A new New Eden
For 13 long years,EVE Onlinehas subsisted solely on a subscription model. All those capsuleers were paying $15 per month for access to New Eden’s universe. That changes today.
In late August, developer CCP announced that the November update would introducea way to playEVE Onlinefor free. Clone states are way this is being done. Non-paying players have access to Alpha clones, accounts that have full access to the game but earn experience at a lowered rate. Still, Alphas can train, use a specific set of skills, and partake in all the economy (trading, mining, etc.) that defines the game.
AtEVE Online‘s Fanfest earlier this year, executive producer Andie Nordgren sort offoretold the move by telling usthat the game gets a ton of new players, but that most of them quit shortly after starting. The idea seems to be that maybe more of them will stick around if it doesn’t cost them anything.
A few months ago, Nordgren said “We know that the mandatory monthly subscription is a big barrier for new players. It’s also one of our most common cancellation reasons for those who leaveEVE. At the same time,EVEwas very much designed as a subscription game from the start, and it has been a challenge to find a way to change that without also messing with the fundamentals that we really love.”
Alpha and Omega clonemightbe the key to changing the game without messing with those fundamentals. We won’t be sure for a little while. But, the experiment starts today.
