Big shake-up at Eve Online dev CCP

Eve Online developer CCP has admitted making "mistakes" due to biting off more than it can chew. Eve Online subscriber numbers have fallen since their peak this summer.

"We have come to the conclusion that we are attempting too many things for a company our size. Developing Eve expansions, DUST 514 and World of Darkness has stretched our resources too thin," a CCP statement read.

"Rather than allowing this to persist, we have made the decision to sharpen our focus.

"Sadly, this means reducing our staff."

The lay-offs - estimated at 20 per cent of the CCP global workforce - will hit vampire MMO World of Darkness hardest. The project won't be cancelled, but will continue with a "significantly reduced team".

Eve Online and Dust 514 - the PS3 shooter that exists within the Eve universe - will become the company's main focus.

Eve Online has been plagued by controversy in recent months, culminating this month in an open and candid apology by CCP CEO Hilmar Veigar Pétursson.

But CCP declared in today's statement that "Eve Online is in good health".

"Our subscriber numbers are higher today than they were a year ago. Unlike many other MMO's on the market, we have continued to grow year-on-year since launch in 2003.

"However," CCP went on, "over the past two months, our subscribers have gone down from their peak this summer. We attribute this to our own mistakes and poor communications with our players. We are correcting that now."

CCP was equally confident about the future of World of Darkness, a project that has never been more than a whisper since its announcement in 2006.

"World of Darkness lives on," CCP wrote. "Its concepts are revolutionary.

"CCP continues to believe that it will alter the landscape of the MMO as significantly as Eve has done, but we need more time to continue to develop them before dedicating the substantial resources required to bring this experience to market."