Tomorrow is the 20th anniversary of the launching of EVE Online. I imagine the internet will have quite a few stories about the history of EVE posted over the next few days. I thought I would take a different tack and try to use CCP's own words to tell the story. Each year, the company (and later on the holding company) has to submit financial statements to the Directorate of Icelandic Revenue and Customs. In those statements is a section in which the company records a description of the highlights (and lowlights) of the year.
I'm not sure what happened, but I was able to obtain all financial statements for CCP ehf going back to the year 2003 from the Icelandic Revenue and Customs website. I was also able to obtain the filings for going back to 2018 for Pearl Abyss Iceland ehf. I highly suspect that the $40 million round of investment capital to develop a Web3/blockchain game changed the rules on access to historical data. With 20 years of financial documentation at my fingertips, looking back at 20 years of history on the 20th anniversary became feasible.
The best part is, one can read the history without needing to have an accounting or business degree. Ever wonder what the leadership of CCP was thinking about when a decision was made? The summaries found in the yearly filings might hold the answer.
I will give a tease of a piece of information I found while ordering the documents. According to the Icelandic Revenue and Customs website, CCP's original name was Loki multimedia ehf and remained so from 1997 through 1999, only changing to Crowd Control Productions in 2000.
I did add a little information for each year that might interest the accountants and business majors who may read this post sometime in the future. For instance, from 2003 to 2006 the filings were done in Icelandic krona. For those years, I converted the ISK amounts to US dollars as best as I could. I also converted the revenue and profit/loss amounts for each year to adjusted 2022 dollar amounts. Going back twenty years, I thought some people might find the ability to review years in constant dollars
I also made one additional choice. For many years, the records contained lists of the biggest shareholders in CCP. Since many people like to blame investors for bad decisions in video game design, I thought I would include them if available. I have my ideas of which investors may have had a detrimental effect on the development of EVE. I wonder if people will agree.
I do have to make one apology in advance. For some years the filings were in Icelandic. I did my best to translate to English, but some of the translations are a little wonky.
With the preliminaries out of the way, I hope you enjoy this little journey down memory lane as recorded by the boards of directors of CCP and Pearl Abyss Iceland over the last 20 years.
2003 - Surviving A Major Loss
Note: For EVE's first four years all financial reporting was conducted in Icelandic krona. The conversion to US dollars was performed by doing a conversion at the rate existing on the last business day of the year.
Revenue: 160.9 million kr.
USD: $2,252,600
(2022 USD: $3,582,797)
In May, the video game "EVE" was released in Europe and North America. An agreement had been made with the publishing company Simon & Schuster for the distribution of the game, for an advance payment of USD 1,400,000 among other things. Shortly after publication of the game, Simon at Schuster decided to shut down its publishing division. In November, CCP acquired the distribution rights to pie for USD 150,000. It was also agreed that the balance of the advance payment would be canceled and are they recognized as income as explained in note 4.
Income from subscriptions and sales of EVE during the year amounted to ISK. 160.9 million, but operating costs were ISK. 381.7 million. The number of jobs was on average 35 during the year and salary payments amounted to ISK. 136 million.
The company's equity is negative by ISK. 370 million at the end of the year. All development costs of EVE are charged as soon as it is established and the intellectual property rights of the company are not capitalized. It is difficult to assess on their value but | at the end of 2002, EVE was valued by the foreign publisher at USD 5.3 million. That is the company's board of directors believes that the interests of its creditors are best served by continuing operations, since the income will continue now growing. The main creditors have given the company a payment deadline until it becomes clear whether the income will be sufficient under debt.
2004 - On Its Way
Revenue: 573 million kroner.
USD $9,168,000
(2022 USD: $14,203,605)
The company's situation was extremely difficult at the beginning of 2004. Loss of operations and significant arrears. Equity was negative about 369.8 million. Despite the difficult financial situation at the beginning of the year, good progress was made in improving the business. Income almost tripled between years, the margin level improved, there were unfavorable loans refinanced on better terms and an end to arrears. At the beginning of 2005, the company is delivering good results profit from operations. For example, the profit for the month of January 2005, for capital items, was close to 9 million ISK
On December 3, 2003, CCP regained the rights to market and distribute the video game EVE. On the same day, it was decided to offer a free download of the EVE software on the game's website. This one opening together with strong marketing efforts resulted in 72,885 new subscriptions being sold in 2004. At the end of the year in 2004 there were 53,269 active subscriptions and about six thousand of them have been with the game since its inception.
Revenues from subscriptions, sole and other services to EVE during the year amounted to 573 million ISK, 29 million of which revenue came from the three, six and twelve month prepaid subscriptions that were sold late in the year and the income from them was therefore not recognized in the 2004 profit and loss account as prepaid income in the balance sheet. The company's operating costs in the past operating year were ISK 556.9 million.
The number of jobs was on average 40 during the year and the salary cost was 178, million.
Several significant milestones were achieved during the year. On April 25th, 10,396 players played EVE at the same time. This was the first time that so many people played together in one western game world. Towards the end of 2004 had this record has been bumped up to 12,258 concurrent players.
As of September 12th, the number of active subscriptions to EVE exceeded 50,000, but in the West there are only 8 other games in that group.
