Eve Evolved: Analysing Eve's New Economic Reports
Eve&#x27;s player-based economy is really badass, to the point that they have an economist on staff to generate reports like these. CCP found a great way to combat RMT (real money trading) rampant in MMOs where you buy in-game currency with real-world money with the introduction of PLEX (aka Pilot License).<p>Basically, you can pay ~$15 for an in-game PLEX, which when &quot;used&quot; adds 30 days of game-time to your account subscription. But this is an in-game item just like any other, which means it can be bought and sold in the in-game markets for the in-game currency (ISK).<p>Hence, it gives a legitimate way to purchase in-game currency with real-world money, without inflating the economy (because no ISK is generated and added to the economy at any time during this transaction, it simply changes hands until the item is &quot;used&quot; and therefore destroyed). In addition, it allows dedicated players that are cash-strapped an avenue to play for free by using currency acquired in-game to fund their subscription.<p>It also had the side-effect of giving an approximation of what the virtual exchange rate is between dollars and ISK, which makes for very attractive headlines when larger ships and assets get destroyed in the game.