A Look At May 2024 Activity In EVE Online

With the release of the Equinox expansion for EVE Online only a week away, the time has come to look at the last full month of activity in the Havoc expansion. In this article looking back a year compares the last full month of Havoc versus the last full month of the Uprising expansion. Financially, we know that CCP Games recorded $28.6 million in revenue during Havoc (Q4 2023-Q1 2024) compared to $26 million (Q4 2022-Q1 2023) during Uprising. What does that look like in the form of ships exploding?

First, a look at the number of average concurrent users (ACU) logged in over the last year. In May, the 30-day moving average of logged in players rose for the second month in a row. A peak in interest, probably fueled by the Capsuleer Day events, helped with the trend. The strong finish to the expansion, even in the 7-day moving average numbers, had the ACU up nearly 20% over the last month of Uprising. The expansion brought a lot of people (back) to the game and managed to hold their attention in the aggregate. I do wonder how the numbers would have fared if CCP wasn't also performing player testing for EVE: Vanguard and Project Awakening during May.

The explosions in space in May 2024 seem to show signs of lasting health. Even the low sec numbers seem pretty positive. Year-over-year, the number of player-owned ships dying in low sec only decreased by 1.1%, or by an average of 80 per day. But the big gains occurred in null sec, with player ship deaths increasing by 20% compared to May 2023. Perhaps an even bigger figure is the nearly 50% (48.7%) increase in the number of evil NPCs dying at the hands of players in null sec from May 2023 to May 2024.

I have a saying about EVE Online. PvP may receive the headlines, but PvE pays the bills. In the upcoming Equinox expansion, can CCP attract players to null sec with a new sovereignty system while maintaining the gains made in low sec over the last 3 expansions? EVE is in a much healthier state than before the Uprising expansion launched in November 2022. Hopefully Equinox can continue the trend.