In November, a new version of EVE was released and it was accompanied by considerable press coverage. Detailed articles appeared including in PC Gamer, PC Zone and EDGE. As a result of the new version, there has been a significant reduction in dropouts users.
In October 2004, a new and more favorable cooperation agreement between Síminn and CCP entered into force for services, operation and hosting of EVE In London.
In August 2004, the majority of convertible debt was converted into new non-convertible loans at the equivalent coins and the company's income. The last convertible loan was converted into debt at the beginning of January 2005.
The company's income is almost exclusively in foreign currencies and is divided between EUR and USD as soon as possible to halves The significant strengthening of the króna in the fourth quarter therefore caused a decrease in income between the third and of the fourth quarter in króna, despite the fact that they actually increased in euros and dollars. The company's exchange rate gain from loans in foreign currency completely offsets the loss of income as reinforcement of the króna has caused in the year 2004.
Development costs for EVE are charged at the same time as they are incurred and intellectual property rights of the company are not capitalized.
2005 - First Profitable Year
Operating profit: 157,586,274 krona
USD: 2,521,380
(2022 USD: $3,778,261)
Profit of CCP hf. in the year 2005 after taxes amounted to ISK. 157,586,274. It should be borne in mind that income tax credit is due of previous years' tax losses was fully capitalized during the year. According to the balance sheet except assets the company's ISK 259,968,318, but the book equity at the end of the year is negative by ISK. 193,634,542.
All the company's development costs have been charged as soon as they are created and the intellectual property rights are not capitalized. The company's income increased a lot in 2005 from the previous year, and especially in the last months of the year and the company is now operating profitably. Operating plans assume that equity will be positive in 2006.
The number of jobs at the beginning of the year was 42 and 54 at the end of the year, and wage costs were 231 million during the year.
Several significant milestones were achieved during the year. In July, a major addition to EVE Online was launched under the name “Cold War Edition”, and another in December called “Red Moon Rising.” The number of subscribers increased a lot during the year and are in March 2006, over 100,000. A major milestone was reached at the end of February 2006 when a contract was signed with Optic Communications about the marketing and operation of EVE Online in China.
At the end of 2005, there were 112 shareholders in the company, compared to 100 at the beginning of the year. Two shareholders owned more than 10% of the share capital at the end of the year, Brú Venture Capital hf. with 35.0% and S. Reynir Harðarson with 12.6%.
2006 - Expansion
Operating profit: ISK 453,963,149
USD $6,355,484
(2022 USD: $9,523,626.06)
CCP’s net profit for the year 2006 amounted to ISK 453,963,149. At year end, the Company’s assets amounted to ISK 1,040,765,303, while the shareholders’ equity was ISK 481,082,674.
All development costs are expensed as incurred during the course of the year and intellectual property rights for EVE Online are not capitalized. Revenues continued to increase throughout the year, with Q4 2006 yielding ISK 497 million in total revenue compared with ISK 227 million in the same quarter of 2005, and the company has enjoyed widening margins in tandem with this growth..
The number of employees at year-end was 135 in the company’s offices in Reykjavík, Shanghai and Atlanta, compared to 47 at the beginning of the year. Salaries and related expenses amounted to ISK 483 million.
The Company achieved a number of important milestones during the year. In July the Company launched, in cooperation with Optic Communications, the Chinese version of EVE Online, operated from Optic’s facilities in Shanghai. In August further regional expansions were made in the form of a German language version of the game, hosted on CCP’s servers in London.
In November the acquisition of White Wolf Publishing was concluded. Later in the month of November a major expansion to the EVE Online universe was released, EVE Online Revelations, and was well received in the market, lifting the subscription base of EVE Online in London above 150,000.
At year-end, shareholders in CCP hf. numbered 96, compared to 112 at the beginning of the year.
Three shareholders owned more than 10% of the shares in the Company at year-end: NP ehf. with 34.2%, Teno Investments with 16% and S. Reynir Harðarson with 12.2%.
2007 - Continued Growth
Note: In 2007, CCP began using international standards (described below) and recording their finances in US dollars.
Revenue: $37,155,107 (USD 2022: $52,442,958)
Profit: $2,998,255 (USD 2022: $4,231,917)
The Consolidated Financial Statements for the year 2007 consist of the Consolidated Financial Statements of CCP hf. and its subsidiaries, together referred to as the Company (Group). The Consolidated Financial Statements are prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), as adopted by the European Union and denominated in USD for the first time.
The total sales of the Group amounted to USD 37,155,107. The profit of the year amounted to USD 2,998,255.
According to the Balance Statement the Company’s assets amount to USD 47,295,214, the year’s end book value of equity is USD 13,527,271 and the Company’s equity ratio is 28.6%.
The number of employees at year-end was 283 in the company’s offices in Reykjavík, Shanghai and Atlanta, compared to 135 at the beginning of the year. Salaries and related expenses amounted to USD 15,591,746, thereof USD 4,255,665 capitalized.
The Company reached a number of important milestones throughout the year. In March the Company became the proud recipient of the Red Herring 100 Europe Award, an award given to the top 100 private technology companies based in the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) region each year.
