Keeping A Space Game Alive - 20 Years Later - EVE Online In 2024 

I played 10 years. Done everything it had to offer. Ratted, pvp, 0.0, wormholes, ran a corp, ran a alliance and all forms of industry. No other game can scratch the same itch eve did.

I was a beta tester for eve online. I remember when it was a huge deal to get 200 concurrent players on the server. I played for around 10 years without a break. Good times and I made a few new RL friends that Im still in contact with. There is nothing like Eve... Eve is a massive time sink and now a days I dont have the time for a 2nd job.

I absolutely fucking love this game. For those that say there's no solo play, that's just flat out wrong.

It's more of a mini economy than a "space game", but it's entirely unique.

The problem with Eve is that its actively hostile towards solo players. If you don't have immediate plans to join a player corporation (guild) be fully ready to be griefed and even stolen from at almost any time. It is full time pvp that cannot be turned off.

Less of a game, more of a personal relationship simulator.

Started out last year, found a nice high sec corp but still doing stuffs in High, low, null and soon wormholes. It's just an amazing game, an evolving universe.

EVE is a game that is way better to watch, read about and think about, than actually play.

I've been playing for almost 3 years, and I feel like I know about 10% of the game. There is so much to learn/do/understand/experience...(for me,) it's nearly endless content.

I recall when I played a lot (10+ years ago), the largest ships take years to be able to use, not to mention outfit correctly. But even early characters can be very useful in very particular ships. You can't really get anything of value out of EVE Online if you dont establish yourself in the community and align to some identity within its player-run world. The only feelings of satisfaction in that game stem from your impact (or lack-thereof) within a corporation or alliance, or how your corporation or alliance affects others. It's a very alive world, everything is player made and player ran, so nothing feels artificial. But a world like that means that 99% of people who play it will never feel like a main character and you have to be OK with that. It honestly at times felt like going to a job, but all the coworkers were cool and we would chat for hours on voice coms while essentially being border-guards at gates seeing action maybe every few days lol.

That quote from CCP about focusing on "conflict, identity, and community" is something I sincerely hope Frontier does with the Powerplay update. Eve does a great job at creating factions with unique cultures and methods, I would love to see the major factions of Elite fleshed out with meaningful conflicts between them (and meaningful rewards). What you said about CCP knowing what their players tend to want and being able to deliver it... crucial to the longevity of these games. I don't play Eve anymore, but it was a great experience crafted by a very devoted developer.

I tried EVE. It felt like one of those timegate mobile games. A subscription gives you 2x the xp and access to all the ships. Which in return gives you bigger numbers... If you like numbers, especially big numbers eve online is for you. To most it will feel like an idle clicker esque

EVE is in the best place it's ever been 🎉

I have 60m skill points after 4 years. I'm one of those that keeps giving it up and coming back. Definitely a love/hate relationship. Prolly more love than hate, I guess...

I was an Eve Online beta player back in the day, and went to their first Even Online Fan Fest in Reykjavík, my first trip to a European country. I had a lot of good times, but my friends stopped playing, and it was far less fun as a solo game. I still have 2 of the 3 accounts I used to run, but haven't played in years. Working from home I find myself not interested in games as much, wanting to get out of the house more than staying in it even longer. I really do not like the buyable boosts you can go through now. I put in a LOT of hours to build up my characters.

It is actually the spaciest of all space games. It's such a space game that you literally can't go anywhere BUT space. The exception would be stations, but all you do there is spin your ships before going back out into space. To say Eve isn't a space game is ludicrous. It is the greatest persistent science fiction sandbox game there's ever been. You can do everything from mining to battling in huge fleets to dueling in high speed interceptors where dog fights can literally last a matter of seconds. Not only that but the atmosphere, the graphics, the music, the lore, are all top tier and have been compiled over decades of game history. It is the most unique game of all time. Look at how successful Albion online is, because it's a carbon copy of Eve, but reformatted into a simpler 2D fantasy setting. I'm only surprised it took THIS LONG for someone to do what Albion did, after Eve perfected the blueprint.

Eve is simply the greatest Space game ever created. There is no debate against it. Hopefully they are able to stay alive another decade.

I would like to see someone turn a copy of EVE into a Star Wars game, with an even bigger galaxy map, with vastly more factions.

