Space Sim MMO with a free market and open PvP. You level up over time to unlock upgrades which is faster with the premium account. Then there's various activities you can do to gain ISK or progress through the story. There's only 1 server globally with 10,000(+?) star systems, 4 factions and around 15-25k players in Spring 2022. It's more like a strategy game than a flight sim with the way you operate your ship. And It might not be as "open world" as some might expect in space because there's different areas you warp to through warp gates. It is vast and open, just with instanced areas.

One interesting thing about EVE is it has some future "metaverse" potential. Personally I think the term metaverse is kind of wack because online games have done similar things all along (without blockchain). EVE is a great example of that. One newer feature in the game is analyzing charts of COVID-19 responses to immune systems. This saves real scientists a lot of time by gathering human data for a large chunk of information. The game-play of it is mainly just a time killer way in game to earn money, it's also scored by accuracy. The idea is fascinating and for me maybe even a bit frightening. Why haven't we been using video games to benefit science on a mass scale more often?

But don't let all that excite you too much. Eve is not for everyone. It's a bit slow, there's a big learning curve, it can be frustrating if you get ganked with something pricey, it's hard to trust anyone in game. You need premium to get the best ships, and it's admittedly pretty p2w

But it's a chill, realistic sci fi MMO for casual and hardcore gamers with a nice atmosphere, cool UI system, active devs/mods, and a lot of history.

TLDR Better than Star Trek Online and arguably the best space MMO

Space Sim MMO with a free market and open PvP. You level up over time to unlock upgrades which is faster with the premium account. Then there's various activities you can do to gain ISK or progress through the story. There's only 1 server globally with 10,000(+?) star systems, 4 factions and around 15-25k players in Spring 2022. It's more like a strategy game than a flight sim with the way you operate your ship. And It might not be as "open world" as some might expect in space because there's different areas you warp to through warp gates. It is vast and open, just with instanced areas. One interesting thing about EVE is it has some future "metaverse" potential. Personally I think the term metaverse is kind of wack because online games have done similar things all along (without blockchain). EVE is a great example of that. One newer feature in the game is analyzing charts of COVID-19 responses to immune systems. This saves real scientists a lot of time by gathering human data for a large chunk of information. The game-play of it is mainly just a time killer way in game to earn money, it's also scored by accuracy. The idea is fascinating and for me maybe even a bit frightening. Why haven't we been using video games to benefit science on a mass scale more often? But don't let all that excite you too much. Eve is not for everyone. It's a bit slow, there's a big learning curve, it can be frustrating if you get ganked with something pricey, it's hard to trust anyone in game. You need premium to get the best ships, and it's admittedly pretty p2w But it's a chill, realistic sci fi MMO for casual and hardcore gamers with a nice atmosphere, cool UI system, active devs/mods, and a lot of history. TLDR Better than Star Trek Online and arguably the best space MMO