In June a fulltime in-world economist for EVE Online was appointed, making it the first time a Massively Multiplayer Game has commissioned a dedicated PhD credited economist to operate at this level of economic monitoring and research for a virtual world.
In January CCP Asia moved to a bigger offices in the French Concession district of Shanghai and in October CCP North America moved into new and improved facilities in Stone Mountain, GA focusing on the development of the company’s next MMOG, World of Darkness.
By the end of the year the number of EVE Online subscribers had reached an all time high of roughly 220,000. This was in large part achieved through two major expansions to the EVE Online universe, EVE Online: Revelations II and EVE Online: Trinity, released in June and December respectively.
At year-end, shareholders in CCP hf. numbered 99, compared to 96 at the beginning of the year. Three shareholders owned more than 10% of the shares in the Company at year-end: NP ehf. with 34.0%, Teno Investments with 16.5% and S. Reynir Harðarson with 12.1%.
2008 - Rolling Along
Revenues: $46,482,140 (In 2022 USD: $63,181,798)
Profit: $5,062,431 (In 2022 USD: $6,881,212)
The Company’s revenues in 2008 were USD 46,482,140. The profit for the year amounted to USD 5,062,431. Assets at year-end were USD 43,837,015, with shareholders’ equity of USD 18,841,753, or 43%. The Company employed 353 people at year-end in its offices in Reykjavík, Shanghai and Atlanta, compared to 261 at the beginning of the year. Salaries and related expenses amounted to USD 18,581,204, of which USD 7,344,250 was capitalized as development cost.
The Company achieved a number of important milestones during 2008 and received various accolades, including a global online award for EVE Online from the Korean Game Industry Agency (KOGIA). Early in the year the CCP Iceland office expanded by inaugurating the newly renovated 4th floor of the office building in Reykjavik. March saw the formation of the Council of Stellar Management (CSM), the first democratically-elected governing body in a virtual world. In November a partnership with Atari was announced, which will see Atari exclusively distribute boxed versions of EVE Online in 2009. Two new expansions to the EVE Online universe were launched successfully, EVE Online: Empyrean Age and EVE Online: Quantum Rise, released in June and November respectively. The two expansions helped to push the subscriber number to nearly a quarter of a million by the end of the year, or 244,551 to be exact.
The Company‘s shareholders reached 119 at year-end compared to 99 at the beginning of the year. Shareholders owning more than 10% were NP ehf. with 34.0%, Teno Investments with 17.3% and S. Reynir Harðarson with 11.4%.
2009 - Bigger Than Iceland
Revenue: $55,268,791 (In 2022 USD: $75,393,466)
Profit: $6,190,230 (In 2022 USD: $8,444,239)
The Company’s revenues in 2009 were USD 55,268,791. The profit for the year amounted to USD 6,190,230. Assets at year-end were USD 74,375,469, with shareholders’ equity of USD 43,932,549, or 59.1%. The Company employed 451 people at year-end in its offices in Reykjavík, Newcastle, Shanghai and Atlanta, compared to 353 at the beginning of the year. Salaries and related expenses amounted to USD 26,725,080, of which USD 12,096,131 was capitalized as development cost.
EVE Online demonstrated continued growth in 2009, with paying subscribers increasing by 34% in the year. What started as an early experiment to build a single shard science fiction virtual world has now developed into a leading, internationally recognized massively-multiplayer online (MMO) world. Its subscriber base has exceeded that of the entire nation of Iceland, and at the age of seven—almost unheard of in this industry—EVE Online is the 2009 PC Gamer MMO of the year. Two successful expansions to the EVE Online universe were launched in 2009 – Apocrypha in the spring, also bringing back EVE Online as a boxed product to stores around the world, and Dominion in the winter.
In addition, the Company formally announced its MMO / First-Person-Shooter console game called DUST 514, and made continued progress in the development of World of Darkness, our next MMO focused on Vampires and the Goth genre. Finally, the growth of the Company from a development and employee perspective continued. All three of our previous offices grew in 2009, and we had the good fortune of opening a fourth office in Newcastle, England, which has quickly become our center of engineering excellence.
The Company issued additional equity in December 2009, pursuant to a private placement directed to existing shareholders. The payment for binding subscriptions is receivable in two tranches during 2010, the first of which, representing approximately 60% of the proceeds, was completed in Q1. After completion of this offering, shareholders owning more than 10% are NP ehf. with 30.5%, Teno Investments with 24.0% and S. Reynir Harðarson with 10.2%.
2010 - A Bright Future, Or Hubris?
Revenue: $59,183,665 (In 2022 USD: $79,430,951)
Profit: $5,414,758 (In 2022 USD: $7,267,197)
The Company’s revenues in 2010 were USD 59,183,665. The profit for the year amounted to USD 5,414,758. Assets at year-end were USD 83,490,041, with shareholders’ equity of USD 49,770,429, or 59.6%. The Company employed 603 people at year-end in its offices in Reykjavík, Newcastle, Shanghai and Atlanta, compared to 451 at the beginning of the year. Salaries and related expenses amounted to USD 38,190,556, of which USD 16,885,477 were capitalized as development cost.
