Eve's Free-To-Play Mode Has Been "A Step In The Right Direction And Something We Will Keep Expanding On"

Gamasutra recently spoke with Eve Online Creative Director Bergur Finnbogason, to check in with CCP Games nearly two years after Eve took the (semi-)free-to-play plunge. The results so far have been good -- "a step in that direction and something we will keep expanding on in the future" -- Finnbogason said, which makes sense; Pearl Abyss wouldn't have paid $425 million to purchase a failing company, right?

The free-to-play move has increased diversity in the player community, Finnbogason said, a good development for a 15-year-old game that's considered intimidating for new players. Apparently, there's a place for new, free-to-play, "alpha" clone players in the Eve universe. As the article's author points out, "you don’t need an expensive ship or a lot of fancy character skills to roam in a successful pirate gang, or hold another player in place while your buddies rip them to pieces." In other words, if you aren't enough of a low-wage corporate drone in the real world, now you can be one online, too!

The interview also talks about Abyssal Deadspace, a feature implemented in May that are described as "single-player dungeons on a 20-minute timer, with randomized encounters" -- along with free-to-play, yet another way that Eve is adapting to modern MMO trends. The interview concludes with Finnbogason saying as much: "We are constantly looking at the market and how it's moving and what’s happening. We strongly believe that more players equals more content equals more fun!" Now, if CCP really wants to get with modern gaming trends, it needs to digitize its Eve trading-card game.