EVE-online is the best science fiction based MMORPG available. The depth of the game is incredible, the game mechanics are often more like a simulation than game (e.g. the in-game market system is a living economy). While this may not be news to many people, what might be news is that you can legally and ethically convert real world dollars into in-game money. For many MMO’s this is a breach of their ULA (user license agreement); but, CCP, the makers of Eve-online, have built it into the game in a way that makes sense and does not break the game in any way. Read further to understand how as a player, you can have your in-game efforts pay for your game subscription.
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The way it works is that a person interesting in getting ISK (
EVE-online's in-game currency) for USD purchases a game time card either through the
EVE-Online official store, or any number of online vendors. At the time of this writing, a 60 day prepaid game time card can be purchased for $34.99 at the
EVE-online Store. These time cards are actually physical cards that are sent to you via your real world postal service. If you purchase the time card from one of the ~17 official
Eve-Time-Code vendors online, the time card is e-mailed to you when you complete your purchase.
Your newly purchased
EVE-online Time Code (ETC) can be used to activate a new account or extend current subscriptions. To convert an ETC to PLEX (Pilot License Extension) you need only be in a station within the game world, and click on the "Convert ETC" button within the main game menu window. From there pop-up windows guide you through the process of inputting or pasting in the ETC number for conversion. Once the conversion is complete you will have two 30-day PLEX/es in your hanger if you converted a 60-day ETC. So what about having my in-game efforts going towards paying for my subscription?
When you want to add time to your current account, you right click on the PLEX item in your hangar. However, there is nothing forcing you to use it - or preventing you from selling it. That is exactly what many people have chosen to do. They are selling PLEX on the in-game market. There is now an in-game economy for PLEX. Anyone who purchases and converts an ETC into PLEX can put it up for sale on the trade goods portion of their regional market. They can also be sold via contract.
So, if you are on your way to amassing "the wealth of nations" (as the intro movie suggests), you can actually work your way to paying for your subscription through in-game endeavors.
At the time of this writing, PLEX are being sold for 325M ISK in a system known as Jita, the trading capital of new eden. Now, you aren't going to make 325M ISK in your first week of playing
EVE-online, but it is not an unrealistic amount of in-game credits to achieve. For the serious player, their mining, trading, and missioning skills could keep them playing
EVE-online for as long as the game is active. For the casual player who wants more ISK to buy a better ship or gear, the means are there to ultimately pay for someone else’s game time in exchange for the fruits of their labor, the mighty ISK.