EVE Online continued growing in 2010, with subscribers reaching almost 360,000. Two successful expansions to the EVE Online universe were launched in 2010 – Tyrannis in the spring, bringing the ability for players to interact with the planets of EVE, and Incursion which started releasing in December and ended its release cycle in January 2011 with the deployment of a new sophisticated character creation system built on CCP’s Carbon technology.
The Company made continued progress in the development of First-Person-Shooter console game DUST 514 where the highlight of the year was an end-to-end playable demo on the Sony PS3 console. Another massive playable milestone was World of Darkness Year One, a first pass at touching on all gameplay features that will be shipped in the final product.
The Company joined together the various fan communities around World of Darkness at the Grand Masquerade fan event in New Orleans in the fall 2010. EVE Online Fanfest, which used to be hosted in the fall, was moved to spring 2011 to change to a cycle where each fan event is hosted yearly, one in spring and one in fall.
Finally, the growth of the Company from a development and employee perspective continued. All four of CCP’s offices grew in 2010 as the company executed its largest talent expansion plan to date.
In December 2009, the Company issued additional equity pursuant to a private placement directed to existing shareholders. The payment for binding subscriptions was payable in two tranches during 2010, the first of which, representing approximately 60% of the proceeds, was funded in Q1 and the remainder was funded towards the end of Q2 and beginning of Q3. After completion of this offering, shareholders owning more than 10% are NP ehf. with 30.5%, Teno Investments with 23.9% and S. Reynir Harðarson with 10.2%.
2011 - The Summer Of Rage
Revenue: $65,264,151 (In 2022 USD: $84,911,376)
Profit: $8,672,471 (In 2022 USD: $11,283,245)
The Company's revenues in 2011 were USD 65,264,151. The profit for the year amounted to USD 8,672,471. Assets at year-end were USD 97,614,885 with shareholders' equity of USD 59,511,731, or 61%. The Company employed 515 people at year-end in its offices in Reykjavík, Newcastle, Shanghai and Atlanta, compared to 603 at the beginning of the year. Salaries and related expenses amounted to USD 45,221,562 of which USD 27,798,365 were capitalized as development cost.
EVE Online ended the year with 351,502 subscribers. Three expansions to the EVE Online universe were launched in 2011. Incursion brought a new age of artistry to video games and gave a glimpse of the potential of the Carbon technology framework. The Incarna 1.0 expansion was the first step to avatar-based gameplay with the introduction of 3D avatars to the sci-fi virtual universe. The third expansion, Crucible, was launched in late 2011 to player acclaim with a large number of much-requested enhancements.
The Company and Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. announced an agreement to bring the innovative DUST 514® video game exclusively to the PlayStation®3 console entertainment system in 2012.
The Company unveiled the results of its technology partnership with NVIDIA at the EVE Online Fanfest event in March. The Company leverages NVIDIA technology to enable its recently launched EVE Online Character Creator.
Customer and market feedback in the second half of the year triggered a review and re-evaluation of the Company's priorities and processes. This led to a reduction of staff affecting twenty percent of global positions, the majority of which impacted our Atlanta, GA office, although a number of positions in our Reykjavik, Iceland office were also affected. The focus was set on enhancing the EVE Online player experience and bringing DUST 514 to market. World of Darkness will continue in development with a dedicated core team.
The Company's Atlanta office announced the relocation of the CCP North America headquarters from Gwinnett County to the City of Decatur in DeKalb County.
2012 - Recovery
Revenue: $65,296,524 (In 2022 USD: $83,231,069)
Profit: $4,713,127 (In 2022 USD: $6,007,649)
The Company's revenues in 2012 were USD 65,296,524. The profit for the year amounted to USD 4,713,127. Assets at year-end were USD 128,316,444, with shareholders' equity of USD 66,641,684, or 51.9%. The Company employed 530 people at year-end in its offices in Reykjavik, Newcastle, Shanghai, Atlanta and San Francisco, compared to 514 at the beginning of the year. Salaries and related expenses amounted to USD 38,775,678 of which USD 18,575,346 were capitalized as development cost.
EVE Online ended the year with approximately 490,000 subscribers. Two expansions to the EVE Online universe were launched in 2012. The Inferno expansion was released on May 22, 2012 and brought a complete overhaul of the war declaration and factional warfare systems, the addition of 17 new modules and 3D models for missile launchers and missiles, along with a mercenary marketplace. Retribution, EVE Online's 17th expansion was released on December 4, 2012 and has been one of the most successful EVE expansions to date. This release most notably introduced improvements to the game's Bounty Hunting and Crimewatch systems. In December 2012 EVE Online was also re-launched in China with a new partner.
In the spring of 2012 the Company held its 9th annual EVE player gathering, Fanfest, in a new location, Reykjavik's new concert hall and conference center, Harpa. At Fanfest, a refocused plan for EVE Online was introduced and orbital bombardment from EVE Online to the Company's upcoming console game DUST 514 was shown publicly for the first time.
The Company opened an office in San Francisco, California that is operated as part of CCP North America, which is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.
On July 4, 2012, the Company completed a convertible bond offering in the amount of USD 20 million with a maturity in July 2017. The bonds will be listed on the Nasdaq OMX Fixed Income market in Iceland.
