The PC remains the driving force behind innovation in gaming, as noted by Hilmar Veigar Pétursson, the CEO of CCP Games, the studio famous for the long-standing space MMO, EVE Online.

“I think most of the innovation in gaming has happened on PC, to some extent on mobile, just because of sheer volume,” Pétursson shared during an interview earlier this year. “But I don’t think we’re observing a lot of innovation in mobile right now. I think we’re observing a lot of refinement and execution and formula, kind of hardening. On PC, we still see a lot of experimentation.”

While he acknowledged that discoverability is a key challenge facing PC developers, Pétursson appreciates the platform’s lack of gatekeeping, noting a low barrier to entry allows for unique successes to emerge from diverse origins. He humorously referenced repeated claims of the ‘death of PC gaming,’ stating, “The death certificate has been signed several times.”

Pétursson further highlighted the strength of modding within the PC gaming realm, which remains unmatched even as console gaming converges with PC technology. As an example, he mentioned CCP’s ongoing commitment to innovation with their upcoming project, EVE Frontier.

Looking back, Pétursson explained the continuity of PC gaming, revealing, “We have several times booted up ancient EVE codes, and it largely works, even the VRML processor we did in the ’90s.”

EVE Online continues to thrive, having recently celebrated a new expansion, “Catalyst”, released on November 18, with the next major update for EVE Frontier projected for November 27.