Thanks Obsidian. It is one of my favorite space sims but I just can't afford it. No way am I going to say goodbye to that much money on a monthly charge where I could pick up two decent games for that price when they go on sale so nah.

Eve is the best game for whales, they get a lot of content for their money. I suspect that 28,000 concurrent is actually just 2800 whales multiboxing at least 10 accounts each cz thats the meta right now. Of course theres the occassional sucker like me who wants to play solo and pays the monthly sub price even tho I cant affford it.

I just got back into eve and love it. It’s a game for hardcore or casual players and you can do a bunch of stuff in it!

I love the concept of EVE. The game is beautiful, the music is, their DLCs are. But, it's so toxic and the grind is horrible if you don't actually pay for it. I want to love the game, I just can't..

there is nothing like eve !! i have been playing it for 17 yrs and still love it , greatest space game ever made period !! it also has one of the greatest communities in gaming ! ( once you learn to avoid the toxic individuals of course )

I started in 2003 and still play, and I play it “wrong” in that I’ve avoided player groups for about 8 years. That loner lyfe! Ya just get tired of all the turncoats and children screaming that they have the conch.

Cinematics looks so much better than the actual game. I love the concept of EVE Online but when I had to wait 30 real days for a skill to learn, I stopped and never logged back in to the game since.

I once blew up someone t2 fitted cyno beacon that was being used to jump a carrier into lowsec. The guy got so pissed off he got red alliance to wardec our tiny corp. Fun times

I really hope they add more triglavian ships, drones and other trig related things eventually i absolutely love the trig ships and have almost all of them fully trained with almost every other side skill to maximize their utility output but it would be nice to have like light, medium, heavy and stationary drones to go with their sleek and unique style

I can't bring myself to go back. It was like having a second full time job where my co-workers would call at 3am because we were under attack by the Russians. We had a West Coast and East Coast Crew (US), UK crew, and finally, a German crew. (We needed zee Germans due to the before mentioned Russians.) I played on the West coast and UK crew since I was stationed in both time zones. I ran 4 accounts. Every time a friend bailed, I took over their account. Two combat accounts, one logistics/trading account, and one scout.

EVE player since 2009. I had quit back in 2020 but came back recently and yeah....nothing quite feels like it. Still not back to full time capsuleering though, flying around I forgot how tiny and crowded New Eden is compared to other games' galaxies. Elite's galaxy feels far far bigger and more realistic, so I play both games to scratch different itches.

i have 6000 hours in the game over 20 years, started in 2003. Best game ever made, most unique game ever made, there is NOTHING like Eve out there.

5:38 thats amount of accounts. some people heavily multibox this game, some play with more than 10 accounts at once. its hard to say, but probably eve online has around 10-15k actual users at any given moment.

Eve got way too expensive for me. I also really liked the idea of walking in stations 🤷

I am a OG from 2004, still playing 20 years later

I would be interested in you providing some EVE content

Played it on/off for a while. I participated in faction warfare, lived in a wormwhole at one point etc.. Their price change in 2022 was right when I and some friends started playing again and it made me not renew the sub tbh. They have added so many purchase options for skillboosters and whatnot with their alpha clone stuff that complicated things unnecessary imho (probably on purpose). They need money to continue, I can understand it, but somehow the way they did it rubbed me the wrong way. Maybe I will play again some time and who knows, the new content might actually be worth the new price for me.

EVE online is the only game I used to play that I actually miss not playing now. One of the things I loved about EVE was how CPC did in-universe news bulletins about all the goings on of the various corporations. They did (and sounds like still do) go out of their way to make player communities the centre of the game. If building a community with other real people is not your cup of tea, then EVE is never really going to appeal imo.

Only if they would make Elite Dangerous more like EVE...........

There was nothing better than cracking a cold one, munching some snacks, listening to DJ Funky Bacon on EVE Radio and sitting on a gate camp with buddies waiting for some poor schmuck you wardec'd to come through without a proper scout.

Been playing EVE Online since 2004 (with many years interruption in the middle) and have to admit they are still able to keep this community going and thriving. We've seen increasingly greater numbers in the concurrent players, lots of people returning or trying it out for the first time. While I personally don't engage in most of the new stuff, I still benefit from all the changes and increasing player numbers. Can't wait to see what will come after Vanguard!

