![]() "The most common investment, one that almost all colonists make, is in the avatar itself," a generic NPC named Sarah Tergus tells my freshly-created character while running through the basics of the game. My first foray into Entropia began with a variation on a timeless mantra I once heard in a business owners' talk years ago. There's not really an engaging game to play here: it really is all about the money. Dipping a toe into the Entropia forums, it's clear that the folks who stuck around are lifers, and even in the starting area you can see other players busying themselves with the never-ending metachore of playing a game for money. ![]() And the subscriber count still seems to be climbing. Today, Entropia Universe has around 86,000 subscribers-a fraction of a drop in the bucket compared to other MMOs, but a huge increase from pre-pandemic numbers that dwindled into the 18,000s. In 2009, VentureBeat reported that Entropia had over 820,000 registered users and over $420 million in user-to-user transactions. When Wiseman died in 2005, MindArk built an in-game monument for her. Jacobs also wrote a song called " Gamer Chick" about his girlfriend and fellow player Tina Wiseman which could, at one point, be played on in-game jukeboxes. Entrepreneur Jon "Neverdie" Jacobs mortgaged his real house to buy a virtual asteroid for $100,000, turned it into a popular (and profitable) nightclub, and in 2010 sold it for $635,000. There are some straightforward Entropia success stories-in 2006, Mike "Ogulak Da Basher" Everest sold enough weapons in the game to help send his siblings to college (his mom apparently played, too). (Image credit: MindArk / Mobygames) (opens in new tab) Two years later, Deathifier appeared to vanish from Entropia Universe altogether and other players speculated that his holdings were annexed by MindArk (when reached for clarification, a MindArk spokesperson declined to comment). In 2005, Deathifier-an Australian named David Storey-told PC Gamer that "being an Entropia millionaire happen someday." In 2016, long after Entropia Universe was making the news, he filed a lawsuit against Planet Arkadia over an intellectual property dispute which has now also largely been forgotten, save for an informal forum post and a disembodied court ruling. It rolled out all the features you'd expect to see in a real-cash playground: real estate, pets, resorts, malls, vehicles, and an ATM-style system to cash out in-game earnings. ![]() Over time, the Swedish MMORPG unveiled more planets, some of which are owned and operated by other companies like Creative Kingdom (Planet Cyrene) and Beladcom (Planet Toulan). "We know that virtual worlds are extremely lucrative and much of our success will be strengthened by working with Mindark and the added experience that First Planet Company brings to the process, having developed the most successful planet in the Entropia Universe to date.Deathifier's tale of entrepreneurship is a precursor to the current discussions on blockchain gaming "As we move into 2011 and beyond, SEE Virtual Worlds will continue to bring its innovative product offerings to the virtual world marketplace," said Martin Biallas, CEO of SEE Virtual Worlds. ![]() First Planet Company will be rebranded as "SEE Digital Studios," and will continue to enhance Planet Calypso while taking on new staff for the development of Planet Michael. The acquisition follows news late last year that SEE Virtual Worlds plans to rollout new planets in the Entropia Universe, beginning with Planet Michaelâ„¢, a game being developed with the support and involvement of the Michael Jackson Estate, and a Universal Monsters world featuring Van Helsing and Universal Studios' legendary line of cinematic monsters. ![]() The planet has been running since 2003 and has nearly a million registered users and has generated over four million U.S. Planet Calypso was purchased for a record six million U.S. SEE Virtual Worlds has announced its purchase of the first planet in the Entropia Universe, Planet Calypso. ![]()
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