EVE Online sees increased activity

EVE Online has had a growth in the number of active players in the last year, according to CCP CEO Hilmar Petursson.

However, speaking with Develop he stated the studio was still unable to increase the number of new users by the end of 2011 compared to the year before.

This, he believes, is linked to the controversy surrounding the game last year after CCP’s plans to introduce a pay-to-win scheme became public knowledge.

“If you look at the Eve protests last summer, that shows how much customers can react to business decisions, and the standard they hold developers to,” Petursson explained.

“At the time we were not living up to that standard.”

He adds that it was necessary for Eve Online users to openly give their opinions on the game.

“The protests, to me, was a representation of how much people care about the game. And how is that a bad thing? I mean, I wish we didn’t get things wrong, we all make mistakes though.”

Last year’s record subscriber figures coincided with the release of the Incarna update, which then failed to meet user-expectations.

Senior producer Arnar Hrafn Gylfason has been open about his own disappointment with the Incarna update, stating the expansion had issues the team will “never make again“.

The increase in user activity, however, suggests things are looking up for the MMO.