^[1]CCP, one of the world’s leading independent game developers, has announced the results for the election of nine delegates to the Council of Stellar Management (CSM), a democratically-elected representative council of players chosen by fellow EVE Online players after an exciting two-week voting period that ended May 16.

“Since the earliest days of EVE’s development, we have relied heavily on collaboration with our playerbase regarding world issues. CCP has followed and nurtured what governing and organizational structures emerge within EVE and also brought best practices from the real world into the virtual world,” said CCP CEO Hilmar Veigar Petursson. “The formation of the Council of Stellar Management signifies to us that that EVE has extended beyond the parameters of being ‘just a game’ into something more meaningful. As this first group of Councilors works with us over the course of the next six months, we look forward to seeing how our combined efforts can further expand the potential for virtual worlds to entertain, educate and inspire.”

The men and women of the assembly will travel from their homes in the United Kingdom, United States, Netherlands and Denmark to Iceland in June for their first face-to-face summit with CCP representatives at the company’s corporate headquarters in Reykjavik. Speaking on behalf of the players that elected them, the Councilors will discuss EVE-related issues, offer suggestions and exchange ideas to continue the evolution of EVE, which recently celebrated its five-year anniversary.

Election results were announced on the official EVE Online website in a blog published Wednesday by Petur Oskarsson, Project Lead for the CSM and a member of the Research and Statistics team under the guidance of Lead Economist Dr. Eyjo Gudmundsson. “CCP is dedicated to making the CSM a lasting, meaningful way to remain connected to our community,” said Oskarsson. “It is our honest belief that this is a logical step in the natural progression of CCP’s continuing efforts to not only improve EVE, but as pioneers in the rapidly-growing genus of virtual societies.” Oskarsson’s blog, which also includes demographics and statistics related to the election, may be viewed at eve-online.com ^[2].

About EVE Online
Set tens of thousands of years in the future, EVE Online is a breathtaking journey to the stars, to an immersive experience filled with adventure, riches, danger and glory. With over 220,000 subscribers worldwide inhabiting the same virtual universe, EVE features a vast player-run economy where your greatest asset is the starship, designed to accommodate your specific needs, skills and ambitions. EVE offers professions ranging from commodities trader to mercenary, industrial entrepreneur to pirate, mining engineer to battle fleet commander or any combination of these and much more. From brokering business deals to waging war, you will have access to a diverse array of sophisticated tools and interfaces to forge your own destiny in EVE. Learn more and sign up for a free, 14-day trial at www.eveonline.com ^[1].