I've been playing for 20 years, I still can't quit. I tried. Yahtzee from Zero Punctuation said it best "EVE is just a second job you pay for," but damn do I love it. Nothing gets my heart pumping like EVE pvp. The game is seeing a resurgence as well. If you ever wanted to try, now is the time.

Feel like EVE is leaving money on the table. The crowd that loves it, really loves it but for reasons that are probably known to anyone who have played the game, it's not for everyone. If they had a more developed and engaging solo player, not entirely interested in PvP experience, they could attract and retain a lot more people. Even if they had to go so far as to make it a separate product so as not to break what is working with EVE. If they made a more solo, casual'ish focused game set in that universe wit a lot of the same assets even, I think they could sell that pretty decently.

I tried it in the early 00s and boy did it suck! It felt like I was always grinding for some crap and it was extremely slow moving. Someday months away, I’d have something playable. Instead I went to play something else lol

I tried to play this a good few years ago. Didn't have a very good experience. I managed to find a clan to join in the beginning, but very shortly afterwards, I was kicked out because..........wait for it.........they said I was a spy! Never went back to it after that

I aprove this message, ❤

I like what EvE represents, but i tried to get into the game many times, but it's so complicated that i couldn't it's not a new player friendly game.

There's literally no sandbox MMO as deep and complex as EVE Online, hence why it still remains strong. Sure, there's Star Citizen, Elite Dangerous, and even Albion Online, but they're not quite to the level of social, economic and strategic depth as EVE. The closest persistent online sandbox I've found to EVE, at least logistics and strategy-wise, is Fox Hole.

It's still the best game I have ever played 🖤

Not sure if it's me but while Elite Dangerous wasn't mentioned at any point it did seem there was implied criticism of Frontier. Or maybe I'm being too cynical? 🤔😆

I've been playing Eve since 2005. Nothing comes close to Eve. It's a single progressive server. It can be very unforgiving but also very rewarding. One issue i have found is that it can be time-consuming. The omega subscription can sting people in different countries have to exchange currency. I have rolled my account back to Alpha (free account) and i still find im able to do a lot and enjoy the game. You can play for free. Don't underestimate then free alpha account , Give it a try.

I used to love EVE, but I am very disillusioned with how things have gone since Free to Play. I totally get that a company has to make money. I do. But, I came back a few months ago after about 10 years. I am so disappointed in how the progression system was implemented. I paid two subscriptions for 4 years more than 10 years ago, and earned and bought a lot of stuff. Now, when I play, because I'm not omega, 90% of what I spent a lot of money and time on is not accessible in the F2P system. I paid for them, I earned them, but now I have to re-sub to get what I already had? I guess you could say WoW does the same thing, but I was really let down by this. At least let me use what I had and work on progressing from there, please.

I don't have much hope, seems we're going back to the way the game was run that lead up to the Summer of Rage, Scarcity, buyable ships on the cash shop, 'gold ammo' boosters for cash, lots of bad omens.

Such a good game.

I'm curious... all the EVE footage in this video. Is that how EVE plays? Or is it more of a 'chess board' type game?

I'm an Elite veteran looking for a new space game. Well, new for me, haha. Eve might be it...

Still going strong because only ONE such game exists in video gaming industry. It has monopoly on its gameplay design. It is perfect kind of free2play game that sucks your money for ETERNITY while has NEVER ENDING GAMEPLAY. Eve online can exist for 100's of years without change.

A few years back they increased the monthly price of Omega by 60%! And you can't play the game properly without Omega. I can't think of any other subscription product or service which become 60% more expensive practically overnight. The quality of the game didn't increase by 60%, so why is it reasonable for the monthly cost to increase by 60%? That was the end for me unfortunately.

I tried EVE a few times. I joined a corp called EVE University in order to learn the game. I was teamed up with a Welsh guy (judging by the accent) and he was an absolute idiot. He tried to explain it was like the military and people weren’t able to speak unless requested to on the voice comms etc etc…. Yeah, I didn’t last long and left. I can’t be arsed to play with juvenile idiots that have no idea about social skills or military practices. I served for 15yrs in the British military and I’ve never witnessed someone so thick in all my days and I can assure your I’ve met some idiots!! 😂 My overall impression of the game though wasn’t great either. Didn’t feel anything like a spaceship game. I think most people stay in EVE because it’s what they know, they’ve probably spent to much IRL money on things, the training system is addictive (real time) and they have FOMO if they leave, they have built real friends within the game and they play it casually.

