CCP Games’ CEO defends Project Awakening’s existence as the studio seeks a blockchain ecosystem dev

April 8, 2023 4:00 PM

Any cryptocurrency-focused video that opens with a gigantic legal disclaimer stating its content shouldn’t be taken as legal or financial advice should immediately set off every single instinct to flee, but we’re going to dive in anyway because this particular video features CCP Games CEO Hilmar Petursson, the recently announced blockchain game in the EVE Online universe, and the confirmation that he has absolutely drank all of the cryptochud Kool-aid.

While the video itself manages to spend over an hour saying almost nothing, the relevant stuff comes in at around the 46-minute mark when Petursson attempts to explain what crypto and “smart contract” blockchain does for EVE video games. This appears to be focused on linking in-game infrastructure to real world currency, which in turn could allow for things like players charging tolls for stargates or the possibility of CCP imposing a tax, as well as validating, managing, and getting a cut of an already existing ISK grey market. He also acknowledges that direct real-money value will introduce higher stakes and make the ideas of this game “hardcore.”

Multiple reactions to the video on Reddit are already calling out some problems with Petursson’s line of thinking, such as how people leaving the game will have a bigger (and a more real world) cascading effect on the economy. Other replies point out times when Petursson’s meddling with EVE caused more problems than it solved, such as the “chaos era” changes that the studio ultimately walked back.

Regardless of the wisdom in following this venture, the studio is continuing to motor forward in development with a new job posting that seeks a blockchain ecosystem developer. As the title suggests, this new hire would basically manage the entire token economics of Project Awakening, from analysis to ecosystem management.