EVE Online's democratically elected player council, the Council of Stellar Management, was officially unveiled yesterday by CCP Games. The players represent the interests of capsuleers across New Eden and work in conjunction with CCP Games to help ensure player voices and needs are heard.
This year is the 17th iteration of the CSM, and some familiar faces and alliance names are dominating the council once again, with Goonswarm, Imperium, Pandemic Horde (and Pandemic Legion) and the Initiative holding many of the spots in the council.
New Eden has decided!!Congrats to all 44 candidates who ran through the intense CSM campaign season. Some great conversations were had, and prompted fantastic discussions. We greatly look forward to working with CSM 17#Tweetfleet #EVEOnline #CSM17 #NewEdenDecides pic.twitter.com/8iYBMzsuxB
— EVE Online (@EveOnline) June 16, 2022
Over 30K players voted for the current council from over 15 different countries, with CCP Games quick to point out that the average logon time for those who vote in elections is quite large - 178 days.
While many players are, undoubtedly, happy with the current council, some took to Reddit to bemoan the fact that nullsec corporations and alliances are once again dominating the CSM. Many feel that this doesn't accurately represent the needs of the average PvE player, specifically those who inhabit high or lowsec for the most part. Many players are pointing to the fact that the large nullblocs can coordinate their votes on single candidates, while the rest of New Eden is more fractured, voting for many candidates instead of honing in on just one.
It'll be interesting to see how this year plays out with the CSM as CCP is making massive changes announced during this year's Fanfest in Iceland. With the return of expansions, dropping of quadrant updates, and more, EVE Online is aiming to bring a more narrative-focused update cycle moving forward. How the CSM plays into ensuring player voices will be heard during those updates remains to be seen.
In case you missed it, check out our interview with CCP Games' CEO Hilmar Petursson and Creative Director Bergur Finnbogason from Fanfest 2022 to learn about how EVE Forever is more than just a marketing phrase.
