According to CCP Games, the department in North America that is already developing Dust514 is to relocate to allow for the total staff count to exceed 300.

This is an unexpected turn of events for two reasons:

  1. The premier MMO developer city has traditionally been Austin, Texas. Is this a tactic from CCP to get to the skilled workers before the competition?
  2. EVE players are now paying for further company expansions that they won’t see the immediate benefit from.

It kind of makes you wonder though. If CCP can developer 3 games on a subscription fee of just 14.95 EUR/USD and make a profit doing it; Just exactly how much do you get out of that fee when you pay for your MMO title?

Whether it be typical subscription titles as many of the traditional game developers stick to or a F2P model, EVE really does get the best of both worlds. You can pay for your subscription fee using in game currency or you can chose to pay for it with real life money. Either way you are sure of progress being made and a party at least once a year – and several parties if you are a bit on your toes.

What are your thoughts on this? Feel free to share them!