EVE Online virtual spaceship sale nets $30k for Australian Red Cross
That's some serious plex.
One of EVE Online's rarest virtual spaceships has been sold for the equivalent of $30k (£23k) - all of which will go to the Australian Red Cross, in the wake of this year's devastating wild fires.
The eye-opening sale makes the ship - an ultra-rare Gold Magnate - "arguably the most expensive internet spaceship ever". That's according to its new owner Scott Manley - a scientist, astronomer and EVE Online fan from Scotland with over a million subscribers on YouTube.
EVE Online developer CCP has been encouraging fans to raise funds for Australia over the past few weeks via its latest PLEX for Good campaign (PLEX being an in-game currency you can convert to game-time). And while the final total is yet to be announced, CCP has held up the Gold Magnate's sale as "likely to be the biggest single donation of the event".
In-game, Manley's bid for the ship meant him handing over 1m PLEX - enough EVE Online game-time to stay subscribed for 160 years.
Only a handful of Gold Magnates were ever released - all as prizes for winning contests held at EVE's notorious Fanfest convention. Of those given out, only two are thought to still survive.
The Gold Magnate up for auction here previously belonged to EVE Online pro Kelon Darklight, who won the prestigious Amarr Championships Finals at EVE Fanfest in 2016. (Several of his teammates' ships have since been destroyed.)
"Now..." Manley concluded, "to figure out how to get it somewhere safe."