I play EVE from 2009-2014. Still remember my Machariel with T2 / Republic fleet setup😊 the game was a NIGHTMARE to noobs!

I have played since beta. Finding like minded players from all over the world has kept me playing. It’s the people that play eve that make it special. One shard world. Not 800 20k player servers.

I returned to EVE Online last year and I was disappointed in the end. It felt hollow and like a shell of what it once was. A lot of once thriving systems where just empty. The PVP was changed for the worse and the whole instances and in game missions all have broken elements that kill you. The dev team is out of touch with its users as well, they happily take your money and don't help you at all. Also only sociopaths can really get any enjoyment with what is left.

EVE was a great game when I was younger. Likely still has all the same thrill that I loved. But it's way too hard to balance work, life, and EVE. To really get into it you have to be dedicated. It does not favor the life of a working professional. If I had zero contact with my friends and no family, I'd pick it back up.

Aren't all of those video clips cinematic trailers that don't look anything like the actual gameplay and there were never any actual player characters in game? I get that you need good B-Roll and Eve gameplay just isn't...

Such a good idea to make players able to earn "rep" with player corps.

I wouldn't say its still going strong at all, its never got more than 25k character online and some people have as many as 20 alts, I would be shocked if it ever has more than 10k real players online at once. That's not exactly doing well at all.

I wanted to return to this game, but I have no idea where to start.

step 1 dont cap alphas at 5mill skill points, step 2 dont charge so much for omega or me and many others would keep playing after just getting into it then getting money capped just as were getting hooked. its tough enough to get into this game as a new player.

I left when they introduced SP farming

Got into Eve online again. Eve online isn't the problem. Eve online actually requires a certain kind of mindset and philosophy that's very distinct. It's almost like real life. Those who understand it and aren't afraid to experiment and have fun dominate Eve online. Those who get into Eve online thinking it's going to be some bubble wrapped world only become victims of their own delusions. Eve online is honestly no different than DOTA2, Supreme Commander, or Dark Souls. The only difference is that time is intentionally stretched out. Today's gains can be tomorrow's losses, and vice versa. One can build a massive Empire over the course of several years, only to lose it in an evening. And yet have the experience to rebuild it, so long as the actual person behind the characters doesn't become emotionally involved. Eve is a great game, unlike any other.

I don't think the game is really that popular anymore, the developers just never shut it down, unlike other big publishers who shut down live services all the time, CCP just doesn't seem to care and Eve always hovers around 5k players on steam.

Always looked very eye candy to me, but never once looked up actual gameplay. I assumed it was a point-and-click style of space game? I.e. not an actual space flight sim?

I tried getting into EVE, but when I learned that it would take months for my character to learn the skills to fly the ships I wanted it really put me away.

back when they started allowing ganking of huge expensive ships in guarded space by inexpensive throw away ships that get destroyed but they dont care, is when a lot of us quit. we havent went back. i wouldnt say they typically listen to the playerbase because even when they lost a lot of players they refused to change it. if you want to say they just got rid of the care bears, then you miss the point due to your bad attitude. I didnt stay always in safe areas and was mostly in dangerous sectors with a group but it doesnt mean we weren't effected by it. it was still past and beyond annoying and more of a glitch they chose to allow. at this point eve is highly unlikely to ever get all of us back. i consider them assholes and dont want to fund them. hats off to ant tho. im here because i watch ants videos of other games.

Was you the guy in the energy drain Domonixs 15 odd years ago?

It’s called Sunk Cost Fallacy

I would still be playing Eve online if I didn't have a life otherwise... Eve can't be combined with a normal life schedule.. I've played since 2003 (?) until 2017. I log in every once in a while.. But I've no time to actually dive in anymore... Sometimes do some missions.. But that's not Eve... Eve for me is holding sov in Null or running a wormhole corp. And those things can't be done casually, that actually is a fulltime job.

Is it 20 thousand people or is it accounts

I just back to EVE and even buy Omega

Always wanted to try this game but I dont know where to start and no one I know plays.

All my favourite space games have been large multi path mission based hand crafted levels, open world random generated space is just too boring for me.

You mean the fact about 75 percent of its players are alternate accounts and bots

I always hoped that Elite Dangerous would implement engaging, deeper mechanics, comparable to those of EVE online. I think that would have redeemed Elite Dangerous and given it a much longer life span. Compared to Eve's development, Elite's development is so dull, lack luster, and bad.

