{"id":1141893,"date":"2026-02-06T02:24:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T02:24:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/zyeaMbMG8AuDKteJ4wLJFk"},"modified":"2026-02-06T02:24:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T02:24:14","slug":"eve-online-studio-ccp-games-hires-former-iceland-central-bank-economist-for-its-crypto-game-because-nothing-says-fun-like-removing-currency-controls-and-fostering-emergent-value-systems","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/eve-online-studio-ccp-games-hires-former-iceland-central-bank-economist-for-its-crypto-game-because-nothing-says-fun-like-removing-currency-controls-and-fostering-emergent-value-systems\/","title":{"rendered":"EVE Online studio CCP Games hires former Iceland Central Bank economist for its crypto game, because nothing says ‘fun’ like ‘removing currency controls and fostering emergent value systems’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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I really don’t know what to make of EVE Frontier<\/a>, the blockchain-based survival MMO in development at CCP Games. It landed with a thud in September 2024 over what was perceived as “crypto slop<\/a>,” but it also sounded possibly interesting when we took a closer look<\/a> in February: As PC Gamer’s Ted Litchfield wrote at the time, “The developers at CCP have actually articulated a vision of what they want Frontier to be, and why they think blockchain needs to be a part of it.”<\/p>\n

But now it feels like things are veering back into the crypto stuff: CCP announced<\/a> today that it’s hired Stef\u00e1n \u00de\u00f3rarinsson, a former economist at the Central Bank of Iceland, as its new Head of Economy, a move that “marks the next step in CCP Games\u2019 commitment to deepening the legitimacy of virtual economies and pioneering research in the games industry.”<\/p>\n

“Stef\u00e1n \u00de\u00f3rarinsson\u2019s appointment advances our goal toward building a truly open financial system within a virtual world,” CCP Games CEO Hilmar Veigar P\u00e9tursson. “Since our inception, we have strived to create worlds where players transcend the constraints of our own design\u2014a story that has played out within EVE Online as it enters its third decade of operation.<\/p>\n

“With EVE Frontier, we want to be bolder: Stef\u00e1n\u2019s experience from the Central Bank of Iceland adds vital rigor as we continue to design our economy and open it up to players. By removing currency controls and fostering emergent value systems, EVE Frontier will redefine virtual nation-building, offering insights into both digital and real-world economies.”<\/p>\n

As part of that process, CCP has also launched “a series of comprehensive economic updates” in EVE Frontier, which will help it “analyze fundamental aspects of the economy” within the game:<\/p>\n