Eve Online will never die, says head of studio after 18 years

Whoever said "nothing is certain but death and taxes" never played Eve Online. The space-faring MMORPG has no central government to shake you down for road money, and space pilots are cloned anew after every ignoble death. After 18 years and countless updates, Eve is one of the longest-running MMOs in the industry. It predates World of Warcraft by over a year. It is older than Facebook. Alongside long-toothed MMOs like Runescape, it has survived where others have fallen. But surely even this infamous generator of sci-fi skulduggery must pay the final toll some time. Well, not according to Hilmar Veigar Pétursson, CEO of the game's developer, CCP.

"It's never going to die," he says.

Pétursson tells me this over a call in a quiet, model-strewn office, red-haired and looking a little fed-up with internet meetings after a year of pandemic lockdown.

"The pyramids, the Great Wall of China, the Bible, like, take your pick," he says. "There's a lot of things that go on forever. The concept of money, the US dollar… These are social constructs and games are no different. They're social constructs. And if they do a good job of being relevant and keeping up with the times, there's no reason for them to end."

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