Short title answer. It's content. New Good Content. (do not tell this to Fdev, their heads will spin)

I was on and off for years with Eve, still loved the vibe and likely would today too, but it never lasted more than 2-3 months at a time at best, they made it far too difficult for people to enjoy the game outside of PvP. It only caters to PvP and people willing to risk everything and live in null or low sec, high sec is a waster of time by design and if you don't have the years of knowledge backing you to do well in null or low sec, you'll end up being funneled into buying PLEX to make up for your low skill. Thus, you either pay waaay to much to play the PvP way as the devs intend or you get bored in high sec. This is why in the end Eve died for me. Been playing FF14 for years since and its never let me down and I've never had a dull moment, because they have content for everyone, not just hardcore PvPers. If only Eve could've done that too.

EVE isn't a game. It's a job.

It is WAY too expensive now

I really hate Eve Online. I've tried several hundred+ hour stints and the game is an exercise in futility. Endless, relentless grind, and a constant feeling of time wasted = money lost. Not to mention the subscription is exorbitant, and grinding out the plex to keep subscribed feels impossible. Billions of ISK needed to do anything worthwhile, and it can all be ripped away unceremoniously by friend or foe, because if you don't backstab someone in the game, you will be backstabbed yourself. I'll leave it to the spreadsheeters.

"28,000 players"... more like 3000-5000 each with 3 or 4 alts

focusing on null corps is NOT focusing on players...

Do you aim at Frontier? Wouldn't bet that they learn from this xD

W Elite Dangerous the best space game in the galaxy!

You say you still drop in every now and then to the game, so you would know the reason for the profits are never ending 'Personalised offers' something the old team would never do. They said they (CCP) would never do is sell skill points, you can now buy many offers with 2 months skill points, it was bad enough when Plex were added and then skill injectors, meaning the months and years of pilot skills you learned, were dismissed as you could buy your way into any ship in a day. In some respects the game has strayed from the unique game to the same as any other, buy skins, buy skills, the game is PVP, but it can be reduced or avoided, a sort of MMO, but one where you cannot ever trust anyone, fleet with someone, will they trick you into pvp combat. With new objectives being added new set-ups appear, instead of joining with others you see multiboxers going for the new content, fleets of Alex 1, Alex 2, Alex 3, Alex 4, Alex 5, done as they cannot trust anyone to fleet with and get the best payout, CCP do not care as that's extra accounts to buff the numbers. When I played you sometimes had to wait to log in, 45 - 50k online, now its around 20 - 25k and many of them are free to play or alt accounts, the true figure playing is a lot lower, I used to play 5 accounts, many people I knew had many accounts, sort that out to true log ins, the number is low, so I guess why the offers spam to get money from the few who still pay. I have to say it's still the best for graphics and open play, it has only got better.

I played it for 12yrs got to L5 in nearly every skill and was building capital ships. Got bored in the end so finished with it. Now play Star Citizen and Starfield

EVE's golden years were 2004 - 2012

been playing eve sinc 2008... But since 2018 I hav had to drastically reduce how much i play due to becoming a father. still check in once and a while.. and I am still part of my alliance community on discord

They was a litlle pervers... go down reward for escalation , so down.

Did you ever play Vendetta online? I had a dabble.. Back then it was pretty good. Not sure how good it is now. I believe it was dumbed down for the phone generation of gamers.

I love it but still cant get far. Just hit a wall of what next

Wondering why this is not on console yet

Solo lo sec pilot for 8 years, learned how to manually fly, had the best 1vx fights i've ever had in a game. The adrenaline sometimes was nearly heart stopping, every ship i lost had the walk of shame back to the station if i didnt get podded, something new to learn every single time. The then changed how links functioned.. That was the death of solo pvp, no chance against the blob after that. Took an extended break, tried it again recently. There is literally only scumbag hi sec larpers ganking and terminally unemployed round the clock gate camps left. The money grubbing from ccp is horrible, as soon as i signed into the game i was SPAMMED every single day with "Buy this" or "New offer get these skins". Relentless, it seems most of their energy now is gone into nickle and dimeing whoever is left. Eve WAS the best game i ever played, but it's a totally diferent game now. It's a sociopath simulator with the most aggressive microtransactioning i've ever experienced from a game.

Wish it whas pve an d not pvp.