As of December 31, 2012 there were 484 shareholders in the Company compared to 417 at December 31, 2011. Shareholders owning more than 10% are NP ehf with 30.06% and Teno Investments with 23.58%.
2013 - Peak EVE Online
Revenue: $76,721,964 (In 2022 USD: $96,382,879)
Loss: $21,347,476 (In 2022 USD: $26,818,020.44)
The Company's revenues in 2013 were USD 76.7 million. The net loss for the year amounted to USD 21.3 million. Assets at year-end were USD 104.3 million, with shareholders' equity of USD 48.3 million, or 46%. The Company employed 508 people at year-end in its offices in Reykjavík, Newcastle, Shanghai, Atlanta and San Fransisco, compared to 530 at the beginning of the year. Salaries and related expenses amounted to USD 44.7 million of which USD 20.1 million were capitalized as development cost.
EVE Online celebrated its 10th anniversary in May and ended the year with over 500,000 subscribers. That milestone was celebrated when the Company held the 10th annual EVE player gathering, Fanfest, with record number of players and fans in attendance.
During EVE Online's 10th year, it was acquired for Museum of Modern Art's (MoMA) permanent applied design collection in New York City, where EVE Online will be preserved for future generations to experience and study.
During 2013 the Company released its second product, DUST 514, as part of expanding the EVE Universe. DUST 514 is a groundbreaking, free-to-play, massively multiplayer online first-person shooter that is set in the EVE Universe and linked to EVE Online.
During the year the Company also began development of EVE Valkyrie, a multiplayer spaceship dogfighting shooter set in the EVE Universe. EVE Valkyrie was shown at E3 and Gamescom receiving great reviews and winning awards.
The Company completed a reorganization in 2013, which resulted in a greater focus and increased independence of each of our five main projects. Following the reorganization the Company assessed its capitalized development assets and determined that a portion of those assets would need to be derecognized as they would likely not generate future economic benefits.
As of December 31, 2013 there were 431 shareholders in the Company compared to 484 at December 31, 2012. The ten biggest shareholders and their ownership percentage as of year-end are: NP ehf - 29.8%, Teno Investment S.Á.R.L - 23.4%, Sigurður Reynir Harðarson - 9.3%, Hilmar Veigar Pétursson - 5.2%, Matthías Guðmundsson - 3.1%, Meson Holding S.A. - 2.5%, CCP Holding S.Á.R.L. - 2.2%, Guðmundur Kristinsson - 2.1%, Friðrik Örn Haraldsson - 2%, A.C.S. safnreikningur I - 1.7%.
2014 - Death Of A Project
Revenue: $68,557,562 (In 2022 USD: $84,751,424)
Loss: $65,725,333 (In 2022 USD: $81,250,199)
The Company's revenues in 2014 were USD 68.6 million. The net loss for the year amounted to USD 65.7 million. Assets at year-end were USD 33.3 million with negative shareholders' equity of USD 15.3 million. The Company employed 339 people at year-end in its offices in Reykjavík, Newcastle, Shanghai and Atlanta, compared to 508 at the beginning of the year. Salaries and related expenses amounted to USD 36.1 million of which USD 7.9 were capitalized as development cost.
In April the Company announced that it had cancelled further development of its World of Darkness massively multiplayer online (MMO) game project. As a result of this change the Company went through restructuring of its global operations to realign it with its current development efforts.
During EVE Online’s eleventh year the Company announced an upgraded development model for EVE Online. The upgraded development model marks a shift from releasing two expansions per year to around ten releases annually with the aim of delivering more content, more frequently, to its customers.
September marked the release of a full French language support for EVE Online. With an award-winning player-community that spans the globe supporting multiple languages has become an important part of bringing players together. The French localization adds to EVE Online’s previous English, Russian, German, Japanese and Chinese language support.
During the year the Company continued its development of EVE: Valkyrie, a multiplayer spaceship dogfighting shooter set in the EVE Universe, set to be released on next generation VR hardware. The Company also has a number of smaller concept projects under development aimed at making the Company a key content provider for next generation VR hardware.
As of December 31, 2014 there were 434 shareholders in the Company compared to 431 at December 31, 2013. The ten biggest shareholders and their ownership percentage are: NP ehf - 29.74%, Teno Investment S.Á.R.L - 23.33%, Sigurður Reynir Harðarson - 8.86%, Hilmar Veigar Pétursson - 5.22%, Matthías Guðmundsson - 3.08%, Alamina Ltd. - 2.55%, CCP Holding S.Á.R.L. - 2.24%, Guðmundur Kristinsson - 2.09%, Friðrik Örn Haraldsson - 2.01%, A.C.S. safnreikningur I - 1.71%.
2015 - Raising Money
Revenue: $65,703,397 (In 2022 USD: $81,126,786)
Profit: $20,678,818 (In 2022 USD: $25,533,018)
The Company's revenues in 2015 were USD 65.7 million. The net profit for the year amounted to USD 20.8 million. Assets at year-end were USD 79.8 million and a shareholders' equity of USD 35.5 million, equity ratio of 44%, a great improvement from last year-end were it was negative 46%. The Company employed 330 people at year-end in its offices in Reykjavík, Newcastle, Shanghai and Atlanta, compared to 338 at the beginning of the year.
