CCP has announced an Eve Online price hike. The prices of both subscriptions and PLEX currency will go up next month, with the monthly subscription fee rising by $5, representing the first time it's been raised in eighteen years.
What's the reason for this Eve Online price hike?
Recently, Eve Online announced that it had no plans to invest in cryptocurrency or blockchain technology. Despite this, it seems like the devs are still focused on making a little more money from the game. Announcing the price hike on Steam, developer CCP proclaimed that in order to "continue investing" in the future of Eve Online and the studio's mission of keeping Eve Online around indefinitely, a price hike is necessary. Supposedly, this increase is a reflection of "general production costs" rising, as well as currency inflation.
Here's a breakdown of all the new fees for Eve Online Omega subscriptions. All tiers have gone up in price, but two new subscription tiers for 2-month and 24-month spans of time have been introduced.
- 1-month subscription: $19.99 ($5.04 increase)
- 2-month subscription: $35.98 (new tier)
- 3-month subscription: $47.98 ($9.13 increase)
- 6-month subscription: $86.95 ($15.25 increase)
- 12-month subscription: $149.90 ($18.50 increase)
- 24-month subscription: $270.99 (new tier)
The prices for PLEX currency have also increased. CCP has reworked the tier structure to provide more options for buying PLEX currency, so you'll find new denominations that you can purchase.
- 50 PLEX: $2.49
- 100 PLEX: $4.99
- 250 PLEX: $12.49
- 500 PLEX: $24.99
- 1,000 PLEX: $44.99
- 1,500 PLEX: $64.99
- 3,000 PLEX: $124.99
- 6,000 PLEX: $239.99
- 12,000 PLEX: $419.99
- 20,000 PLEX: $649.99
Tiers have been restructured to provide better value if you decide to subscribe in larger increments, a strategy also being employed by the new PlayStation Plus overhaul and several other gaming subscription services. All in all, CCP says this should give players more options for buying currency and subscribing to the Omega service. The studio says it'll be discussing the changes in more detail during the upcoming Fanfest event, which takes place on May 6th and 7th in Reykjavik.
What's happening in the world of Eve Online?
As well as the aforementioned rejection of NFTs and cryptocurrency, there's plenty else going on in the world of Eve Online. Sperasoft and CCP are working together on a shooter set in the game's universe, and Eve Online is even crossing over with major sci-fi franchises like Doctor Who (which is a slightly baffling crossover, but hey, we're sure someone out there loved it). There are also plenty of new events and gameplay additions coming to Eve Online this year, many of which CCP outlined in a roadmap-style update released earlier in 2022.
You can download and play Eve Online for free right now on Steam (although, as you can see from the above, there are plenty of ways to spend your money in the game as well). The new price hikes will come into effect on May 17th, and in the case of Omega subscriptions, will include all upcoming content releases. We'll bring you more about Eve Online's future plans as soon as we get it.
