EVE Online Goes Pay For Twitch Views

After Pearl Abyss' poor financial showing in the second quarter, the company needs some good news. EVE Online provided some good news on the latest earnings call with revenue up 14.8% over the second quarter of 2022. With Black Desert continuing to decline and the C-Suite opening up the possibility of the launch of Crimson Desert slipping another calendar year, the braintrust in Anyang needs EVE to continue offering good news.

The Alliance Tournament in the Q2 2023 presentation

Which is why I believe viewership for this year's Alliance Tournament is down. Honestly, I didn't realize the event had already started. Then again, the event really isn't watchable on Twitch. If I want to watch health bars moving, I can hop on my White Mage job in Final Fantasy XIV and heal a dungeon or raid. The experience is pretty much the same except playing a game instead of watching is more fun.

But Pearl Abyss needs to continue the theory the executives give the investment analysts that with proper attention a game can last 20 years. After all, CCP is doing a pretty good job with EVE, right? And one of the metrics Pearl Abyss believes in is Twitch viewership. Declining viewership means the game is in decline. CCP better not let that happen or that annoying guy from Goldman Sachs will bring the slippage up on the next call. Hey, you know it's true.

So for the first time, CCP is offering Twitch drops. According to Twitch, a Twitch drop is: 

Our new Drops campaigns are a new and fun way to get in-game loot by watching your favorite channels on Twitch! If the channel is participating in a new Drops system campaign, you will see a message at the top of chat about the Drop campaign and how to earn rewards.

Drops are unlocked by watching any participating channel for the amount of time set by the game developer to earn a reward. Once you complete the time requirement, you will be able to claim the reward. You can only gain progress toward a reward on one channel at a time. Some Drops rewards will require you to earn and claim a previous reward before you are able to earn progress toward that reward. You can check on the progress you have earned towards any reward by going to your Drops Inventory page. From this page you will also be able to claim any Drops rewards that you did not claim while watching the channel.

CCP offered the following instructions on how to access Twitch drops.

• Step 1: Login to your EVE Account from our special Twitch page
• Step 2: Click ‘Link Twitch’
• Step 3: Head to Twitch, login, and/or confirm the authorization to link your EVE and Twitch Accounts
• Step 4: With the account linking confirmed, you can watch content on the official CCPTV Twitch channel, before claiming your rewards via Twitch’s ‘Drops & Rewards’ section
• Step 5: Head back to your EVE account, and your rewards will be ready and waiting for you in the Redeeming section

The "watch content on the official CCPTV Twitch channel" is what really caught my attention. I thought that the drops were used as a lure to convince streamers to stream a company's game. Twitch drops usually mean higher viewerships. But at least for now, CCP is looking to boost its own Twitch channel. By implication, that means boost viewership for the Alliance Tournament. After all, have to keep the investors happy.