Salaries and related expenses amounted to USD 22.1 million of which USD 7.3 were capitalized as development cost.
In March the Company finalized a refinancing of its senior debt and listed bonds, in total $24 million, with a substantial reduction in financing costs. Subsequently the Company delisted from the Nasdaq OMX in Iceland.
In October the Company sold its World of Darkness intellectual properties to Paradox Interactive. The purchase price was paid in full with cash at the time of signing.
In November the Company raised $30 million in new equity through an issue of a new class of preference shares. New Enterprise Associates led the investment, with participation from private equity firm Novator Partners LLP.
November also saw the release of Gunjack, a visually stunning virtual reality (VR) arcade shooter that is set in the sprawling EVE science fiction universe. This is the third games published by CCP and it has received good reviews from both media and customers.
During the year the Company continued its development of EVE: Valkyrie, a multiplayer spaceship dogfighting shooter set in the EVE Universe, set to be released in 2016. The Company also has a number of smaller concept projects under development aimed at making the Company a key content provider for next generation VR hardware.
As of December 31, 2015 there were 308 shareholders in the Company compared to 434 at December 31, 2014. The ten biggest shareholders and their ownership percentage are: NP ehf - 25.99%, Teno Investment S.Á.R.L - 20.39%, NEA 15 Global VC S.Á.R.L. – 11.35%, NEA 15 CCP LLC - 10.69%, Novator ehf - 7.17%, Hilmar Veigar Pétursson - 4.61%, Alamina Ltd. - 2.23%, Axis Capital Pharma Investment – 2.04%, CCP Holding S.Á.R.L. - 1.96%, Sundagarðar hf – 1.46%.
2016 - Virtual Dreams
Revenue: $79,296,730 (In 2022 USD: $96,691,282)
Profit: $21,397,723 (In 2022 USD: $26,091,533)
The Company's revenues in 2016 were USD 79.3 million. The net profit for the year amounted to USD 21.4 million. Assets at year-end were USD 105.6 million and shareholders' equity of USD 41.7 million. The Company employed 359 people at year-end in its offices in Reykjavík, Newcastle, Shanghai and Atlanta, compared to 303 at the beginning of the year. Salaries and related expenses amounted to USD 22.8 million of which USD 8.0 were capitalized as development cost.
During the year the Company published two major expansions to EVE Online. The Citadel expansion was published in May, giving pilots the opportunity to build staggeringly massive structures and then tear them down with imposing fleets of enormous starships. In November the Ascension expansion was published with the option to play for free and other great improvements to player experiences.
The Company launched EVE Valkyrie, a stunning virtual reality (VR) multiplayer dogfighting shooter, in March on Oculus Rift. EVE Valkyrie was published on PlayStation VR in October and HTC Vive VR in November. This is the fourth game published by CCP and it has received great reviews from both media and customers.
During the year Gunjack, published in November 2015, was released on three new VR platforms and in December Gunjack 2: End of Shift, a sequel to Gunjack, was published exclusively on Google Daydream mobile VR. Both games are developed by CCP's Shanghai studio which has quickly become world renowned as a leader in the creation of quality mobile VR experiences.
The Company also has a number of larger and smaller concept projects in development, aimed at making the Company a key content provider for next generation VR hardware.
As of December 31, 2016 there were 252 shareholders in the Company compared to 308 at December 31, 2015. The ten biggest shareholders and their ownership percentage are: NP ehf - 27.20%, Teno Investment S.Á.R.L - 21.34%, NEA 15 Global VC S.Á.R.L. – 11.87%, NEA 15 CCP LLC - 11.27%, Novator ehf - 8.46%, Hilmar Veigar Pétursson - 6.52%, Alamina Ltd. - 2.33%, Axis Capital Pharma Investment – 2.13%, CCP Holding S.Á.R.L. - 2.05%, NTP II S.Á.R.L. – 1.32%.
2017 - The End Of Virtual Reality
Revenue: $65,418,908 (In 2022 USD: $78,105,297)
Profit: $3,374,608 (In 2022 USD: $4,029,030)
The company's revenue in 2017 amounted to $65.4 million dollars. The profit for the year according to the income statement amounted to $3.4 millions of dollars. Assets at the end of the year were $107.7 million and equity was $45.1 million. Employees of the group, there were 298 at the end of the year in its offices in Reykjavík, Newcastle, Shanghai and Atlanta compared to 360 at the beginning of the year. Salaries and salary-related expenses amounted to 27.9 million dollars, of which were capitalized development wages of $10.1 million.
During the year, the company released one major addition to EVE Online. The Lifeblood add-on was released in October and provides players increased technology for obtaining resources with Upwell Refineries which increases the possibilities for mining on moons and allows players to blast large blocks off the surface of moons, drag them in and use them for lucrative mining. The company also released several smaller additions to EVE Online during the year.
In September, the company released EVE Valkyrie on PlayStation and PC. The game was originally developed in virtual reality and is the first game of its kind that spans the boundaries between reality and virtual reality in different formats game console.
During the year, the company released a new game in virtual reality, Sparc, which is played with specially designed equipment for virtual reality. Sparc is a dynamic sports game in which the player's computer equipment becomes equipment sports and competition in the game.
