A Quick Look At The First Week Of EVE Online's Global PLEX Market

Last week CCP Games instituted a single market for PLEX in EVE Online. Last week I gave my initial thoughts on the move. Further research into the topic has sparked a renewal of interest into the topic of the New Eden economy. The first product of that renewal is a quick look into the first week of the global PLEX market.

The first eight days of the global market

I created a combination chart showing the volume of PLEX traded so far along with the price of one billion ISK in U.S. dollars. As usual, I've used the price of purchasing 2 months of game time (1000 PLEX) to keep the pricing comparable to that before creation of mini-PLEX in March 2017. I've also included the real world value of ISK in acknowledgement of the European Union's proposed Digital Fairness Act (DFA), expected to become law in mid- to late 2026.

I'm currently busy trying to teach Copilot about the New Eden economy at the same time the AI program helps me with coding in Python. Copilot made the following observations about the first week of the global PLEX market.

Launch & Restock Dynamics - Players had to restock from scratch on July 7—no legacy orders carried over. That initial day shows a cautious volume (~0.6 M PLEX) as people relisted, establishing a fresh baseline before the weekend rush.

Weekend & Login Dynamics - Trading volume builds through Friday, then jumps to ~1.1 M PLEX on Saturday and remains high (~1.0 M) on Sunday. Sunday’s strength is amplified by the fact that it’s the peak login day for players, driving both liquidity and heightened market activity.

Price Behavior Under Supply Shock - Under low supply conditions post-restock, the USD value of ISK climbs from ~$7.50 on July 7 to ~$7.58 by Saturday. After the weekend’s pent-up demand and peak logins, price retreats slightly to ~$7.56, indicating that both supply replenishment and player presence jointly steer volatility.

I'll add that the last point is possibly a hole in Copilot's knowledge of the New Eden economy as a rising real world value reflects a sinking ISK value of PLEX. The lower the value of PLEX, the more players need to purchase in order to get the ISK they desire. Unless, of course, players actually place more importance on the real world value of ISK when trading in the global PLEX market. Something to consider as the global PLEX market matures.

I should also add that the global PLEX market does not reflect PLEX traded through contracts. The contract system is often used by big traders to circumvent taxes and fees incurred from using the market. As passage of the Digital Fairness Act gets closer I expect those ISK sinks to disappear. But that's a topic for another post.