Loading AI tools
2003 video game From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Entropia Universe is a massively multiplayer online (MMORPG) virtual universe designed by the Swedish software company MindArk, based in Gothenburg.
![]() | This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
|
Entropia Universe | |
---|---|
![]() Former logo | |
Developer(s) | MindArk |
Publisher(s) | MindArk |
Designer(s) | Multiple |
Engine | CryEngine 2 |
Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows |
Release | January 30, 2003 |
Genre(s) | Massively multiplayer online role-playing game, first-person shooter |
Mode(s) | Online multiplayer |
Entropia uses a micropayment business model, in which players may buy in-game currency (PED - Project Entropia Dollars) with real money that can be redeemed back into U.S. dollars at a fixed exchange rate of 10:1. This means that virtual items acquired within Entropia Universe have a real cash value, and a participant may, at any time, initiate a withdrawal of their accumulated PED back into U.S. dollars according to the fixed exchange rate, minus transaction fees. The Entropia Universe is a direct continuation of Project Entropia.
Entropia Universe entered the Guinness World Records Book in both 2004 and 2008 for the most expensive virtual world objects ever sold. In 2009, a virtual space station, a popular destination, sold for $330,000.[1] This was then eclipsed in November 2010 when Jon Jacobs sold a club named "Club Neverdie" for $635,000; this property was sold in chunks, with the largest sold for $335,000.[2][3] The game has been described as dedicated to capitalism rather than quality of gameplay, and connecting the in-game labor with real world profits, in which sense it can be seen as a spiritual precursor to the play to earn model.[4]
The game can be played for free, but spending money on the in-game currency allows significant additional options like purchasing items, skills, deeds/shares, and services from other players. Nearly all of the main in-game activities require expendable resources which must be purchased. Items can also be crafted for use or for sale to other players.[citation needed]
In 1995, development of Entropia Universe (formerly Project Entropia) was started by two different groups - one in Sweden headed by Jan Welter Timkrans and one in Switzerland, headed by Benny Iggland. Initially taking place on the fictional Planet Calypso, the 2001 version used the NetImmerse 4 game engine. On May 20, 2002, the Commercial Open Trial began,[5] and the game was available to the public. With Version Update 4.2 on 28 January 2003, the game was considered "Gold".
In 2022, the developers of Entropia Universe began development work on the migration to Unreal Engine 5. The migration to Unreal Engine 5 will include the "evolution of core systems, such as hunting, mining and crafting" and the "migration of items and value currently present in Entropia Universe" ensuring that the game's economic and item-based systems are preserved and integrated into the updated game client.[6]
![]() |
2002 | The Gate #1, October 2002 | The Gate #2, November 2002 | The Gate #3, December 2002 | |
---|---|---|---|---|
2003 | The Gate#4, February 2003 | The Gate #5, March 2003 | The Gate #6, April 2003 | The Gate #7, May 2003 |
2005 | The Calypso Independence 1, September 2005 | The Calypso Independence 2, November 2005 | The Calypso Independence 3, December 2005 |
---|---|---|---|
2006 | The Calypso Independence 4, January 2006 | The Calypso May 5, September 2006 | The Calypso August 6, September 2006 |
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.