In addition to the above projects, the company is working on the development of various other projects.
In October 2017, a reorganization took place at the company, the office in Newcastle was sold and an office in Atlanta was closed as of December 31. Following the changes, the company will shift its focus from game development to virtual reality to the further development of games intended for smartphones and PCs.
2018 - Selling Out
Revenue: $56,289,317 (In 2022 USD: $65,602,910)
Loss: $32,704 (In 2022 USD: $38,115)
The company's revenue in December 2018 was 56.3 million dollars. The year's loss according to the income statement amounted to 0.03 millions of dollars. Assets at the end of the year were 81.1 million dollars and equity was 23.5 million dollars. Employees at the end of the year there were 276 of the group's 4 offices in Reykjavik, London, Shanghai and Adanta, to compared to 289 at the beginning of the year. The number of annual works in Iceland was 203.
EVE Online turned 15 in April 2018 and was celebrated with the EVE Online community in EVE Fanfest in Reykjavik in April and EVE Vegas in October had more than ever before.
Last year, CCP made two major improvements to EVE Online. The Into The Abyss sequel was released in May as Abyssal Deadspace was introduced to the game, a hooded, mapped Swedish bar that featured members of the Triglavian Collective. In November, the company released the Onslaught update, which improved player interaction in Abyssal Deadspace as well as new ways for players to travel around within EVE Online.
In September, it was announced that Pear Abyss had bought all shares of CCP ehf. Following the sale, CCP ehf. operated as independent subsidiary of Pearl Abyss Iceland ehf. Partner continues to run a studio in Reykjavik, London and China.
2019 - The Chaos Era
Note: With the sale of CCP to Pearl Abyss in October 2018, Pearl Abyss Iceland took over the ownership of the CCP group of companies. From this point going forward, the revenue and profit/loss figures will come from PAI's consolidated financial reports.
Also of note. Pearl Abyss owns all shares of Pearl Abyss Iceland. All shares of CCP ehf are owned by Pearl Abyss Iceland.
Revenue: $51,116,248 (In 2022 USD: $60,349,311)
Profit: $13,552,116 (In 2022 USD: $15,513,342)
Pearl Abyss Iceland ehf. is a holding company founded in 2018. In October 2018, the company bought all issued and outstanding shares in CCP ehf. CCP ehf. designs, develops, markets and operates video games. Headquarters are on Iceland, but the company owns and operates subsidiaries in the United States, Great Britain and China.
The group's income in 2019 amounted to 51.1 million dollars. The profit for the year according to the profit and loss account amounted to 13.5 million dollars, Assets at the end of the year were 291.2 million dollars and equity 203.4 million dollars. Employees the group had 188 at the end of the year compared to 203 at the beginning of the year.
In 2019, the group decided to take the EVE Fanfest events on a world tour as the EVE Invasion World Tour, sen consisted of a series of events held by the group around the world and from EVE Online thus closer its global community than ever before.
In March 2019, the group announces its partnership with the start-up company Hadean around "EVE: Aether Wars" which is revolutionary technology that addresses opportunities for more massive multiplayer in current and upcoming games of the group. The technology focuses on solving technical challenges faced by manufacturers in the crowd online multiplayer environment. EVE: Aether Wars was officially announced for the first time at the GDC 2019 show with real-time battles where 14,274 users were simultaneously connected to the same game world.
In early May 2019, the group introduced "Invasion", a massive addition to EVE Online that drew the mysterious The Triglavian race came into the limelight for the first time. At the G-Star 2019 show held in November in Busan, South Korea, the group introduced a Korean translation of EVE Online to provide better access for Korean-speaking players to important aspects of the game. During the year, the group further strengthened the gameplay of EVE Online with releases that upgrade various ships and units to ensure that combat choices and tactical decisions still play an equally important role IN the game and spaceships and their equipment. A new 64-bit version of the game was released, ensuring that EVE Online is included modern requirements of operating systems and hardware used by players.
In July 2019, the group released the first major update to Sparc, a v-spot game like no other invirtual reality games.
From August to September, the group together with Nctlasc Games held closed alpha tests in certain parts of the world for EVE Echoes, a next-generation multiplayer game for mobile and tablet. He relies on game design of EVE Online and will be released on 108 and Android in 2020. The group and NetEase then held open beta testing in December.
2020 - COVID
Revenue: $62,375,926 (In 2022 USD: $70,532,653)
Loss: $1,665,391 (In 2022 USD: $1,883,169)
The Group's revenues in 2020 were USD 62.4 million compaired to USD 48.4 million in previous year. The net loss for the year amounted to USD 1.7 million compaired to a net profit of USD 13.6 million in previous year. Assets at year-end were USD 300.6 million and shareholders' equity of USD 202 million. The Group employed 301 people at year-end compared to 279 at the beginning of the year.
In 2020, the Group began the year with a major announcement for EVE Online. In January, the Group revealed that it would be moving away from releasing twice-yearly expansions for the game and instead split EVE Online’s content release schedule for the year into four sections - Quadrants - that allow for releases, events, offers, and more with more regular cadence throughout the year.
