Well, the mad lads at CCP headquarters did it. In the run-up to Fanfest 2022 in less than two weeks, they became the first to break the $15 per month barrier for a basic one month subscription price for a major MMORPG. Sure, I pay $21.99 per month for my FFXIV account, but included in the price is $8/month for my 4 extra retainers. But on Friday, CCP announced the price of a standard one-month subscription (known as Omega time) would rise from $14.99 to $19.99 per month.
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| Includes the weekend's sale |
For those wondering, the price changes are below.
- 1 month: +33.7%
- 3 months: +23.5%
- 6 months: + 21.3%
- 12 months: +14.1%
The 2 month and 24 month options are new.
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| The new PLEX prices |
The price of PLEX, the item used in EVE Online's cash shop to purchase Omega game time as well as digital goods, will experience its first price increase since May 2017. The price hike is partially obfuscated by the changes in the number of PLEX offered in each package. The only offering that remains constant is the 500 PLEX amount, which is increasing by 25%.
The two big questions are why, and why now. First for the why. In my opinion, the announcement news article was horribly written. Here are the reasons in CCP's own words.
To continue investing in EVE Online’s evolution and growth, and to realize our mission of EVE Forever, we are updating the price of all existing Omega and PLEX. This adjustment reflects global trends impacting general production costs and accounts for years of inflation, amending the 1-month USD subscription rate for the first time since 2004. These adjustments will have an impact on other currencies.
1. To continue investing in EVE Online's evolution and growth. I think a lot of players are going to wonder about that claim. How many expansion level patches have we seen over the last few years. I doubt many people even noticed Tuesday's article on the history of EVE's database server hardware. With the announcement, the motivation for publishing the article goes beyond fan service to a bunch of computer geeks.
2. "...to realize our mission of EVE Forever..." What? I believe that marketing campaign came out in 2013. Does anyone give it any credibility anymore?
3. "...reflects global trends impacting general production costs..." Having lived through Square Enix' failed attempts to beef up its servers before the launch of the Endwalker expansion, I can sympathize with the increased costs and lack of availability of computer infrastructure and other associated IT costs. Plus, inflation is going to raise the price of labor. The cost of living in Reykjavik is high in the best of times. I don't want to see the staff not able to eat properly.
In addition, CCP Paragon went to Discord and spent 40 minutes talking to players and trying to explain the reasons for the price hike. The big takaway was that the sanctions on Russia due to its invasion of Ukraine really is hurting financially. I remember how an 8% loss of subs in 2011 helped lead to major layoffs in October 2011. I imagine a sudden drop in players from a country that supplies approximately 10% of its player base could hurt financially.
Finally, for the question of "why now?" My question is, if not now, when? I was at Fanfest in 2014 and saw the aftermath of The Rouge Wedding, when CCP told DUST 514 players about the effective death of their game. At the time, I think everyone agreed the devs should have told players before Fanfest to avoid learning the news thousands of miles from home.
CCP also couldn't tell players after Fanfest. The convention ends on 7 May, only 4 days before Pearl Abyss' Q1 2022 earnings call. The price hikes are bound to come up on the call. Best the news comes from CCP than from a blogger who listens to all of the calls live.
The above reasons dictate that the announcement come before Fanfest. However, the stakes for Fanfest and the upcoming May patch just went through the roof. CCP really needs to knock Fanfest out of the park.
Personally, I have three EVE accounts. With the price hike, I will unsub one account whose subscription runs out in December and use part of the money to add two more retainers to my FFXIV account. For those interested, that will bring the cost of my FFXIV account up to $25.99/month. My Omega time on my other two accounts runs out in March and August of 2023. I'll keep those at a cost of $25.98/month because I buy my Omega time in 12 month chunks. I think spending $52/month is a pretty good price for entertainment. I just need to rearrange my spending, because a third EVE account is no longer worth the cost.
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