EVE Frontier Hires Former Central Bank of Iceland Economist Stefán Þórarinsson

With EVE Frontier, CCP is showing an extended commitment to creating and refining the in-game economy with its latest hire, Stefán Þórarinsson. An economist once with the Central Bank of Iceland, he adds his experience in monetary policy, market dynamics, and macroeconomic analysis to the development team. 

For EVE Online, the player-driven economy is nothing new, and in fact, has been one of the top features of the game for over two decades. The work of Dr. Eyjólfur Guðmundsson as the game’s lead economist was a milestone that helped it to thrive, and CCP is taking that knowledge to EVE Frontier as well.

Additionally, with Frontier, the team is looking for an extended approach that refines and also legitimizes a player driven virtual financial system. Hiring a bank economist with tons of real world economic experience and knowledge progresses their goal of “ensuring that in-game financial systems operate with the same diligence and analysis applied to real-world economies”.  

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CCP CEO Hilmar Veigar Pétursson elaborates, in a press release,  “Stefán Þórarinsson’s appointment advances our goal toward building a truly open financial system within a virtual world,” he says. “With EVE Frontier, we want to be bolder: Stefán’s experience from the Central Bank of Iceland adds vital rigor as we continue to design our economy and open it up to players. By removing currency controls and fostering emergent value systems, EVE Frontier will redefine virtual nation-building, offering insights into both digital and real-world economies.”

EVE Frontier is getting some significant  economic updates in light of this move, first in Founder Access. These changes begin today, and will examine:

• Monetary Policy & Inflation: Understanding how economic levers influence pricing, currency stability, and market behavior in a fully player-driven world.
• Market Equilibrium & Trade Dynamics: Exploring how supply and demand fluctuate based on player and NPC interactions.
• Assets & Currency Flows: Assessing the integration of digital assets and their impact on in-game economic activity.
• Behavioral Economics in Virtual Worlds: Gathering data on player decision-making, financial speculation, and economic adaptation.

Since these are happening through Founder Access, it gives the team a controlled environment to examine these financial concepts and impacts. At this point in time, you can't really imagine any other company doing this, and it's fitting that CCP would use this combination of academic methodologies balanced with player actions