Massively-multiplayer game EVE Online has had its fair share of scandals and controversies. Thatâs what happens when you let the gamers run themselves. But theyâve hardly been a deterrent to subscriptions.
Speaking with MTV, Noah Ward, from developers CCP, reveals that after the latest user-induced meltdown to hit the game â in the form of the disbandment of the largest player alliance via treachery â people didnât really seem to mind. Prepared for a backlash of users leaving the game in their droves, Ward & CCP actually found that:
The largest alliance in the game was broken up by a trader on the inside and when this happened we were really worried at first because we were like, âOh no! Everyoneâs going to quit!â And it was really horrible for us.
That was in the morning, but a couple hours later the buzz on the forums was crazy, subscriber numbers were growing, and everybody was really excited. Because everyone was becoming complacent and bored with being the biggest alliance, and then all of a sudden now thereâs war and turmoil. People who used to be in the alliance were re-subscribing and everyone was really excited about it so itâs not necessarily always a bad thing when this sort of stuff happens.
Gotta say, despite MMOs as a whole never really grabbing my attention, itâs this kind of thing that has me leaning towards giving EVE a good, hard look. You just donât find that kind of real-world intrigue in other games.
âEVE Onlineâ Designer: Players Actually Like In-Game Scandals, Corruption [MTV]
