CCP annual revenues hit $66m, considers IPO
CEO Hilmar Petursson "wants to be ready" to go public as a matter of policy
EVE Online developer CCP Games generated $66 million in revenue last year, and is now considering an IPO.
According to a report on TechCrunch, CEO Hilmar Petursson believes that the release of DUST 514 and EVE's expansion into Asian territories will make 2012 the company's most successful year to date.
"We want to be ready for an IPO from a policy standpoint," Petursson said. "We're quite a substantial company, so we're thinking, 'Okay, what is the next step?'"
Revenue generated by EVE Online has grown every year since the game launched, at a compound rate of 53 per cent a year. EVE's lifetime revenue is around $300 million.
However, while the company revealed last year's revenue as $66 million, it would not give details of profits beyond acknowledging that it has, "very healthy margins."
EVE Online has around 400,000 subscribers, who are widely considered to be the most engaged MMO audience in the industry.
Last June, CCP angered its community after documents detailing the introduction of micro-transactions to EVE were leaked. EVE has been subscription-funded since launch, and the company was forced to apologise after thousands of veteran players started to walk away from the game.
In October, the company made 120 employees redundant, around 20 per cent of its entire workforce. A press release at the time indicated that the decision was a result of the crisis with EVE's community
"As we re-examine our outward relations, we are also taking time to re-evaluate our internal goals. In doing so, we have come to the conclusion that we are attempting too many things for a company our size. Developing EVE expansions, DUST 514 and [New MMO] World of Darkness has stretched our resources too thin."
"Rather than allowing this to persist, we have made the decision to sharpen our focus. Sadly, this means reducing our staff."
CCP's commitment to EVE Online's expansion was evidenced by the appointment of David Reid, Trion Worlds' former senior vice president, to the role of chief marketing officer last month. Reid stated that his goal was to bring, "the worlds of CCP to millions of gamers in 2012 and years to come."