Eve Online

Eve Online (officially capitalized EVE Online) is a player-driven persistent-world massively multiplayer online game set in a science fiction space setting. Players pilot customizable ships through a universe comprising over five thousand star systems.  Most star systems are connected to one or more other star systems by means of jump gates. The star systems can contain several entities including but not limited to: moons, planets, stations, asteroid belts and complexes.

Players of Eve Online are able to participate in any number of in-game professions and activities, including mining, manufacturing, trade and combat (both player versus environment and player versus player).  The range of activities available to the player is facilitated by a character advancement system based upon training skills in real time, even while not logged in to the game.

It is developed and maintained by the Icelandic company CCP Games. First released in North America and Europe in May 2003, it was published from May to December 2003 by Simon & Schuster Interactive, after which CCP purchased the rights back and began to self-publish via a digital distribution scheme. On January 22, 2008 it was announced that Eve will be distributed via Steam.  The current version of Eve Online is dubbed Quantum Rise. The next expansion, Apocrypha, is expected on March 10, 2009.  At that time, the game will also be available in boxed form from stores, released by Atari.