In March, the Group was pleased to announce that EVE Online had been authorized to operate in the People’s Republic of China, in partnership with publisher and distributor NetEase Games. The game went into Open Beta soon after, enabling millions of new and returning Chinese capsuleers to take flight and chart their paths across the stars.
In June, the Group launched the third phase of Project Discovery in conjunction with Massively Multiplayer Online Science (MMOS), the groundbreaking citizen science project and mini-game found within EVE Online, embarking on a major program to understand the immune system's response to COVID-19. EVE players are now able to contribute to the fight against COVID-19 by analyzing. Within three months, Project Discovery participants had provided an astounding 41.4 million submissions for use in scientific research.
August was a big month for the EVE IP, with the release of EVE Echoes on iOS and Android after three years of close collaboration between the Group and NetEase. Launching in English, Russian, Chinese, German, French, Spanish and Portuguese, EVE Echoes enables sci-fi enthusiasts all over the world to enjoy the hallmark game experience of EVE Online on their mobile devices.
The Group rounded off the year in December with the launch of full Japanese language localization for the EVE Online client and across its web presences, including full customer support for the Japanese-speaking EVE Online community.
Note: The below paragraph came from CCP's financial statement, not PAI's.
In 2020 the Icelandic Government announced its Science and Technology Policy for 2020-2022 aimed at strengthening the framework around research, development and innovation in Iceland by ensuring that it is internationally competitive and to create conditions where knowledge-based companies can thrive and grow and attract talent from other countries. One of the first steps was to increase available refunds through government grants. This is an encouraging step that will help CCP continue to grow in Iceland and create new opportunities for innovation.
2021 - Adding Platforms
Revenue: $63,869,894 (In 2022 USD: $68,981,229)
Loss: $8,044,016 (In 2022 USD: $8,687,756)
The Group's revenues in 2021 were USD 63.9 million compaired to USD 62.4 million in previous year. The net loss for the year amounted to USD 8.0 million compaired to a net loss of USD 1.7 million in previous year. Assets at year-end were USD 289.8 million, shareholders' equity of USD 194.1 million and equity ratio 67%. The Group employed 301 people at year-end compared to 301 at the beginning of the year.
During 2021 the Group released four quarterly expansions for EVE Online introducing many updates and improvements for an elevated player experience including visual updates, rebuild of the player guide and a revamped skill system. In June the Group officially launched EVE Academy, a resource website designed to assist new players to forge their own path in EVE Online after completing the game’s tutorial. Then in September the Group released a revamped onboarding experience for new players that teaches the essential features and controls of EVE Online, leaving them with a solid understanding of how to thrive amongst the stars.
In the last quarter of 2021, the Group introduced a whole new generation of players to EVE Online with the launch of the game on the Epic Games Store as well as releasing a native Mac client harnessing Apple’s powerful graphic processing framework.
In February EVE players again broke a GUINNESS WORLD RECORD with an enormous battle that saw more than 5,000 players duke it out for territorial control in EVE Online resulting in over 3,400 ships lost in battle equating to more than $378,000 in losses. The previous record was also set by EVE Online in 2014.
In August the mobile game EVE Echoes, developed by NetEase in close collaboration with the Group, was officially released in the People's Republic of China following a successful release in the rest of the world in 2020.
2022 - Reopening to the World
Revenue: $56,105,616
Loss: $70,123,533
The Group's revenues in 2022 were USD 56.1 million compaired to USD 63.9 millions in the previous year. The net loss for the year amounted to USD 70.1 million compaired to a net loss of USD 8.0 millions in the previous year.
The main reason for the loss is impairment loss of $50.9 million on intangible assets as a result higher interest rates and lower forcasted annual growth rate compared to prior years. Assets at year-end were USD 231.5 millions, shareholders' equity of USD 127.9 millions and equity ratio 55%. The Group employed 366 people at year-end compared to 350 at the beginning of the year.
During 2022 the Group released ‘Uprising,’ a major expansion for EVE Online introducing many updates and improvements across EVE Online, including a Spanish localization enabling speakers of the second largest language worldwide to experience EVE Online in their native language.
In January, the Group and BBC Studios joined forces for EVE Online x Doctor Who, an original crossover event between the beloved action-adventure series Doctor Who and EVE Online. EVE Fanfest was held in May in Reykjavík, Iceland, for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time the Group launched EVE Anywhere, a cloud-based platform based on Intel technology which enables players to enjoy EVE Online through a web browser on any computer.
In July, the Group, together with its partner NetEase, announced EVE Infinity, a localized version of EVE Online for the Chinese market run on a separate server cluster. The game was successfully launched in September 2022.
To celebrate the 2nd anniversary of EVE Echoes, NetEase Games in collaboration with the Group released a new expansion for the game in August. This was the biggest expansion for the game to date.
Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and related sanctions enforced on Russia, all sales to Russia based players were halted in March. The negative impact of the war in Ukraine on the Group's operations in 2022 is estimated at USD 806 thousand.
In March 2023, the Group announced that a USD 40 million financing had been secured from external parties for a full-scale development of a new AAA title utilizing blockchain technology, set within the EVE Universe. With key game systems developed on-chain, this new project will also leverage smart-contract blockchain technology, focusing on persistence, composability and truly open third-party development to create a new relationship between virtual worlds and players.
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