Image of EVE Online gameplay

EVE Online is one of the world’s longest running MMOs. It launched in 2003 and is still going strong, with last estimates in 2014 indicating that approximately 420,000 unique users log in per month.

What is EVE Online like?

EVE is generally described as a ruthless, capitalistic world where people use spaceships to engage in piracy and world domination. New levels and stories are not added by a group of scriptwriters. Instead, it evolves through the actions of the players — their social interactions, alliances and self-made goals.

EVE’s creators, Icelandic game company CCP, have taken a unique, libertarian approach towards the universe they have created, in which they prefer to allow gamers to build, fight, forge alliances and interact with each other largely as they wish. Its goal is: “To create virtual worlds that are more meaningful than real life.”

CCP CEO Hilmar Petursson at the GameHorizon conference.

As a result, EVE is frequently referred to as one of the most in-depth and complex games existing on the market whilst maintaining an enviable retention rate and level of engagement from its player base.

Left: EVE’s annual FanFest attended by approximately 1,400 people each year in Iceland. Right: EVE Player gets a tattoo at an annual fanfest. (Source)

What is a game economy and why is it so important?

A game economy is the configuration of the game loops within the game (currencies, time loops, XP, levels, pricing, etc.). Its goal is to structure players’ behaviors and incentives.

Nowadays, if a game is to reach commercial success, it needs to have a strong game economy. Why? Because most games are not sold at a fixed upfront cost anymore. Instead, they are typically free for gamers to start playing, then earn revenue from future sales of content, in-game purchases or a subscription to continue within the game. As a result, the key metric for game companies has become: How long can we keep a player within our game? This means that they must continually engage and provide value for their users.

Why is this important for blockchain games?

Whilst in EVE Online players don’t have true ownership of their items, it is an example of how having a relatively free game economy can produce a highly engaged community of gamers.

The primary outcome of integrating blockchain with video games is to enable gamers to truly own their virtual items. However, owning game items is only valuable in world where players want to be.

“To have a commercially successful game, you need a good economy. To have a good economy, you need an aspirational loop. To have an effective aspirational loop, you need to know your target market very well.” — Tom Bollich, co-founder of Zynga at NIFTY Blockchain & Gaming conference.

EVE Online is an example of a robust game economy that encompasses many different actors who operate fairly autonomously and are constantly transacting in virtual goods and digital currencies. According to a popular video game commentator:

“Algorithms don’t drive prices [in EVE]. Player supply and demand does. Players mine, salvage, loot, build and otherwise procure the vast majority of things that you find on the market. …it allows players to turn brains and a little bit of elbow grease into fortunes.”

Example of trading interface on EVE’s marketplace.

Impact of true ownership in video games

If a game economy is not properly set up with the right reward and incentive structures, enabling gamers to truly own their game content can have disastrous effects on the game. I previously wrote about how this occurred in Diablo III: How the Diablo III Auction Houses nearly killed the game.

What are the key implications of true ownership?

Gamers can now freely buy, sell and exchange their game items.

Gamers don’t have to rely solely on ‘looting’ within a game in order to obtain items, power, potions, armor or weapons that they want.

Game developers have less control over the channels where their in-game items are being traded.

Item prices will be dictated by the market as opposed to set by the game developers.

Whilst EVE doesn’t have true ownership, it has implemented three major mechanisms that, if used in games with true ownership, will enhance gamers’ incentives to play:

The ‘death mechanic’ Free economy Sovereignty of gamers

Let’s delve into each of these and see what games that will enable true ownership can learn from them.