the main aspects of the game he discussed were the player-run financial services that have sprung up in EVE, what the community has come up with on its own.

"There is nothing official that supports these things in-game -- the player themselves figure out how to make it work. So you see all the basic functions of a modern economy in the game -- people are always looking for new ways to earn money," Dr. Eyjólfur told Strategy Informer.

EVE's Lead Economist was also asked about whether CCP Games will legitimize player-run services or create official in-game banks. CCP's philosophy on this so far has been that emergent systems in the game should remain as such. He said: "We would rather see some sort of 'trust' system evolve among the players themselves, because as soon as you put an official stamp on it, you have to start putting in regulations and rules and restrictions and some kind of accountability, and that's not really the EVE spirit. The EVE spirit is about the individual being able to try something new, and have the free spirit to just go ahead and have no one stop them in their goals."

The interview then shifted its focus to what CCP Games is doing to keep EVE Online competitive in an MMO market that's beginning to have more sci-fi offerings. EVE Associate Producer Arend Stührmann fielded these questions. On the challenges Jumpgate Evolution may pose to EVE Online, Stührmann believes EVE's community will be a significant factor. He said, "I still think EVE will be around though even after Jumpgate because EVE offers something that no MMO can. We have five years worth of evolution and expansion and of course the players themselves. At the end of the day, you are playing against the other people and sharing their experiences -- that's something you can't just create out of thin air."

Stührmann cited EVE's continual evolution as key to keeping the community engaged, going on to discuss and show off a build of Ambulation (no pictures could be released, however). If you're interested in hearing more about EVE Online, be sure to read the full interview with CCP Games over at Strategy Informer.