“It was quite amazing to see the population of EVE China exceed the population of Iceland in the second day of open Beta testing.” said Hilmar Veigar Pétursson, CEO of CCP Games. “EVE China has been an exciting collaboration project and continues to be so, as we continue to refine the experience to accommodate for the steep growth rate of both our English and Chinese worlds.”

Optic Communications—the licensing partner of CCP Games in China—is operating the fully localized cluster, which runs separately from the Western variant of EVE Online. CCP Games states that maintaining two independent clusters is necessary because of the unique operating environment in China and the steep growth trends of both gaming markets. EVE Online continues to maintain exceptional growth in the United States and Europe, where the combined regional demand forecasts emphasize the strategic need for cluster isolation.

“The enthusiastic response of the Chinese player community to EVE Online is rewarding,” said Kjartan Pierre Emilsson, Managing Director of CCP Asia. “We believe that our unique ‘one world’ design, great flexibility in character advancement, and social game play are a perfect fit for the highly dedicated and knowledgeable Chinese player base.”